Dave Matthews' Whiskey Too Potent for Eminem

Wed., Jun. 10, 2009 8:02 AM PDT by David Jenison

Theo Wargo/Getty Images

It took some Big Whiskey to end Eminem's Relapse.

Dave Matthews Band notched its fifth straight No. 1 with Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.

DMB dedicated the release to fallen saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who passed away last August and whose nickname was the GrooGrux King.

Big Whiskey sold 424,000 copies for the week ended Sunday, per Nielsen SoundScan—U2 is the only band to sell more first-week copies this year (484,000 with No Line on the Horizon). The chart-topper also puts DMB in the history books alongside Metallica as the only bands to debut five consecutive studio albums at No. 1.

Eminem's run on top came to an end after two weeks, but the rapper didn't fall far as Relapse sold another 141,000 discs at No. 2.

All in all, it was a good week for rock 'n' roll: 311's Uplifter scored the band a career-best No. 3 debut (60,000); Chickenfoot—featuring Van Halen castoffs Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony alongside Joe Satriani and Red Hot Chili Peppers' stickman Chad Smith—landed their eponymous debut at No. 6 (49,000); Taking Back Sunday's New Again followed at No. 7 (48,000), and Rancid's Let the Dominoes Fall opened at No. 11 (33,000).

Meanwhile, Elvis Costello scored his highest chart position in nearly 30 years with Secret, Profane & Sugarcane at No. 13, former Idol champ Ruben Studdard checked in at No. 36 with Love Is, while Swedish dance-rockers the Sounds landed a career-high No. 64 bow with Crossing the Rubicon.

Next week, look for the Black Eyed Peas' The E.N.D. to dominate the charts.

Thanks to the slew of rock debuts, overall sales spiked 11 percent from last week but were still off 16 percent compared to the same week last year.

Here's a Top 10 recap for the week ended Sunday:

1. Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, Dave Matthews Band
2. Relapse, Eminem
3. Uplifter, 311
4. 21st Century Breakdown, Green Day
5. Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack, various
6. Chickenfoot, Chickenfoot
7. New Again, Taking Back Sunday
8. The Fame, Lady Gaga
9. Greatest Hits II, Kenny Chesney
10. Fearless, Taylor Swift