Grizzled vet Neil Diamond fresh off his American Idol appearance has knocked Madonna’s ‘Hard Candy’ out of the #1 spot on Billboard Top 200 Albums chart after just ONE WEEK.  Madonna’s album was actually knocked all the way down to third place.

How powerful is an apperance on American Idol?  Well it has given Diamond his first #1 album in his long and illustrious career.  It is not like Diamond is peaking in his career either.

Diamond’s ‘Home Before Dark’ was just one of several new albums in the top 10 this week.

Other albums debuting in the top ten included Toby Keith’s ’35 Biggest Hits,’ Clay Aiken’s ‘On My Way Here,’ Gavin DeGraw’s self titled album, Josh Groban’s ‘Awake,’ Dierks Bentley’s ‘Greatest Hits,’ and ‘Complices’ by Luis Miguel.

Here is a look at the top 10 Billboard Albums.

1. Home Before Dark - Neil Diamond
   
2. 35 Biggest Hits – Toby Keith
3. Hard Candy – Madonna
4. On My Way Here – Clay Aiken
5. E=MC2 – Mariah Carey
   
6. Spirit – Leona Lewis
   
7. Gavin DeGraw - Gavin DeGraw
8. Awake Live – Josh Groban
   
9. Greatest Hits - Dierks Bentley
   
10. Complices – Luis Miguel
    

source: Billboard: Issue 2008-05-24