Beasties Ch-Check In at No. 1

Ch-check it out: The Beasties are number one.

As expected, the Beastie Boys exerted their party rights with their sixth studio album, To the 5 Boroughs, which got the festivities started on top of this week's album chart. To promote their first all-new album in six years, the raunchy rappers--Mike D, MCA and Ad-Rock, plus deejay Mix Master Mike--made several television appearances and launched their debut single/video, "Ch-Check It Out," into heavy rotation.

To the 5 Boroughs finished the week ended Sunday selling 360,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers released today.

Though enough to topple Velvet Revolver and hold off Usher, the Beasties' sales fell short of the projected half-million copies, especially considering their previous studio album, 1988's Hello Nasty, sold nearly 700,000 copies during its inaugural week. Still, Boroughs did best 1994's Ill Communication, which sold 220,000 copies in its chart-topping berth.

While the Beastie Boys opened the charts, Celine Dion closed out the top 10 with the week's second-highest debut. The pop diva's New Day...Live in Las Vegas, culled from her residency at the Caesars Palace Colosseum, sold 57,000 copies at number 10.

Dion, who canceled several New Day performances last month due to a neck strain, recently ranked 26th in Forbes Celebrity 100 list of most powerful entertainers. Nevertheless, the Canadian chanteuse's latest sales mark pales in comparison to her other recent studio albums: One Heart sold 431,000 first-week copies last year, while 2002's A New Day Has Come moved 527,000 copies.

Also making their first entry into the Top 10, the Tex-Mex country trio Los Lonely Boys rode into the nine spot selling 61,000 copies of their 2003 self-titled debut. Los Lonely Boys, whose album first entered the charts 17 weeks ago, found an ally in Willie Nelson, who called them his favorite band and invited them to perform at Farm Aid.

Among the shakeups in prime chart real estate: Velvet Revolver's Contraband fell two spots to number three with 122,000 in second-week sales, behind Usher's Confessions, which finished at number two with 169,000 copies.

Gretchen Wilson's Here for the Party held tight at four with 104,000 copies, up 13,000, while Avril Lavigne's Under My Skin sank to five with 92,000. Rounding out the Top 10: Prince's Musicology finished at number six, Hoobastank's The Reason was seventh; and D12's D12 World was up one at eight.

Just missing the Top 10, American Idol second-season finalist Josh Gracin sold 57,000 copies of his self-titled debut at 11. The country-crooning Marine placed fourth on the show and, after finishing his enlistment, signed with Nashville's Lyric Street Records. The Michigan native is currently lighting up country radio with "I Want To Live."

Coming in just 1,000 copies behind Gracin was Phish, which hooked a number-13 finish with their swan-song studio album Undermind selling 56,000 copies. The soon-to-disband band, which appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman last week, stayed afterwards to perform an non-televised mini-set for the fans that came out. Their final show, a two-day festival set for August in their native Vermont, has sold out all 70,000 tickets.

Actress-singer Christina Milian, who first made her voice known on Ja Rule's chart-topping hit "Between You and Me," followed at 14 with her debut disc, It's About Time, selling 55,000 copies. The singer previously hosted MTV's Wannabes and appeared in such films as Torque, Love Don't Cost a Thing and the forthcoming Cheer Up.

Other noteworthy debuts cracking this week's chart: Seether's Disclaimer II at 53, the Killers' Hot Fuss at 59, Reggae Gold 2004 at 64, Christian rockers Pillar's Where Do We Go From Here at 74, Rancho Texicano: The Very Best of ZZ Top at 77, and Fleetwood Mac Live in Boston at 84.

Meanwhile, with the film 50 First Dates coming to DVD, the soundtrack reentered the charts at 85 with 16,000 copies sold, a fourfold gain. Also noteworthy, Beyoncé's solo debut, Dangerously in Love, celebrated its one-year anniversary on the charts at 174.

Over on the singles charts, the Elvis Presley single "That's All Right"--released as a limited-run CD single to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the song--jumped into the top slot, dethroning Jessica Simpson's "Take My Breath Away."

Here's a recap of Top 10 albums, based on sales figures compiled by Nielsen SoundScan:

1. To the 5 Boroughs, Beastie Boys
2. Confessions, Usher
3. Contraband, Velvet Revolver
4. Here for the Party, Gretchen Wilson
5. Under My Skin, Avril Lavigne 6. Musicology, Prince
7. The Reason, Hoobastank
8. D12 World, D12
9. Los Lonely Boys, Los Lonely Boys
10. New Day. . . Live in Las Vegas, Celine Dion