T.I.
Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images

After spending two weeks as Billboard's best-seller, rapper T.I.'s Paper Trail has been usurped by one of country's most beloved singers, Kenny Chesney. Despite generating solid, third-week sales of nearly 131,600, T.I.'s new LP just couldn't fend off Chesney's Lucky Old Sun, which enters the chart on top with more than 176,400 copies scanned.

Chesney's was among 20 new releases impacting next week's albums sales chart, and one of four to enter the chart in the top 10, according to the latest sales data from Nielsen SoundScan. Following T.I. at #3 is folk artist Ray LaMontagne's Gossip in the Grain, which debuts with 60,500 sold, while rockers Keane return at #7, having sold 43,500 copies of their latest, Perfect Symmetry. Bowing at #9, with 34,700 scans, is Lucinda Williams' Little Honey.

The remainder of the top 10 is filled out by the usual suspects. Dropping two spots to #4 next week is Metallica's Death Magnetic, with 50,600 scans, followed by Jennifer Hudson's self-titled debut at #5, with 45,800 sold. Kid Rock's Rock N Roll Jesus climbs one spot to #6, selling another 45,200 units. Ne-Yo's Year of the Gentleman holds at #8, with sales clocked at 40,400, and holding for a second week at #10, with 31,500 sold, is James Taylor's Covers.

Ingrid Michaelson's Be OK opens at #35 on next week's chart, scanning 15,000 copies its first week on store shelves, while Massachusetts metalcore outfit Unearth's March debuts at #45, with 10,900 sold. Copeland's You Are My Sunshine bows at #48, with 10,300 scans. Haste the Day's Dreamer enters at #68, with 7,700 sold. Santana's Multi-Dimensional Warrior checks in at #82, after selling almost 6,700 units, and Between the Buried and Me's Colors: Live follows at #100, with 5,400 sold.

Joe's Greatest Hits sold more than 4,700 copies, which earns it the #125 spot on next week's Top 200. Meanwhile, metallers Gojira's Way of All Flesh enters at #138, with 4,200 scans. Nikka Costa returns at #157, with her latest, Pebble to a Pearl, scanning 3,600 copies. And finally, "Pushing Daisies" star Kristin Chenoweth's A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas enters at #187, with 3,100 sold.

• T.I.
• Kenny Chesney
• Metallica
• Kid Rock
• Keane

Photo: Brian Tipton

James Otto and Lady Antebellum's Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood all shared similar excitement Wednesday morning (Sept. 10) after a special live edition of CMT Insider at Nashville's Sommet Center. In addition to announcing part of this year's CMA award nominations, they also shared their first CMA award nominations.

Otto and Lady Antebellum were both nominated in the new artist category alongside Kellie Pickler, Jason Aldean and Rodney Atkins. Lady Antebellum also picked up a nomination for vocal group of the year, a field that includes the Eagles, Emerson Drive, Little Big Town and five-time winners Rascal Flatts.

All three members of Lady Antebellum were clearly excited over their very first CMA nominations.

"When we had looked at the categories, that was one that we were just hoping so much we could get in," Kelley told CMT Insider just moments after the new artist category was announced. "I think of us to have everybody's stamp of approval on us, it just feels so amazing, and there's just great talent in there."

Scott agreed, noting, "There's just so many people, so many new artists, that have come out in the past year to two years that, I mean, it's almost like a new ... kind of freshmen class. So it's exciting to feel like we're a part of that."

"The way they did it," Kelley explained, "they each gave us a card to call out the nominees for different categories, and right before we went on stage, they gave us the last card -- I guess so while we were back there, nobody would peek at it. It happened to be one that ourselves as well as James Otto was in -- so I guess they didn't want us looking."

"And they definitely gave it to Charles on purpose," Scott laughed. "They didn't give it to me for a reason because I'd have been like, 'Ahhhh! Oh, my gosh!'"

"She wouldn't have gotten past our name," Kelley joked. "It was genuine shock. It was. It was very exciting."

The trio didn't expect to be in the vocal group category.

"The Eagles, they were my first concert ever -- when I was 10," said Haywood. "So to actually be in a category with them, that's pretty amazing. Yeah, the three of us were flipping out."

Otto has been in the music business for several years, so he knew better than to take a nomination for granted.

"Man, I'm sweating now actually thinking about just how crazy it is," Otto told CMT Insider. "It's amazing, man. This is a lifetime of work coming together. ... You know, there's a lot of people that have been in that category that have a lot more hits than I do and people that really deserve the award, so it feels amazing, man. And yes, nerve-racking for sure."

"I've been in Nashville for 11 years," he added. "This is not my first record deal, but the thing is, this is the first opportunity I've really gotten that was 100 percent about trying to make this happen for me, and I'm just really honored that people look at me as a new artist. I feel like a new artist. I feel like this is my first real shot at this, and I'm just very excited man, very excited."

"I honestly didn't let myself think about being nominated for this. This was something that I saw -- too many big names in the category -- people that are established and already are large stars. So I didn't really allow myself to think about the fact that we might actually make the short list like this."

Kenny Chesney received seven nominations -- more than anyone this year. With entertainer of the year and male vocalist nominations, he is also up for album, single and video of the year, along with two vocal event nominations for his work with George Strait and Reba McEntire.

"You never know how these things are going to go," Chesney said in a written statement. "We work so hard on this music, the tours, the videos. It's so much the focus of what I do, how I live. It's always a thrill to see that people are not just noticing but recognize what we're all trying to do."

Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush received five nominations, including their first-ever entertainer of the year nod. Nominated for vocal duo of the year, their hit, "Stay," is up for single, song and video of the year, and they are in the musical event category for their recording of "Life in a Northern Town" with Little Big Town and Jake Owen. Additionally, Nettles received a sixth nomination -- for song of the year -- for writing "Stay."

"I almost spilt my tea this morning as I was watching and the nominations kept being added," Nettles said in a written statement. "Being in the entertainer of the year category is such an honor. We've been lucky enough to be out on the road with Kenny Chesney for a couple of tours over the last two years. Looks like rock by osmosis really does work."

Bush added, "I just finished watching the nomination announcements on TV from my sofa at home, and it is simultaneously humbling and encouraging to be in such amazing company as we are in all of the categories. It is one thing to play shows every week of the year and imagine ourselves striving to become entertainers of the year and another thing all together to have the voting members of the CMA believe that it is possible. Simply awesome."

Strait also received five CMA nominations, including entertainer of the year and male vocalist. His latest album, Troubadour, is nominated for album of the year, and "I Saw God Today" is on the list for single of the year. Strait's fifth nomination this year is in the musical event category for his collaboration with Chesney on "Shiftwork."

