This week’s Billboard album chart featured two unusual contenders for the top spot: a pair of independent rappers, each heavily influenced by their Christian faith, who did well on streaming services but also moved thousands of albums by bundling them with deals for merchandise, concert tickets and even Lyft rides.

In the end, the victor was an upset: NF, a rapper from Michigan, edged out Chance the Rapper, from Chicago, who was releasing what he called his first official album after years of success with streaming-only mixtapes.

NF’s album, “The Search,” opened at No. 1 with the equivalent of 130,000 sales in the United States, according to Nielsen, giving NF — whose real name is Nathan Feuerstein — his second time at the top of the chart. Chance the Rapper’s “The Big Day” came in second place with 108,000.

Within those “equivalent” numbers — umbrella totals that reconcile the weekly numbers from various music formats — Chance had by far the bigger streaming number. Songs from “The Big Day” were streamed 104 million times, more than any other album last week; “The Search” had just 58 million.