OutKast's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" (LaFace) returned to the top spot in the nation's album sales for the week ended Sunday, according to SoundScan.
Rap duo sold 97,000 copies, a less-than-5% dip from the previous week. The album's cume has hit 3.4 million in 17 weeks.
Sheryl Crow (news)'s "Very Best of ..." (A&M) rose to No. 2 from No. 6 on sales of 73,000 as no album in the top 10 posted a sales gain from the previous week.
Ruben Studdard, holding steady at 8 on nearly identical sales of 63,000 copies of "Soulful" (J), might see a bump next week as the bow of the third edition of "American Idol" set viewing records Monday.
Britney Spears (news)' "In the Zone" was the highest-ranked album to get a bump; up to 11 from 16, her latest Jive disc sold 52,000 units last week, an improvement of more than 5,000.
Singing wrestlers can be traced back to 1985 when Jesse Ventura hosted acts warbling "Land of a Thousand Dances" and, before that, Freddie Blassie's classic "Pencil Neck Geek." Led by Stone Cold Steve Austin, the latest collection of wrestlers, heavy-metalists and Booker T. mixing it up, "WWE Originals" (Columbia), debuted at No. 12 on sales of 48,000.
Other debuts include Keith Sweat (news)'s "Best of ..." (Elektra), selling 28,000 and hitting No. 31, and Crystal Method's "Legion of Boom" (V2), reaching No. 36 on sales of nearly 25,000.
In the singles department, Tuesday found Norah Jones (news)' new tune, "Sunrise," setting a new record for Apple's iTunes musicstore . Song has been No. 1 every day since its release Jan. 13 on the Apple service, though OutKast's "Hey Ya" remains the overall No. 1 tune among downloaded tracks.
HOLLYWOOD (Variety)
Wed Jan 21, 7:00 PM ET
PHIL GALLO