"I'm sitting down here in South Texas, bracing for Hurricane Ike," Strait said in a press release. "This really brightens my day. I look forward to a great celebration of our great music. Thanks to all involved!"

Trace Adkins picked up two CMA nominations -- his first in 10 years -- for his hit single, "You're Gonna Miss This." Nominated for single and music video of the year, it also resulted in a song of the year nomination for songwriters Lee Thomas Miller and Ashley Gorley.

"'You're Gonna Miss This' has been such a special gift for me this year, so I'm really thrilled that the CMA and the industry recognized the strength of that song," Adkins said. "Not only was it one of the biggest hits of my career, when we performed it on the season finale of The Celebrity Apprentice, it helped raise a lot of money for my charity, the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. So yeah, I'm really proud of this song."

Carrie Underwood is the recipient of two nominations, too. Her mention in the female vocalist division is complemented by an album of the year nomination for her second project, Carnival Ride.

"This is awesome!" Underwood said. "As an artist, you always hope the music you record will touch people's lives. There is nothing more rewarding than to be recognized by your peers and to know your fans are enjoying the same ride."

Taylor Swift was ecstatic when Rascal Flatts read her name among the female vocalist nominations during a segment of Good Morning America broadcast from New York's Times Square.

"This was definitely a day worth getting up really early for," she said. "Hearing my name called in the female vocalist category was a dream come true."

CMT Insider's writer/producer Terry Bumgarner contributed to this story.

View photos from the CMA award nominee announcements in New York and Nashville.

• Taylor Swift
• Carrie Underwood
• Trace Adkins
• Jake Owen
• Sugarland

Keyshia Cole's <i>Just Like You</i>
Photo: Geffen Records

For a second-straight week, it's country — not Kanye — that leads the latest Billboard top 200, following what was an unusually heavy day for new releases, with 40 chart newcomers in all.

Last week, Reba McEntire's Reba Duets trounced the two biggest hip-hop releases of the year, earning the former sitcom star the first #1 debut of her 30-year career. On next week's chart, Reba's latest slips five spots to #6, leaving the peak position open for country croonin' trio Rascal Flatts and their latest, Still Feels Good, which sold more than 546,500 copies, according to the latest SoundScan totals. The album becomes the band's third-straight chart-crowning offering, following the successes of 2004's Feels Like Today (which generated week-one scans of 201,000) and 2006's Me and My Gang (with sales reported at 721,700).

As for Kanye West and his archenemy of three weeks back, 50 Cent, both artists remain in the chart's top 10, but for one, that might change soon. West's Graduation slips three places to #5 on next week's chart with 133,300 sold, while Fif's Curtis dropped from #3 to #9, with 70,900 scans. Curtis has yet to pass the 1 million-sold mark, while West's latest has sold more than 1.3 million copies.

In between the Flatts and West are three of the five new releases to crack the top 10, but none came close to touching this week's #1. Bowing at #2 with 281,400 sold is R&B songstress Keyshia Cole's new one, Just Like You, the follow-up to 2005's The Way It Is, which debuted at #6 with 88,500 scans. Behind her is the latest from the Foo Fighters, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, selling more than 168,200 copies. The band's mission for a #1 opening will continue, following failed attempts by 2002's One by One (which opened at #3 with 121,500 sold) and 2005's In Your Honor (#2 with 310,600). R&B, soul and jazz singer Jill Scott's The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3 claims the chart's #4 position, having sold 148,500 units.

Right behind the soundtrack to Disney's "High School Musical 2," which sits at the #7 position with 84,900 sold, is the latest from R&B act Jagged Edge, Baby Makin' Project, which scanned more than 78,000 copies during its first week. Rounding out the top 10 is Kenny Chesney's Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates, which plummeted five spots with 68,200 sold.

Debuting at #11 with 51,000 copies snatched up is Queen Latifah's newest studio offering, Trav'lin' Light, while Melissa Etheridge's The Awakening follows at #13 with 47,700 sold. Joni Mitchell's Shine claims the #14 position, selling 40,150 copies, and right behind Joni at #15 is Chaka Khan's Funk This, with sales reported at 38,500. Tony Bennett Sings the Ultimate American Songbook, Vol. 1 opens at #16 with 36,200 scans, while Atlanta rapper Gorilla Zoe's Welcome to the Zoo sits in the #18 position with 35,200 sold.

One of the week's biggest surprises occupies the chart's #21 slot: Dethklok, the animated band from the Adult Swim cartoon "Metalocalypse," and their debut disc, Dethalbum. The set sold more than 33,700 copies, which was just enough to keep the David Crowder Band's Remedy at #22 with 32,300 sold. Folk rocker Iron and Wine's The Shepherd's Dog opens at #24 with sales coming in at around 31,600, while Southern metallers Down's first album in nearly five years, Down III: Over the Under, finishes at #26 with 29,200 scans. Trumpeter Chris Botti's Italia takes the #27 position with 28,800-plus sold.

The solo debut from the Black Eyes Peas' Will.I.Am, Songs About Girls, opens at #38 on next week's chart, thanks to sales of more than 20,800. The Cheetah Girls' TGC follows at #44 with 18,900 sold, while rapper Hell Rell's For the Hell of It comes in at #55 with 15,600 scans. All Time Low's So Wrong, It's Right bows at #62 with 13,800 copies sold, and at #69, with 12,300 sold, it's Gucci Mane's Trap-A-Thon.

Steve Earle's Washington Square Serenade opens at #79, having sold close to 9,600 units, while Swedish metallers Arch Enemy's Rise of the Tyrant follows at #84 with 8,900 scans. Hurt's Vol. II just misses the top 100, coming in at #101 with 7,200 sold, while Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino, a two-disc compilation featuring John Lennon, Elton John, Joss Stone, Corinne Bailey Rae, Neil Young, Norah Jones and Ben Harper, finishes out the week at #104, selling 6,800 copies. Folk rocker Devendra Banhart's Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon bows at #115 with 6,300 sold, and at #12 with 6,000 scans is The Best of Donell Jones.

The Very Best of the Doors, a career-spanning collection commemorating the band's 40th anniversary, finishes at #129, selling 5,700 units, while Swedish singer/songwriter José González's In Our Nature claims the #132 position with 5,600 scans. Wolfgang's Big Night Out, the seventh studio album from American swing revivalists the Brian Setzer Orchestra, opens at #141 with sales of 5,300 and change, while indie rockers the Weakerthans' Reunion Tour debuts at #181 with 4,100 sold. Lastly, opening at #186 with 4,000 scans, is the latest from Meshell Ndegeocello, The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams.

