As overall sales expectedly plummeted in the first week after Christmas, OutKast's two-CD set "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" (Arista) easily held on to the No. 1 spot on the U.S. pop charts for a fifth week.
The Arista release suffered a 60% slide to sell 151,000 copies in the week ended Jan. 4, according to Nielsen SoundScan data issued Wednesday. In its 15 weeks on the chart, the album has moved about 3.25 million units.
"The Diary of Alicia Keys (news)" held steady at No. 2 with sales of 116,000 copies, a 69% tumble for the J Records album. It has sold 1.8 million copies to date.
Close behind, rising one spot to No. 3, was the 14th volume in the "NOW That's What I Call Music!" series (Universal/EMI/Zomba/Sony), which sold 112,000 copies -- a 63% dive; its total rose to 2.1 million copies.
"The Very Best of Sheryl Crow (news)" (A&M) rose one spot to a new high of No. 4, selling 103,000 copies in its ninth week, a drop of about 60%. Its total rose to 1.6 million.
No Doubt's "The Singles 1992-2003" (Interscope) jumped three places to No. 5, surviving a 54% dip to 99,000 copies. Its total rose to 1.1 million.
Jay-Z's "The Black Album" (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam) returned to the top 10 by jumping six places to No. 6. Sales fell 53% to 89,000 copies, bringing its total to 1.7 million. Evanescence's Wind-Up debut "Fallen" soared nine places to No. 7, selling 85,500 copies -- a relatively modest 45% dip. After 44 weeks, it has sold 3.5 million copies.
The 50 Cent-led G-Unit was also back in the top-10. The act's debut, "Beg for Mercy" (Shady/Interscope), rose three places to No. 8 as sales dipped 45% to 85,000 copies. Country star Toby Keith (news) slid three places to No. 9 with his "Shock'n Y'all" (DreamWorks), taking a 74% hit to 84,000 copies.
Second-season "American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard rounded out the top 10 with his J Records bow, "Soulful." The set sold 83,000 copies in its fourth week, a 61% decline.
The only album on the chart to see any sort of sales boost was the DMZS/Columbia soundtrack to "Cold Mountain." Sales rose about 2% to 16,000 copies, giving the set its first week on the Billboard 200 at No. 114.
