‘Older,’ by George

After a six-year absence, British pop sensation George Michael returns to form with “Older,” his latest release, debuting at No. 1 on The Times’ Southern California album chart. Michael’s DreamWorks SKG collection pushes the Fugees’ “The Score” to its current No. 2 position on the local charts.

TOP 10 ALBUMS *--*

Title, Artist (Nat’l Rank) Last Week 1 Older, George Michael (6) ... 2 The Score, Fugees (1) 1 3 Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette (2) 3 4 Falling Into You, Celine Dion (3) 5 5 Fairweather Johnson, Hootie & the Blowfish (4) 2 6 To the Faithful Departed, the Cranberries (8) 4 7 New Beginning, Tracy Chapman (7) 7 8 Evil Empire, Rage Against the Machine (10) 8 9 Tragic Kingdom, No Doubt (30) 12 10 Dave Matthews Band, Crash (5) 6

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TOP 10 SINGLES *--*

Title, Artist (National Rank) Last Week 1 Tha Crossroads, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (1) 1 2 Tres Delinquentes, Delinquent Habits (34) 2 3 You’re the One, SWV (2) 6 4 Fastlove, George Michael (9) 11 5 Keep On Keepin’ On, MC Lyte (4) 5 6 Get Money, Junior M.A.F.I.A (11) 4 7 Always Be My Baby, Mariah Carey (3) 7 8 Because You Loved Me, Celine Dion (8) 3 9 1,2,3,4 (Sumpin’ New), Coolio (13) 8 10 Sweet Dreams, La Bouche (22) 14

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TOP 10 RAP ALBUMS *--*

Title, Artist (National Rank) Last Week 1 The Score, Fugees (1) 1 2 Sunset Park, soundtrack (2) 2 3 All Eyez On Me, 2Pac (5) 3 4 E. 1999 Eternal, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (4) 4 5 Gangsta’s Paradise, Coolio (3) 5 6 The Resurrection, Geto Boys (7) 8 7 The Coming, Busta Rhymes (6) 7 8 Original Gangstas, soundtrack (11) 6 9 The Substitute, soundtrack (31) ... 10 Mr. Smith, LL Cool J (8) 10

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Source: SoundScan, for week ending May 19