• 2007 VMA: Foo Fighters And Guests Live From The Fantasy Suites

• Keyshia Cole
• Foo Fighters
• Rascal Flatts
• Kanye West
• 50 Cent

Kanye West and 50 Cent at the 2007 VMAs on Sunday
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Ladies and gentlemen, at long last, your 2007 New Releases main event:

While they were quiet enough onstage when they appeared together at Sunday night's VMAs — Kanye, after the show, not so much — both rappers have said their piece about the widely anticipated matchup between 50's Curtis and Kanye's Graduation. Fiddy recently insisted to MTV News that "I will be #1 on September 11," while the confident 'Ye has said the face-off was his idea in the first place.

But while each MC is probably envisioning himself as the chart-topper, how's the betting line shaping up? Let's take a look:

50 Cent:

· Fif's 2003 debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin', has sold a hefty 7 million copies to date; the 2005 follow-up, The Massacre, has moved 5 mil.

· His initially leaked Curtis songs weren't so well-received, and first single "Ayo Technology" has only peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 — even though the track features another superstar, Justin Timberlake (and a rapping super-producer, Timbaland, to boot).

· 50 has hit a few obstacles lately: His pre-VMA poolside concert was cut short after it nearly became an underwater concert. In August, he trashed the G-Unit offices in New York after his Robin Thicke collaboration "Follow My Lead" was leaked. And, after promising to stop writing music if West beats him, he later got wet feet and reneged.

Kanye West:

· 'Ye's 2004 debut, The College Dropout, has sold 2.5 million copies; 2005's Late Registration has moved roughly the same number. Yeah, Fiddy definitely has 'Ye's "number" in terms of album sales.

· But on the other hand, West has done a much better job tearing up the charts lately. His first Graduation single, "Stronger," is sitting comfortably at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Barry Bonds," which was leaked in August, has also been getting strong reception.

· Apparently Graduation is both "whiter" and "blacker" — talk about expanding your demographic!

Well, no matter what happens, after all is said and done, it's good to know that the MCs are willing to put aside their differences for the good of hip-hop. And this week is certainly going to be good for hip-hop.

Song Title of the Week:

"Peter Lorre Overture" from World/Inferno Friendship Society's Addicted to Bad Ideas

Album Cover of the Week:

Tie between Modeselektor's Happy Birthday! and Gang Gang Dance's Rawwar

Other Notables:

The Black Lips' Good Bad Not Evil
Notorious for spewing fluids from multiple orifices, the Lips have been a part of way-underground garage-rock labels Bomp! and In the Red but are dishing up their new album on the red-hot Vice Records. The psych-garage freaks have come up with a perplexing new song, "Katrina," which was written the night the band learned that a hurricane of the same name had destroyed New Orleans. The jangly, cheery track only has a handful of lines, including: "O Katrina, why you gotta be mean?/ You saw a highway down in New Orleans/ I can't believe what I saw on the TV screen/ O Katrina, why you gotta be mean?" The subject matter on the rest of the album, while delivered with the band's patented "flower pop," is equally bleak: Songs deal with one bandmember finding his mother's body, juvenile-detention centers and a fatal car accident, which is captured in "How Do You Tell a Child That Someone Had Died."

The Good Life's Help Wanted Nights
While the Lips actually enlisted a local Atlanta bartender to help produce their fifth effort, this Nebraska crew also went the boozy route for their fourth one. Main man Tim Kasher based the songs — including first single "Heartbroke" and "You Don't Feel Like Home to Me" — around a small-town bar and had been intending to use them as the soundtrack to a screenplay he didn't finish until recently. The Saddle Creek album was produced by — who else? — label regular Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, the Faint).

Pinback's Autumn of the Seraphs
And there's just no keeping Rob Crow down. The indie-rock guru — who put out a solo album, Living Well, earlier this year, despite his myriad other projects — has tossed together another installment in his best-known band's oeuvre. The San Diego band's fourth album, recorded in its home studios, features drumming by former Rocket From the Crypt and No Knife members and features "How We Breathe," "Subbing for Eden" and "Blue Harvest." The initial run will come with a bonus disc featuring three additional new studio recordings.

New Releases:

· 40 Cal. - Broken Safety 2 (Koch)
· 50 Cent - Curtis (G-Unit/Interscope)
Read: "50 Cent Explains Last Week's Blowup, Says 'I Will Be #1 On September 11' "
· Akron/Family - Love Is Simple (with DVD; Young God)
· Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (Domino)
· Axe Riverboy - Tu Tu to Tango (Minty Fresh)
· B5 - Don't Talk, Just Listen (Bad Boy)
· Baby Elephant - Turn My Teeth Up (Godforsaken)
· The Birthday Massacre - Walking With Strangers (Metropolis)
· Bizzy Bone - Trials & Tribulations (Real Talk)
· Black Francis - Bluefinger (Cooking Vinyl)
· The Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil (Vice)
· Eugene Blacknell - We Can't Take Life for Granted (Luv N Haight)
· Kenny Chesney - Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates (RCA)
· Vic Chestnutt - North Star Deserter (digipak; Constellation)
· Cloak/Dagger - We Are (Jade Tree)
· C.O.C.O. - Play Drums + Bass (K)
· Alberta Cross - The Thief & the Heartbreaker (Geffen)
· The Deadly Syndrome - The Ortolan (Dim Mak)
· Ani DiFranco - Canon (Righteous Babe)
· Dirty Projectors - Rise Above (Dead Oceans)
· Downchild - Live at the Palais Royale (Linus/Koch)
· Enuff Z'nuff - Tonight, Sold Out (Crash)
· Eulogies - Eulogies (Dangerbird)
· Figurines - Where the Deer Wore Blue (Control Group)
· Film School - Hideout (Beggars Banquet)
· Gang Gang Dance - Rawwar (EP; Social Registry)
· Giacomo Gates - Luminosity (with DVD; DoubleDave)
· The Go! Team - Proof of Youth (Sub Pop)
· The Good Life - Help Wanted Nights (Saddle Creek)
· Grand National - A Drink & A Quick Decision (digipak with bonus tracks not featured on digital release; Recall)
· Grayskul - Bloody Radio (Rhymesayers)
· Ha Ha Tonka - Buckle in the Bible Belt (Bloodshot)
· Hatesphere - Serpent Smiles and Killer Eyes (EP; Steamhammer)
· Joe Henry - Civilians (Anti-)
· Hot Hot Heat - Happiness Ltd. (with DVD; Reprise)
· Jenny Hoyston - Isle Of (Southern)
· Icarus Witch - Songs for the Lost (Cleopatra)
· Jupiter Rising - Electropop (Chime)
· Kane, Welch, Kaplin - Kane, Welch, Kaplin (Compass)
· Kenna - Make Sure They See My Face (Interscope)
· Sander Kleinenberg - This Is Sander Kleinenberg (Ultra)
· Le Loup - The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly (Hardly Art)
· Devin Lima & the Cadbury Diesel - Mozart Popart (111)
· Scott Matthews - Passing Stranger (Republic)
· Modeselektor - Happy Birthday! (BPitch Control)
· Oakley Hall - I'll Follow You (Merge)
· Orange - Escape From L.A. (Hellcat)
· Adrian Orange and Her Band - Adrian Orange and Her Band (K)
· Para One - Epiphanie (Naive/Ryko)
· Picastro - Whore Luck (Polyvinyl)
· Pinback - Autumn of the Seraphs (Touch and Go)
· Pitch Black - Revenge (Travio)
· Emma Pollock - Watch the Fireworks (4AD)
· Qui - Love's Miracle (Ipecac)
· Raging Speedhorn - Before the Sea Was Built (SPV)
· Rainman - Bigga Than Life (Chime)
· Red Stick Ramblers - Made in the Shade (Sugar Hill)
· Johnathan Rice - Further North (Reprise)
· Shakra - Infected (Locomotive)
· Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills (Merge)
· Simian Mobile Disco - Attack Decay Sustain Release (Interscope)
· Taken by Trees - Open Field (Eleven Music)
· Chris Volz - Redemption (Rock Ridge)
· X-Press 2 - Makeshift Feelgood (Tommy Boy)
· Kanye West - Graduation (Roc-A-Fella)
Read: "Kanye West And Lil Wayne Counting On 'Barry Bonds' For A Hit Single"
· Wiley - Playtime Is Over (Big Dada)
· Ann Wilson - Hope & Glory (Zoë/Rounder)
· Wooden Shjips - Wooden Shjips (Holy Mountain)
· World/Inferno Friendship Society - Addicted to Bad Ideas (Chunksaah)
· Michael Yonkers Band - Grimwood (De Stijl)
· Zoroaster - Dog Magic (Southern Lord)
· Various artists - Choices EP II (Ubiquity)
· Various artists - Grey's Anatomy - Original Soundtrack 3 (Hollywood)
· Various artists - Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of the Rolling Stones (Baby Rock)
· Various artists - Sowing the Seeds: The 10th Anniversary (two CDs; Appleseed)
· Various artists -- "Dedication" soundtrack (Commotion/Koch)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

