POP LP CHART : Women Break Hard Rock Grip on Charts

With hard rock and metal dominating the top of the Billboard magazine chart--claiming four of the top six albums--it’s remarkable to find pop-jazz singer Anita Baker up there in that noisy neighborhood. But her album, “Giving You the Best That I Got,” raced up to No. 2 in just one month. Next week she may be No. 1--Queen of the Pop Chart. But Baker isn’t the only female singer shooting up the charts. Barbra Streisand’s “Till I Loved You” (No. 13) is headed for the Top Five. Other hot albums--the self-titled “Traveling Wilburys” (No. 12), Ratt’s “Reach for the Sky” (No. 29) and the Pet Shop Boys’ “Introspective” (No. 35). Bon Jovi’s “Bad Medicine” is still the top pop single.

* From its beginnings as a quirky folk band, Athens, Ga.’s R.E.M. has switched to harder rock. The band has also graduated from cultish, college-radio status to the top-of-the-pops category--and to big bucks, thanks to its new attachment to Warner Bros. Records. Could that “green” in title of their new album, which debuted at a strong No. 39, stand for money?

Rank Rank 2 Weeks Title (Label) Last Week Weeks Ago on Chart 1. “Rattle and Hum” 1 1 5 U2 (sound track) (Island) 2. “Giving You the Best That I Got’ 5 7 4 Anita Baker (Elektra) 3. “Appetite for Destruction” 2 2 66 Guns N’ Roses (Geffen) 4. “New Jersey” 4 3 8 Bon Jovi (Mercury/PolyGram) 5. “Cocktail” 3 4 16 Sound track (Elektra) * “Green” -- -- 1 R.E.M. (Warner Bros.)