That very same week, Radiohead's "OK Computer" opened at No. 21 with 51, 000 units.

CNN: U.K.'s Radiohead tunes in atop U.S. pop charts

Radiohead's critically acclaimed third album OK Computer has now sold more than three million copies in Europe.

BBC: NEWS | Entertainment | James Blunt album sales pass 5m

The album's lone voice comes from a disembodied robot, introduced briefly on the second track, "Vio vorum sma, " more as a narrator than a singer. (Think Radiohead's "Fitter Happier" from OK Computer).

NPR: Olafur Arnalds: 'Vid Vorum Sma'

With The Bends and OK Computer entrenched among the great albums of recent years, history seems unsure what to make of Radiohead's subsequent work.

BBC: Radiohead mystery deepens