· Joan Baez - Carry It On (Vanguard)
· Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True - Deluxe Edition (two CDs; Hip-O/UMe)
· Ani DiFranco - Canon (Righteous Babe)
· Genesis - Turn It on Again: The Hits - The Tour Edition (two CDs; Rhino/Atlantic)
· June Panic - Songs From Purgatory: The Complete Recordings of June Panic - 1991-1996 (Secretly Canadian)
· Mono - Gone: A Collection of EPs 2000-2007 (Temporary Residence)
· The Alan Parsons Project - Tales of Mystery and Imagination - Deluxe Edition (two CDs; Island)
· Sonny Rollins - The Sound of Sonny (Riverside)
· Billy Joe Shaver - Storyteller: Live at the Bluebird 1992 (Sugar Hill)
· Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - Seven Miles Out of Town (Varèse Sarabande)
· Trisha Yearwood - Greatest Hits (MCA Nashville)
· Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth and the Collected Works of Young Marble Giants (three CDs; Domino)
· Various artists - Cinematic: Classic Film Music Remixed (Six Degrees)
· Various artists - The Commitments - Deluxe Edition (two CDs; Geffen)
· Various artists -- Four Decades of Folk Rock (four-CD box set; Time Life)
· Various artists - I'm Beginning to See the Light: Dance Hits From the Second World War (Legacy)
· Various artists - Monster Ballads Xmas (Razor & Tie)
· Various artists - The Pop Parade: Hits of the '40s, '50s & '60s (three CDs; Shout! Factory)
· Various artists - Sentimental Journey: Hits From the Second World War (Legacy)
· Various artists - When Rhythm Was King (Heartbeat)
· Various artists - "The War: A Ken Burns Film" soundtrack (four-CD box set also includes I'm Beginning to See the Light; Sentimental Journey and Songs Without Words: Classical Music From the War; Legacy)

Music DVDs:

· Mindless Self Indulgence - "Our Pain Your Gain" (Metropolis)
· Lionel Richie - "Live in Paris" (deluxe edition comes with CD; Island)
· Sublime - "The Ultimate Bundle for the Ultimate Sublime Fan" (two CDs and one CD; MVD Visual)
· U2 -- "PopMart Live from Mexico City" (limited edition comes with bonus DVD; Island)

Digital Releases:

· A.I. - Sex & Robots (A.I.)
· Marie Digby - Start Here (exclusive iTunes EP; Hollywood)
· Karmina - The Kiss (CBS)
· Louis XIV - The Distances From Everyone to You (EP; Atlantic)
· Meisterfakt - Down on My Ass (Kitty-Cuts)
· Mew - Live Session (exclusive iTunes EP; Columbia)

Coming Attractions:

September 18:
· Chamillionaire - Ultimate Victory (Motown)
Read: "Chamillionaire Ditches Bad Attitude; Hooks Up With Snoop, Busta For LP"
· Mya - Liberation (Motown)
Read: "Mya Gives Up Grudges And Ego, Picks Up Relationship Wisdom On Liberation"
· KT Tunstall - Drastic Fantastic (Virgin)

September 25:
· Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (RCA)
Read: "Dave Grohl May Be Fond Of String Quartets, But Foo Fighters Haven't Gone Soft"
· PJ Harvey - White Chalk (Island)
· Hell Rell - For the Hell of It (Koch)

October 2:
· Dashboard Confessional - The Shade of Poison Trees (digipak; Vagrant)
· J. Holiday - Back of My Lac (Capitol)
· Soulja Boy - Souljaboytellem.com (Interscope)

• Kanye Lectures On The Importance Of Graduation

• Pamela Anderson And Tommy Lee's Whirlwind VMA Weekend

• 50 Cent
• Kanye West
• Black Lips
• The Good Life
• Pinback

"High School Musical 2" soundtrack
Photo: Disney

Ah, to be young, cute and totally crushing it on TV and the charts. In a year when holding on for two weeks is rare, the kids of "High School Musical 2" will pull off a rare threepeat (the first of the year) next week. The soundtrack to "HSM 2" tops the Billboard albums chart again with sales of almost 210,000, according to SoundScan. Though Zac Efron and the crew will likely take a tumble the next go-'round — when Kanye West, 50 Cent and Kenny Chesney duke it out for the top spot — they can still take pride in zooming to 1.1 million sold since the soundtrack debuted August 14.

