'N Sync, for all its gazillions of albums sold, couldn't beat the shimmying, shaking and trademark-tassle-dress-flinging of national pop treasure Tina, whose farewell concert tour raked in enough cash to become the top-grossing live act of 2000.

The 61-year-old sparkplug earned $80.2 million for 95 concerts in 2000, according to a year-end survey released by concert trade mag Pollstar.

For some, the windfall was surprising. Turner hasn't had a hit record in some time, and her latest disc, Twenty-Four Seven, has only been certified gold. But the singer is well-known for her live shows, and fans jumped at the opportunity to see what she said would be her final tour.

"I think it was a surprise probably to everyone that the tour did as well as it did, considering she doesn't have a real hot album in the marketplace," says Gary Bongiovanni, editor of Pollstar. "But the production was phenomenal, it was a great show, so I think some of it could be attributable to word of mouth.

"If this was her farewell tour, then it was a great way [to go out]," he said.

'N Sync's overall take for 2000 wasn't too shabby, either. The pop quintet grossed $76.4 million on the road, second only to Turner, and sold the most tickets this year, edging out the Dave Matthews Band, with 1.6 million. 'N Sync's average ticket price was $46.36--a bit high for a teen-pop act, but low when you compare it to Turner's average of $64.09.

Overall, it was another record year for concerts, as folks forked over $1.7 billion to see their favorite acts live. That's up 14 percent from last year's record $1.5 billion. This year's top-grossing concerts included healthy showings from country stars, aging rockers and, of course, the teen pop phenoms.

Road warriors the Dave Matthews Band placed third behind 'N Sync and Tina, pulling in $68.2 million for 63 shows. And glam gods KISS, mounting their own marathon farewell tour, placed fourth with $62.7 million for a whopping 128 concerts. (Keep the face paint handy. More are on the way.)

Although it was a slow year for country music, that didn't hurt tours from hubby/wife team Tim McGraw and Faith Hill and the Dixie Chicks, who placed fifth and sixth, respectively.

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band fared well, as did Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, placing seventh and eighth, respectively. Metallica and Britney Spears rounded out the year's top 10, both topping the $40 million mark.

Overall, ticket prices stabilized this year after jumping 30 percent last year, thanks in part to the economic slowdown. This year's average price crept up to $43.75, up from last year's $43.63.

Then there's Barbra Streisand, who pulled in $27 million in ticket sales with just four--count 'em four--concerts. And we thought her fans were weeping because they were emotionally moved: Turns out they were just thinking about their credit-card bills after paying an average $471.27 per ticket.

Memories...

Here's a complete list of the top 20 grossing tours of 2000:

1. Tina Turner, $80.2 million
2. 'N Sync, $76.4 million
3. Dave Matthews Band, $68.2 million
4. KISS, $62.7 million
5. Tim McGraw/Faith Hill, $48.8 million
6. Dixie Chicks, $47.3 million
7. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, $45.9 million
8. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, $42.1 million
9. Metallica, $42 million
10. Britney Spears, $40.5 million
11. Ricky Martin, $37.2 million
12. Red Hot Chili Peppers, $31.3 million
13. Sting, $28.9 million
14. Barbra Streisand, $27 million
15. Creed, $26.2 million
16. Santana, $26.1 million
17. Backstreet Boys, $25.8 million
18. Jimmy Buffett, $24.1 million
19. Up in Smoke tour (featuring Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube), $22.2 million
20. Phish, $21.4 million