NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!

Gwen Stefani is doing it for herself again. After hit collaborations with Moby and Eve, No Doubt's chanteuse is leading her band to what will be an impressive chart bow next week, with a sales total nearing 300k, based on first-day sales reports from retailers around the country.

The group's new Interscope effort, Rock Steady, on the strength of its rhythmic first single, "Hey Baby," and several high-profile TV appearances, should tally a Top 5 bow on next Tuesday's HITS Top 50, with only Creed's Weathered and Virgin's Now. Vol. 8 appearing to top that total. No Doubt's last album, 2000's Return of Saturn, sold 200k its first week on the way to an OTC U.S. total of 1.4 million.

Mobb Deep's Loud/Columbia record, Infamy, will be the other top debut next week, with a sales total approaching 150k, which should be good enough for a Top 15 bow. The band's last album, '99's Murda Muzik, sold 200k its first week, with a current total of 900k in OTC sales.

And remember, there are only 11 shopping days until we get to quit our second jobs as department store Santas.