The hoofin' high-schoolers held on despite a 43 percent drop in sales from the previous week, which was still enough to easily outpace the surprise #2 debut from Christian soft-rockers Casting Crowns, who crashed the top-three party with 128,000 in sales for their Altar & the Door album, easily besting the #9 debut of their 2005 sophomore effort, Lifesong. The news wasn't as good for rapper Yung Joc. His sophomore disc, Hustlenomics, lands at #3 on anemic sales of 69,000, selling about half as many copies out of the box as his 2006 debut, New Joc City.

Other newcomers to the top 10 include emo thrashers Atreyu, whose major-label debut on Disney-owned Hollywood Records, Lead Sails Paper Anchors, comes in at #7 on sales of 42,000; and Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, whose Lifeline squeaks in at #9 with 41,000 sold.

The "HSM" gang joins another Disney star who's been busting the debut-and-drop trend this year: Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus slips just one spot to #4 in its 10th week while blowing past the 1.2 million mark. After nearly a year on the charts, Fergie creeps up a spot to #5 with The Dutchess, just ahead of the "Hairspray" soundtrack, the 25th installment of the Now That's What I Call Music! series (#7) and the unbreakable Nickelback, who round out the top 10. Last week's #2 album, Talib Kweli's Eardrum, has been blown out of the top 10 to #20, as sales plummeted by 60 percent to just more than 23,000. Producer Swizz Beatz also took his lumps, with his solo debut his solo debut, One Man Band Man, freefalling from #7 to #42 on second-week sales of 15,000.

Veteran big-band country singer Lyle Lovett debuts at #18 with his cheekily titled It's Not Big It's Large, while Akon sneaks back into the top 50, jumping to #23 from #64 the previous week thanks to the release of an extended edition of Konvicted. The top 100 is blessed with a slew of debuts from Christian rock acts, including Mercy Me, whose Coming Up to Breathe bows at #43; Caedmon's Call at #54 with Over Dressed; and worship girl group Point of Grace, whose How You Live is at #56 on sales of 11,800.

The latest from toke-happy rap-rockers the Kottonmouth Kings, Cloud Nine, floats in at #44 on sales just under 14,000, while indie rapper Aesop Rock debuts at #50 with None Shall Pass, selling just a few copies less than hyped Sri Lankan critics' darling M.I.A., whose second album, Kala, nosedives more than 30 spots in its second week to #49 on sales of slightly more than 13,000.

Also debuting this week is the latest from long-running German metal act the Scorpions — with an assist from Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan — Humanity Hour 1, which comes in at #63 on sales of 10,000. Bubble-inhabiting band Cartel takes one of the biggest drops in their second week on the charts, when their self-titled album drops 50 spots to #70 on sales of less than 10,000, after debuting at #20 with nearly 30,000 the week before. Other notable debuts include the latest from veteran R&B singer Ledisi, whose Lost & Found comes in at #78 on sales of 8,900; and Arizona emo act Scary Kids Scaring Kids, who land at #80 on sales of 8,600.

Finally, a Wal-Mart-only Spanish-language CD/DVD EP from Beyoncé, Irreemplazable, quietly slips in at #105 after selling more than 6,000 copies. And rapper Lil' Mo makes hardly a sound at #112, while moving 6,000 copies of Pain & Paper.

Next week is shaping up to be the blockbuster battle of the year, as the mega-hyped showdown between Kanye and 50 finally goes down more than two weeks after both their albums leaked online and a month after their mutual, repeated boasts of total domination became daily headlines.

• Ashley Tisdale
• Yung Joc
• Kanye West
• 50 Cent
• Kenny Chesney

Justin Timberlake's <i>FutureSex/ LoveSounds</i>
Photo: Jive

Based on the earliest sales projections, it seemed as though Justin Timberlake's chart-topping tenure would be ended by a Clay Aiken coup. But reports of the "American Idol" runner-up's triumph were a tad premature.

Aiken did give Timberlake a run for his money, with the collection of covers A Thousand Different Ways falling about 17,000 copies shy of the Billboard albums chart crown. Clay's Ways netted 211,000 scans its first week in stores — but even with sales of Timberlake's FutureSex/ LoveSounds taking a 67 percent hit, Aiken couldn't hit the mark.

According to the latest SoundScan totals, Justin's FutureSex/ LoveSounds sold more than 228,000 copies to spend a second-straight week at #1 on Billboard's albums sales chart. Aiken's 2003 debut, Measure of a Man, opened at #1 with close to 613,000 sales, but he'll settle for a #2 debut this time around.

In at #3 is The Dutchess, the inaugural solo offering from the Black Eyed Peas' Fergie, which sold 158,000-plus copies its first week out. Country star Kenny Chesney's latest, Live: Live Those Songs Again, debuts at #4 with sales of nearly 146,000. John Mayer's Continuum slides three spots to #5 after moving 134,000 copies, a 55 percent drop from its first-week sales. Beyoncé's B'Day follows at #6, selling 93,000 units.

Billboard's top 10 features six new releases in all, including Diana Krall's From This Moment On, which finishes in the #7 spot with 85,000 in sales. Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor bows at #8 with close to 81,000 scans, while St. Louis rapper Chingy's Hoodstar opens at #9, with 77,000 copies sold during the disc's first week in stores. Hinder's Extreme Behavior falls three spots to #10 with 70,000 units scanned.

A total of 26 new releases will manage to crack Billboard's top 200, including Jesse McCartney's Right Where You Want Me, which debuts at #15 with 53,000 copies sold; and Elton John's The Captain & the Kid, which takes the #18 slot with 44,500 sales. New Found Glory's Coming Home opens at #19 with sales reported at more than 38,000, just in front of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's Thug Stories, in at #25 with 30,000 copies sold.

Paulina Rubio's Ananda debuts at #31 with 26,000 copies sold, while Jonny Lang's Turn Around takes #35 with nearly 23,000 sales. Aaron Neville's Bring It on Home ... The Soul Classics opens at #37 after selling more than 22,000 copies, and Julio Iglesias returns to the chart at #43 with his Romantic Classics moving more than 19,000 units. The Indigo Girls bow at #47 with Despite Our Differences selling nearly 19,000 copies, while the latest offering from Mushroomhead, Savior Sorrow, ranks at #50 with 18,000 copies sold. DJ Shadow's Outsider opens at #77, with more than 12,000 scans, while Kasabian's Empire opens at #114 with 8,300 sales.

