AC/DC's <i>Black Ice</i>
Photo: Columbia

With first-week sales of just over 784,000, rock legends AC/DC's latest LP, Black Ice — which was sold exclusively in the U.S. through Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and the band's official Web site — has earned the distinction of becoming the year's best-selling rock debut, surpassing the 721,000-plus week-one sales put up by Coldplay's Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III, which sold over a million units its first week in stores, remains the year's best first-week seller.

Black Ice marks the band's second stint at #1 (1981's For Those About to Rock ... We Salute You reached the peak several weeks after its initial release), and the first chart-topping debut of the band's more than 30-year-career. AC/DC will also be the first band to get to get its very own version of MTV's video game "Rock Band," which is due on November 2 and will be sold exclusively at Wal-Mart/ Sam's Club for PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii.

The chart's second-biggest seller, the soundtrack to "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," enters the top 200 at #2, selling nearly 297,000 units, according to the latest sales data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The only other new release to enter the chart's top 10 belongs to gospel duo Mary Mary, whose The Sound scanned almost 37,000 copies to bow at #7.

T.I.'s Paper Trail falls one spot to #3, selling more than 93,000 units, while Kenny Chesney's Lucky Old Sun slips three spots to #4, scanning almost 88,000 copies. Metallica's Death Magnetic follows at #5 with approximately 52,000 units scanned, while Kid Rock's Rock N Roll Jesus lands at #6 with just under 41,000 sold. Ne-Yo's Year of the Gentleman holds for a third week at #8, with more than 30,000 scans, while the self-titled debut from Jennifer Hudson, who suffered a heartbreaking family tragedy in recent days, slides four spots to #9, selling close to 29,000 units. Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III sold more than 25,000 copies, climbing two spots to #10.

Also new to next week's chart is Hank Williams III's latest, Damn Right, Rebel Proud, which enters at #18 with just under 20,000 copies snatched up, while Lee Ann Womack's Call Me Crazy debuts at #23 with nearly 17,000 sold. Escape the Fate's This War Is Ours opens at #35, with just under 13,500 sold, while Of Montreal's Skeletal Lamping bows at #38. Craig Morgan's That's Why follows at #39, while folk-pop artist Brett Dennen's Hope for the Hopeless bows at #41. Calle 13's Los de Atras Vienen Conmigo makes its debut at #89, and Disciple's Southern Hospitality follows at #98.

• AC/DC
• Metallica
• Kid Rock
• Ne-Yo
• Jennifer Hudson