Charts: Mumford and Sons still No. 1, Muse in runner-up spot

An avalanche of new releases — there are seven debuts in the Top 10 — couldn’t knock Mumford & Sons from the top spot on Billboard’s Top 200 albums chart, as the folky British lads remain at No. 1 with their sophomore set “Babel.” After landing the year’s biggest debut, the set sold 169,000 copies its second week, according to Nielsen SoundScan, enough to hold off the latest album from Muse, which arrives at No. 2 with 101,000 first-week sales.

Muse’s “The 2nd Law” is their highest charting effort to-date; the band’s previous high came with 2009′s “The Resistance,” which debuted at No. 3. But sales for “The 2nd Law” were down slightly from “The Resistance,” which sold 128,000 copies its first week in stores.

R&B singer Miguel nabs a No. 3 debut with his second album, “Kaleidoscope Dream,” which sold 71,000 copies its first week. Pink stays at No. 4 while Three Days Grace show up at No. 5 with their latest set.

The week’s other Top 10 debuts come from Diana Krall (No. 6), Jackie Evancho (No. 7), Cher Lloyd (No. 9) and Van Morrison (No. 10).

Next week, Mumford & Sons will look to hold on to a third week at No. 1 while fighting off new releases from Kiss, Barbra Streisand and Ellie Goulding.

Billboard’s Top 10 albums (sales in parentheses, figures according to Nielsen SoundScan)

1. Mumfurd & Sons, Babel (169,000)

2. Muse, The 2nd Law (101,000)

3. Miguel, Kaleidoscope Dream (71,000)

4. Pink, The Truth About Love (52,000)

5. Three Days Grace, Transit of Venus (48,000)

6. Diana Krall, Glad Rag Doll (46,000)

7. Jackie Evancho, Songs from the Silver Screen (41,000)

8. Little Big Town, Tornado (31,000)

9. Cher Lloyd, Sticks & Stones (31,000)

10. Van Morrison, Born to Sing: No Plan B (29,000)