Maybe Santa's become less discriminatory about rewarding good boys and girls and punishing the bad ones, because this year he -- or maybe it was last-minute shoppers -- gave even controversial figures like Eminem, Christina Aguilera and Nas sizable holiday sales boosts.

Artists in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200 albums chart sold an average of 41.1 percent more copies last week, with pop acts faring best. Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera enjoyed gains of 58 and 59 percent, respectively, and Jennifer Lopez sold 57 percent more than the previous week.

Although Shania Twain's Up! saw only a 22 percent gain, it sold more than 455,000 copies to hold onto the #1 slot for a fifth straight week. That ties her with Eminem for the most weeks at #1 this year.

Em, however, continues to bark at Shania's heels, landing at #2 with his "8 Mile" soundtrack after selling more than 405,000 copies. Meanwhile, The Eminem Show is a little farther down, at #16 after selling another 222,000 copies. The Dixie Chicks, last week's #2, drop to #3 after selling nearly 401,000 copies of Home.

Avril Lavigne refuses to loosen her grip on the top 10 a full 29 weeks after Let Go entered the chart; she climbs two places to #4, shifting more than 363,000 units. Jennifer Lopez's This Is Me ... Then scrambles up three places to #5 after selling more than 345,000 copies. Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 11 hangs tight at #7 in its fifth week on the chart, providing support for the argument that consumers are far more interested in singles these days than in albums.

In its seventh week on the chart, Timberlake's Justified slithers into the #8 position with almost 295,000 copies sold, and in its eighth week, Aguilera's Stripped tops off the top 10 by selling nearly 268,000 copies. Country acts Tim McGraw and Faith Hill land at #6 and #9, respectively, after selling almost 327,000 copies of Tim McGraw & the Dancehall Doctors and more than 275,000 copies of Cry.

Aaliyah's posthumous greatest-hits LP, I Care 4 You, saw one of the week's biggest plummets, dipping from #3 to #17 in its second week. Even so, the disc sold almost 222,000 copies -- not too shabby for a best of. Whitney Houston's Just Whitney falls 21 spots to #30, and B2K's Pandemonium! drops from #10 to #25. In just its third week on the chart, Mariah Carey's Charmbracelet skids four spots to #18.

Big climbers, meanwhile, include Santana's Shaman, which levitates five slots to #19; Bruce Springsteen's The Rising, which climbs 19 spots to #48; and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' By the Way, which rises 18 places to #52.

Since most big releases were issued in time for the Christmas season, few albums came out last week, and none induced consumers to rush to the record store. Lil' Romeo had the highest debut with Game Time, which bows at #33 after moving more than 124,000 copies. Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Vol. 6 debuts at #60, Tyrese's I Wanna Go There takes the #69 spot and Dashboard Confessional's MTV Unplugged charts at #114.