Ben Kweller's self-titled disc debuts in the #115 spot with 8,200 sales, and Jedi Mind Tricks' Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell spends week one at #140 with 6,900 units scanned. Fear Before the March of Flames' The Always Open Mouth, in the meantime, claims the #153 opening, with 6,200 week-one sales. Crunchy Black's On My Own surfaces at #163 with more than 5,800 scans while Forever Diamondz, the new Bratz release, opens at #184. A collection of Jane's Addiction's biggest hits, Up From the Catacombs: The Best of Jane's Addiction, opens at #188 at with 4,800, while Bonnie Prince Billy's Letting Go follows at #194 with nearly 4,500 copies sold.

This week's initial SoundScan totals reflected inaccurate sales numbers, which resulted in erroneous chart placement for several of the new releases appearing on the chart. The sales discrepancy was due to the omission of returns from an unnamed retailer that was unable to report earlier in the week. SoundScan amended the chart Friday afternoon (September 29).

Check out "Justin's Future Shock" for more on Timberlake's new sound. And watch "MTV News RAW: Fergie In L.A." to get personal with the queen Pea.

This story was orignally published at 8:54 am ET on 09.27.2006

• Justin Timberlake
• Clay Aiken
• Fergie
• Kenny Chesney
• John Mayer

In the battle between booty-shaking and reckless driving, the edge still goes to rising star Carrie Underwood. For the fifth week in a row, "Jesus, Take the Wheel" clutches the No. 1 spot on Billboard's country airplay chart, as Trace Adkins' "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" apparently loses its shot at the top spot, falling from No. 2 to No. 3.

Both songs had a decrease in spins last week, which means that Brad Paisley's "When I Get Where I'm Going" -- No. 2 with a bullet -- is potentially poised to reach the summit next week.

Or maybe not. After 29 weeks on the chart, Josh Turner's "Your Man" continues its steady climb, now at No. 4 with a bullet. He's just ahead of Faith Hill's "Like We Never Loved at All" at No. 5, Keith Urban's "Tonight I Wanna Cry" at No. 6 and Sugarland's "Just Might (Make Me Believe)" at No. 7. Rounding out the Top 10 are Tim McGraw's "My Old Friend" at No. 8, Kenny Chesney's "Living in Fast Forward" at No. 9 and Billy Currington's "Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right" at No. 10.

George Strait claims the week's highest debut with "The Seashores of Old Mexico," a cover of a Merle Haggard song, splashing in at No. 48. Other new singles include Neal McCoy's "The Last of a Dying Breed" at No. 52, Martina McBride's cover of Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone" at No. 53, Underwood's "Before He Cheats" at No. 59 and new artist Eric Church's "How 'Bout You" at No. 60.

Underwood returns to No. 1 on the country albums chart, trading places with Turner. The Legend of Johnny Cash lives on at No. 3, followed by the latest albums from Adkins, Rascal Flatts, Urban, Chesney and Sugarland. Walk the Line settles in at No. 9, followed by Miranda Lambert's Kerosene, at No. 10

New albums hitting the chart include Jamey Johnson's The Dollar at No. 20 and Alabama's three-disc boxed set, Livin' Lovin' Rockin' Rollin': The 25th Anniversary Collection, at No. 28. Kenny Rogers also makes several appearances on the chart: 21 Number Ones at No. 11, Golden Legends: Kenny Rogers at No. 57 and 42 Ultimate Hits at No. 75.

• Carrie Underwood
• Trace Adkins
• Brad Paisley
• Josh Turner
• Faith Hill

Eminem
Photo: Interscope

At the finale of last season's "American Idol," Carrie Underwood was crowned the victor, besting runner-up Bo Bice and scoring a major-label recording contract. Bice inked a deal of his own and released his debut offering, The Real Thing last week. And according to the latest SoundScan figures, the Billboard albums chart stacks up in much the same fashion that the "Idol" finale played out.

Bo's stab at #1 was spoiled by Underwood — who passes the 1-million-sold mark and climbs to the chart's #2 slot with Some Hearts — and Eminem, who holds court at the top of this week's chart for a second week with Curtain Call: The Hits Em outsold Carrie by more than 50,000 copies to end the week with close to 324,000 scans, bringing the two-week sales total for Mr. Mathers' latest to over 766,000. The 20th installment in the Now That's What I Call Music! compilation series — including tracks from Fall Out Boy, Ciara, Kelly Clarkson, the Pussycat Dolls and Black Eyed Peas — netted sales of over 259,000 for a comfortable third-place finish.

Bice's The Real Thing opens on Billboard's albums chart at #4, with 227,000 copies sold during its first week in stores. Underwood's Some Hearts debuted at #2 with sales of more than 314,000 when it was released last month. And Carrie isn't the only "Idol" veteran to top Bice's initial take. 2004's "American Idol" champ Fantasia sold more than 239,000 copies of her 2004 LP Free Yourself. 2003 winner Ruben Studdard's 2003 debut Soulful topped Billboard with 416,000 scans, while runner-up Clay Aiken's Measure of a Man, released that same year, also debuted at #1 with 613,000 copies sold. And Kelly Clarkson's inaugural LP, 2003's Thankful, opened at #3 with 297,000 sold.

Kenny Chesney's The Road and the Radio follows The Real Thing on the latest albums chart, finishing at #5 with 217,000 copies sold. Nickelback's All the Right Reasons is up one to #6 with 192,000 scans. Mariah Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi finished the week out at #7 with sales of 191,000, and Clarkson's latest, Breakaway, sold 180,000 copies to climb back into the top 10 at #8. Black Eyed Peas' Monkey Business finished ninth with 158,000 copies sold. The late Johnny Cash rounds out the top 10 with the career-spanning collection The Legend of Johnny Cash garnering sales of 154,000.

In addition to Bice, there were a handful of newcomers to this week's chart, including Ludacris Presents Disturbing Tha Peace. The disc, featuring five solo artists, four groups and guest appearances by Jamie Foxx, Stat Quo, Rich Boy, and Gangsta Boo, opens at #11 with 151,000 copies sold. R&B artist Anthony Hamilton's Ain't Nobody Worryin' cracks the top 20 with a #19 showing, thanks to sales of more than 112,000. And reggaetón heavyweight Daddy Yankee enters the chart at #24 with 100,000 plus scans of his Barrio Fino en Directo. Youngbloodz's Ev'rybody Know Me debuts at #44, with sales nearing 58,000.

Offerings from two prominent artists managed to penetrate the top 200, but just barely. Snoop Dogg's Bigg Snoop Dogg Presents: Welcome to Tha Chuuch - Tha Album, a collection of tracks from Snoop's mixtape series, opens at #184 with sales nearing 15,000; the album features contributions from Nate Dogg, Daz Dillinger and Kurupt. And Beck's Guerolito, featuring tracks from his album Guero remixed by the likes of the Beastie Boys' Ad-Rock, the Dust Brothers' John King and Boards of Canada, debuts at #191 with 14,000 plus scans.

