ADELE’S ’21’ PASSES ‘THRILLER’ ON LONGEVITY LIST

Last week, Adele’s “21” album dropped out of the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 ranking of national album sales for the first time since it was released last year and subsequently turned into one of the biggest-selling albums in pop music history.  Its exit from the Top 10 after 78 weeks bordered on the unnecessarily cruel: that left it tied with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” This week, however, “21” has returned to the Top 10 for a 79th week, edging past Jackson’s landmark collection.