For the second straight week, Nelly's Nellyville held the top position on the album charts as his hit single "Hot in Herre" continued ruling the FM airwaves. Nelly, the man who last week ended Eminem's five-week chart reign, closed out the week ended Sunday by selling another 447,000 copies, according to SoundScan numbers.
That gives Nelly 1.15 million copies sold in just two weeks, putting the St. Louis rapper just behind Eminem in the race for fastest-selling disc of 2002.
Seven weeks out, The Eminem Show continued selling strong, moving 263,000 copies to hold off two strong debuts.
The first of the new bows came from Murder Inc. CEO Irv Gotti, who sold 193,000 copies of Irv Gotti Presents...The Inc. to land at number three spot. The album features tracks by Murder Inc. artists like Ja Rule and Ashanti.
The East Coast rappers were followed by East Coast rockers Aerosmith, whose compilation O Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits took number four with 137,000 copies. The group's latest best-of features 30 songs, including 18 Top 40 singles.
The rest of the Top 10 were all holdovers: Avril Lavigne's Let Go at five, Ashanti's self-titled debut at six, Korn's Untouchables at seven, N.O.R.E.'s God's Favorite at eight, Pink's M!ssundaztood at nine and Totally Hits 2002 hanging in at 10.
The soundtrack to (Lil') Bow Wow's NBA-themed flick Like Mike, debuted at 18. The film, which opened over the holiday weekend, came in fifth at the box office.
Two high-flying bands of the '90s--Oasis and Green Day--sputtered on the charts with their new albums. Brit-rockers Oasis opened at 23 with Heathen Chemistry, and pop-punk crossover heroes Green Day opened close behind at 27 with Shenanigans.
Chicago, who've been around long enough to match Aerosmith in Social Security credits, fared less well with their hits collection, The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning. The two-disc album, featuring 39 hit singles, debuted at 38.
Two other compilations, So So Def Presents Definition of a Remix and Nas' From Illmatic to Stillmatic, debuted deep down on the charts at 117 and 123, respectively.
Meanwhile, on the singles chart, Elvis' "A Little Less Conversation" remained number one for a second straight week.
Here's a rundown of the Top 10 albums for the week ended July 7, according to SoundScan:
1. Nellyville, Nelly
2. The Eminem Show, Eminem
3. Irv Gotti Presents...The Inc., various
4. O Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits, Aerosmith
5. Let Go, Avril Lavigne
6. Ashanti, Ashanti
7. Untouchables, Korn
8. God's Favorite, N.O.R.E.
9. M!ssundaztood, Pink
10. Totally Hits 2002, various