Choosing ‘Sides’

Phil Collins is off to a fast start on The Times’ Southern California pop album chart with “Both Sides,” which premiered at No. 6. It may challenge Frank Sinatra’s “Duets,” which ascended a notch to take over the throne. Bouncing Pearl Jam’s “Vs.” out of No. 1. is quite a feat for Sinatra, who’s outselling artists a half-century younger--and not just in Southern California: “Duets” maintained second place on the national chart. Pop-soul singer Toni Braxton’s fifth-ranked debut album continues to sell, partly because she has a second hit single, “Breathe Again”--No. 9 on the pop chart.

TOP 10 ALBUMS

Title, Artist (National Rank) Last Week 1 Duets, Frank Sinatra (2) 2 2 Vs., Pearl Jam (1) 1 3 Music Box, Mariah Carey (5) 3 4 Songs of the Eagles, Various artists (4) 5 5 Toni Braxton, Toni Braxton (11) 8 6 Both Sides, Phil Collins (13) -- 7 All the Greatest Hits, Zapp & Roger (59) 6 8 Bat Out of Hell II, Meat Loaf (3) 12 9 It’s On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa, Eazy-E (14) 4 10 Midnight. . ., A Tribe Called Quest (8) --

TOP 10 SINGLES

Title, Artist (National Rank) Last Week 1 All That She Wants, Ace of Base (3) 2 2 I’d Do Anything for Love, Meat Loaf (1) 1 3 Gangsta Lean, D.R.S. (2) 4 4 Just Kickin’ It, Xscape (7) 3 5 Shoop, Salt-N-Pepa (4) 7 6 Again, Janet Jackson (5) 8 7 Hey Mr. D.J., Zhane (13) 5 8 Indo Smoke, Mista Grimm (46) 6 9 Breathe Again, Toni Braxton (14) 11 10 Hero, Mariah Carey (8) 14

TOP 10 COUNTRY ALBUMS

Title, Artist (National Rank) Last Week 1 Songs of the Eagles, Various artists (1) 1 2 Greatest Hits--Vol 2, Reba McEntire (2) 2 3 In Pieces, Garth Brooks (3) 3 4 Lot About Livin’, Alan Jackson (4) 5 5 Easy Come Easy Go, George Strait (5) 4 6 Song Remembers. . ., Trisha Yearwood (6) 6 7 Tell Me Why, Wynonna Judd (11) 8 8 Honky Tonk Angels, Parton et al. (10) 7 9 I Still Believe in You, Vince Gill (8) 9 10 This Time, Dwight Yoakam (9) 10

Source: SoundScan Inc., for week ending Nov. 14