For more on Eminem, see the feature "Anger Management: Behind The Anger." And check out "Bo Bice: Live on the Sunset Strip" for more on the "Idol" runner-up.

• Eminem
• Carrie Underwood
• Bo Bice
• Kenny Chesney
• Nickelback

"Get Rich or Die Tryin' " soundtrack
Photo: Interscope

Most other weeks, hip-hop's most valuable player would have scored a third seat at the top of Billboard's albums chart, but the G-Unit-heavy soundtrack to 50 Cent's film debut, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," landed on record-store shelves the same week that Kenny Chesney's The Road and the Radio was unleashed for mass consumption.

Chesney's The Road and the Radio finished its first week out with over 469,000 copies sold, besting "Get Rich" by more than 150,000 copies and earning the country star his biggest-selling opener. The Road is the former Mr. Renée Zellweger's 10th LP, and the third to debut at #1 on Billboard's albums chart.

Second place isn't all that bad, though. Sure, the "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " soundtrack — featuring new material from 50 as well as longtime collaborators Tony Yayo, Young Buck, Olivia and Lloyd Banks — failed to duplicate the success of the rapper's 2003 debut of the same name (which opened at #1 with more than 872,000 in sales) and couldn't hold a candle to 2005's The Massacre (which also debuted on top with more than 1.1 million copies sold). But according to the latest SoundScan figures, 50's failure to swipe Billboard's crown wasn't for a lack of tryin': the album scored first-week sales of more than 317,000, securing the disc a comfortable #2 finish.

Only two other artists managed to crack this week's top 10 with new releases. Neil Diamond's Rick Rubin-helmed 12 Songs netted sales of nearly 93,000 to take Billboard's #4 slot, and Flo'Ology, the third studio LP from neo-soul duo Floetry, opens as the chart's #7 with just under 77,000 copies sold.

Last week's #1, the 20th installment in the Now That's What I Call Music! franchise — featuring hits from Black Eyed Peas, Franz Ferdinand, the Pussycat Dolls, Destiny's Child, Fall Out Boy and others — falls two spots to #3, with over 221,000 copies sold. Nickelback's All the Right Reasons slips two spaces to #5 with week-six sales of 92,000 and change, while Black Eyed Peas' Monkey Business follows at #6 with sales of 84,000. Santana's All That I Am drops from #2 to #8 with week-two scans of 73,000. Destiny's Child's #1's falls to #9 and Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway climbs to #10, both albums earning sales of just over 56,000.

There were a number of newcomers to the Billboard 200 this week, including the debut offering from crunk freshmen D4L, Down 4 Life, which takes the chart's #22 spot after moving over 36,000 copies. After Taxes, the new one from Sheek Louch, is close behind at #23 with just 300 fewer discs sold. Reggaetón duo Wisin & Yandel's Pa'l Mundo opens at #30 with nearly 30,000 sales. Young Buck's T.I.P. debuts at #40 with over 26,000 sold.

Beastie Boys' Solid Gold Hits and Limp Bizkit's Greatest Hitz both make Billboard debuts. The Beasties pop up at #42 with 26,000 in sales, while Fred Durst's troupe takes #47 with 23,000 copies sold. The Bizkit's most recent studio offering, The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1), fared a bit better when it debuted six months ago, opening at #24 with 37,000 in sales.

Aerial, iconic songstress Kate Bush's first studio LP in over a decade, opens at #48 with nearly 23,000 copies sold, while Scab Dates, the Mars Volta's first official live release, debuts at #76 with close to 16,000 scans. Relient K's Apathetic EP takes Billboard's #94 spot with close to 13,000 copies sold. The band's Mmhmm also experienced a 70 percent sales boost, reappearing on the chart after a four-week sabbatical at #154 with sales of over 8,000. Africa Unite: The Singles Collection, a Bob Marley and the Wailers retrospective, debuts at #101 with 12,000 copies sold, and the Eurythmics' Ultimate Collection takes #116 with 11,000 scans.

Music From 'The O.C.' Mix 5, featuring tracks by the Subways, Kasabian, the Shout Out Louds, Of Montreal, Gorillaz and the Kaiser Chiefs, debuts at #108 with sales of over 11,000, while Cyndi Lauper's The Body Acoustic follows at #112 with just 17 fewer copies sold. Nonpoint's To The Pain opens at #147 with nearly 9,000 sales.

• 50 Cent
• G-Unit
• Kenny Chesney
• Floetry
• Sheek Louch

Bright Eyes' <I>I'm Wide Awake It's Morning</i>
Photo: Saddle Creek

Nearly three years after the release of Bright Eyes' last studio album, singer Conor Oberst is rewarding patient fans with two discs at once.

The Nebraska-bred emo-folk artist's brainchild, Bright Eyes, will release two albums this week, the traditional I'm Wide Awake It's Morning, and the more experimental Digital Ash in a Digital Urn. Oberst didn't shoulder all the burden for the two albums, though; he brought in a couple of musically inclined friends for support, including Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who appears on five Digital Ash tracks, Emmylou Harris, members of the Faint and others.

Worlds Apart from Bright Eyes' style is the new ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead album. The album, which kicks off with a grandiose introduction featuring a choir chanting the names of Egyptian gods, was held back by the band's label to keep it from getting buried under a glut of holiday releases by big-name artists.

While he works on his solo debut, Bred to Die, due later this year, Lil Scrappy is tiding fans over with the chopped & screwed edition of his split album with Trillville, The King of Crunk & BME Recordings Present: Lil Scrappy and Trillville, which was released in February 2004.

Also hitting stores this week are albums by the Chemical Brothers (Push the Button), Emma — of Spice Girls fame — (Free Me), Erasure (Nightbird), Ani DiFranco (Knuckle Down), Agnostic Front (Another Voice), Buck 65 (This Right Here Is Buck 65) and LeAnn Rimes (This Woman).

