Well here’s something we’re seeing for the first time in 2011: an album that sells six figures in the top spot of the Billboard 200.  Yes, that’s how pathetic the year has been.

“Now That’s What I Call Music 37” is a rehash of hits from the fourth quarter that people can easily download, but enough folks still yearn for their physical CDs that the title will easily come in at No. 1 with sales of up to 125,000 copies, according to Hits Daily Double.

After that, things start to look pretty grim again. “Now” is the only new title to debut in the top 10 (The next bow is likely to be country duo Thompson Square’s first set at No. 15). The remaining spaces in the Top 10 are filled with sets that have been out since 2010, other than the “2011 Grammy Nominees” compilation (which, like Now!” contains songs already readily available).

[More after the jump...]

This week’s No. 1, Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday,” is poised to slip to No. 2 with sales one-third those of “Now.”  The latest from Pink, Rihanna and Justin Bieber and Bruno Mars are duking it out for spots 3-6, but are too close to call right now. Each will sell between 30-35,000.

The chart closes Sunday night, which is too early to see many results from Feb. 13’s Grammy Awards, but we’ll see some big changes in following chart. Traditionally, performers seeing a larger increase in sales than the winners. This year, we expect Florence + the Machine and Mumford & Sons to both get nice boosts from their appearances.