This gave Spears the 3rd highest debut of the year, behind 50 Cent and Clay Aiken. 50 Cent had the highest chart debut of the year back in February when he sold 872,000 copies of his CD. American Idol’s Clay Aiken squeaked past Spears by selling 613,000 copies of his debut “Measure of a Man” back in October. 

That’s the silver lining for Spears but despite the good news there is bad. The 609,000 units sold is a sharp downturn for the popstar. Her last album, “Britney,” sold 746,000 copies the first week in stores back in 2001 and her 2000 release “Oops!... I Did It Again” moved 1,319,000 copies its first week. 

We know Britney is No. 1 on the chart but what about the other slots?  G-Unit clinched the No. 2 spot with second week sales of 327,000 copies of their “Beg for Mercy” CD. 

Blink-182 lands at No. 3 with sales of 313,000 copies of their new album. 

Last week’s No. 1 Jay-Z’s “The Black Album” drops to 4th place with sales of  288,000 units. 

The Beatles round out the top 5 with their reinterpretation of “Let It Be”, astutely dubbed “Let It Be ... Naked”, which sold 280,000 copies its first week in stores. 

All the way down at No. 19 sits the new release from Korn. The album, “Take a Look In The Mirror” was rushed to stores four days early after an online leak. With the abbreviated three days in stores the album sold a modest 96,000 copies in the U.S. 
                                                 
Michael Jackson's greatest hits package, “Number Ones,” landed at No. 13 with sales of 120,000 copies. 

Top 10
1) Britney Spears – In The Zone (609,000)
2) G-Unit - Beg for Mercy (327,000)
3) Blink-182 – Blink-182 (313,000)
4) Jay Z – The Black Album (288,000)
5) The Beatles - Let It Be ... Naked (280,000)
6) Josh Groban - Closer (196,000)
7) Tupac - Resurrection (180,000)
8) Various - Now That's What I Call Music! 14 (174,000)
9) Toby Keith - Shock'n Y'all (164,000) 
10) Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (145,000)

more on Britney, Korn, Blink-182, Michael Jackson and the Beatles

Preview and purchase music from Britney, Korn, Blink-182, Michael Jackson and the Beatles