The "year" starts with the first Billboard-dated December week.
Weeks so far with 3 100k sellers:
TonyGaga vs. Kenny Chesney vs. Barbra's 2nd week, topped with 131k
Lana vs. Sam vs. Linkin, topped with 182k
So yes, definitely the most competitive week this year.
If people want to compare, Beyonce ended up with 3 weeks at over 200k, and 4 weeks at over 100k. I'm pretty darn sure Taylor will slay that.