Out Tuesday, January 25:

• 7 Seconds - Take It Back, Take It On, Take It Over! (SideOneDummy)
• Agnostic Front - Another Voice (Combat/Relativity)
• Kelli Ali - Psychic Cat (One Little Indian)
• ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Worlds Apart (Interscope)
  Read: "Trail Of Dead's Plan To Save Rock And Roll Postponed Until January"
  Buy Now: Worlds Apart (Interscope)
• Aqueduct - I Sold Gold (Barsuk)
• Aura Noir - The Merciless (Tyrant Syndicate/Peaceville)
• Lou Barlow - Emoh (Merge)
• Adrian Belew - Side One (Sanctuary)
• Big Business - Head for the Shallow (Hydra Head)
• Big Noyd - On the Grind (Monopolee)
• The Black Maria - Lead Us to Reason (Victory)
• Bluerunners - Honey Slides (Bayou Vista)
• Tim Booth - Bone (Koch)
• Bright Eyes - Digital Ash in a Digital Urn (Saddle Creek)
  Read: "Bright Eyes Slam 'Off-The-Leash Administration'; Give Details On New Albums"
  Buy Now:Digital Ash in a Digital Urn (Saddle Creek)
  
• Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning (Saddle Creek)
  Buy Now: I'm Wide Awake It's Morning (Saddle Creek)
  
• Buck 65 - This Right Here Is Buck 65 (V2)
• Chemical Brothers - Push the Button (Astralwerks)
• Kenny Chesney - Be as You Are: Songs From an Old Blue Chair (BNA)
• Sean Costello - Sean Costello (Artemis/Tone-Cool)
• Graham Coxon - Happiness in Magazines (Astralwerks)
• Crash Kelly - Penny Pills (Liquor & Poker)
• Cursed - II (Goodfellow)
• Devlins - Waves (Nettwerk)
• Stefano Di Battista - Parker's Mood (Blue Note)
• Ani DiFranco - Knuckle Down (Righteous Babe)
  Buy Now: Knuckle Down (Righteous Babe)
  
• Daz Dillinger - The Dogg Pound Gangsta LP (Gangsta Advisory/Daz Dillinger Music)
  Buy Now: Tha Dogg Pound Gangsta LP (Gangsta Advisory/Daz Dillinger Music)
  
• Dog Fashion Disco - The City Is Alive Tonight: Live in Baltimore (Artemis)
• Dave Douglas & Nomad - Mountain Passages (Greenleaf/Koch)
• Emma - Free Me (19 Recordings)
  Buy Now: Free Me (19 Recordings)
  
• Erasure - Nightbird (Mute)
  Buy Now: Nightbird (Mute)
  
• Marianne Faithfull - Before the Poison (Anti/Epitaph)
• Forever Einstein - Racket Science (Cuneiform)
• Tom Freund Copper Moon (Surf Road)
• Inara George - All Rise (Everloving)
• God Dethroned - Lair of the White Worm (Metal Blade)
• Rosco Gordon - No Dark in America (DualTone)
• John Hammond - In Your Arms Again (Back Porch)
• Ray Wylie Hubbard - Delirium Tremolos (Philo/Rounder)
• Jennifer Gentle - Valende (Sub Pop)
• Jesu - Jesu (Hydra Head)
• Kill Your Idols - From Companionship to Competition (SideOneDummy)
• James King - Bluegrass Storyteller (Rounder)
• Kyau Vs. Albert - Here We Are Now (Varese Sarabande)
• Sonny Landreth - Grant Street (Sugar Hill)
• Blaine Larsen - Off to Join the World (BNA)
• Lemon Jelly - '64-'95 (XL/Beggars Group)
• Lil Scrappy & Trillville - The King of Crunk and BME Records Present: Lil Scrappy Chopped & Screwed (Reprise)
• Lumberjacks - Goodie Mob Presents the Lumberjacks: Livin' Life as Lumberjacks (Koch)
• Low - The Great Destroyer (Sub Pop)
• Sylvain Luc - Ambre (Dreyfus)
• Lucky - Who Shot Me (Thump)
• M83 - Before the Dawn Heals Us (Mute)
• Machine and the Synergetic Nuts - Leap Second Neutral (Cuneiform)
• Pat Metheny Group - The Way Up (Nonesuch)
• Moaners - Dark Snack (Yep Roc)
• Jeff Parker - The Relatives (Thrill Jockey)
• Parker and Lily - The Low Lows (Warm Electronic)
• Pierces - Light of the Moon (Universal)
• Pitty Sing - Pitty Sing (Or Music)
• Pony Up! - Pony Up! (EP, Ten Fingers/Dim Mak)
• Archer Prewitt - Wilderness (Thrill Jockey)
• Alex K. Redfearn and the Eyesores - The Quiet Room (Cuneiform)
• LeAnn Rimes - This Woman (Curb)
  Buy Now: This Woman (Curb)
  
• Pete Rock - Surviving Elements: From Soul Survivor II Sessions (BBE/Rapster)
• Romanowski - Party in My Pants (Future Primitive Sound)
• Mando Saenz - Watertown (Emergent)
• Bettie Serveert - Attagirl (Minty Fresh)
• The Chris Stamey Experience - A Question of Temperature (Yep Roc)
• Stands - All Years Leaving (Echo)
• Stereo Total - Do the Bambi (Kill Rock Stars)
• Street Dogs - Back to the World (Brass Tacks)
• Hubert Sumlin - About Them Shoes (Tone-Cool/Artemis)
• Supersuckers - Live at the Tractor Travern (Mid-Fi)
• Keni Thomas - Flags of Our Fathers - A Soldier's Story (Moraine Music)
• Martha Wainwright - Bloody Mother F---ing A--hole (EP, Rounder)
• Various artists - Come to the Mountain: Old Time Music for Modern Times (Rounder)
• Various artists - Hi Power 2005 (Thump)
• Various artists - Hotel D'Amour (Varèse Sarabande)
• Various artists - "Mulan II" soundtrack (Walt Disney)
• Various artists - "One Tree Hill" soundtrack (Warner Bros.)
• DVD: BeauSoleil - "Live From New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival" (Shout! Factory)
• DVD: Funky Meters - "Live From New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival" (Shout! Factory)
• DVD: Old 97's - "Live" (New West)
• DVD: Pietasters - "Live at the 9:30 Club" (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Various artists - "Beyond Warped: The Vans Warped Tour 04" (Trinidad/Aloha Films)
• DVD: Various artists - "Burn to Shine: Washington DC - 01.14.2004" (Trixie)
• DVD: Various artists - "Tension and Release: Springing the Blues 2003" (Music Video Distributors)

February 1:

• Mötley Crüe - Red, White & Crüe (Hip-O)
  Read: "Original Lineup Of Motley Crue Reuniting For World Tour"
• Tina Turner - All the Best (Capitol)
• Various artists - 2005 Grammy Nominees (Capitol)

February 8:

• Sage Francis - Healthy Distrust (Epitaph)
• Brian McKnight - Gemini (Motown)
• 3 Doors Down - Seventeen Days (Universal)

February 15:

• Blue Merle - Burning in the Sun (Island)
• Goldfinger - Disconnection Notice (Maverick)
• They Might Be Giants - Here Come the ABCs (Disney)

• Bright Eyes
• ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
• Lil Scrappy
• The Chemical Brothers
• Kenny Chesney