Lady Antebellum Dominate Album Chart in First Half of 2010

With 2010's first six months just about to go into the record books, The Boot takes a look back at the country albums that have dominated the chart during the first half of the year.

Not surprisingly, since it has been the No. 1 album for almost the entire first half of the year, Lady Antebellum's 'Need You Now' is the year's best seller so far. A former No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as well, the album has spawned two No. 1 country hits, 'Need You Now' and 'American Honey,' with another single, 'Our Kind of Love,' currently climbing. The disc has also enjoyed crossover success on the pop charts and has reached double-platinum status in the U.S., while also certified platinum in Canada and gold in New Zealand. 'Need You Now' has also appeared on the Australian, Irish, Swedish, Dutch and South African album charts.

The No. 2 album of the first half of 2010 is the Zac Brown Band's 'The Foundation.' Released at the end of 2008, the disc has sold more than two million copies, with 570,000 of those having sold since the beginning of this year. The disc climbs back to the No. 2 spot for the week, marking its 83rd week on the survey.

The third-best-selling disc of 2010 is Taylor Swift's 'Fearless,' which has no doubt benefited from the global tour of the same name. It's been on the album chart for 84 weeks, and has, according to Nielsen Soundscan, sold 569,000 copies this year alone. The No. 4 album of 2010 so far is Carrie Underwood's 'Play On,' followed by Lady A's debut disc (the oldest on the chart at 114 weeks!) and Miranda Lambert's 'Revolution' the sixth-best-selling album of the year.

With Lady A's Hillary Scott, Taylor Swift, Carrie and Miranda all in the Top 10, women represent one-half of all the top ten chart spots for the year thus far. Josh Turner, Jason Aldean, the 'Crazy Heart' soundtrack and Blake Shelton round out the list.