CHESNEY’S SUN SHINES AT #1

First up, BNA country superstar Kenny Chesney follows the Sun to the top spot on the charts, according to one-day sales reports from those retailers not too shell-shocked to return our calls.

Duplicating a strategy first successfully employed by Sugarland, the deluxe edition of Chesney’s Lucky Old Sun is on target for #1 next week, with 180k in sales, give or take, more than enough to overtake Grand Hustle/Atlantic’s T.I., who will probably be #2 with around 100k after two straight weeks leading the Top 50.

Critically acclaimed, but reclusive RCA/RMG Maine roots-rocker Ray LaMontagne’s third album, Gossip in the Grain, distributed through RED, is the week’s other top debut, with a huge iTunes marketshare helping spawn a 50-55k bow.

Interscope U.K. pop-rockers Keane’s Perfect Symmetry looks headed for 40-45k, followed by a pair of Luke Lewis entries in Lost Highway’s Lucinda Williams and Mercury Nashville’s Billy Currington, both pegged between 30-35k.

AC/DC’s Wal-Mart exclusive, Black Ice, on Columbia, hits stores on Monday, but won’t appear on the chart until Oct. 28, a week from Tuesday.

The market was down 14% vs last week, down 23% vs same week last year and still down 12% year-to-date. And you thought the stock market was bad.