P. DIDDY’S P. DANDY

With a deeply discounted price and, oh, yeah, a smash track featuring Usher, and voila, the artist formerly known as Puff Daddy ushers in an all-debut Top Five and a remixed Top 10, as his P. Diddy & Bad Boy Records Present…We Invented the Remix bows at the top of the HITS Album Chart.

"The low price helped, and the Usher song is a hit—that’s a recipe for success. Not to mention Puffy is a fashion mogul and as resilient an artist as you’ll find these days," said Mike Fuller of Hastings, whose sense of fashion is as resilient as you’ll find from a retailer based in Amarillo.

Just behind the Diddy remixes is Roc-A-Fella/IDJ’s Cam’ron.

"IDJ’s rebate kept the cost down, and customers respond to lower prices," said Fuller, who later responded with a resounding "YEE-HAW!" to a co-worker talking about this weekend’s rodeo and gun show.

The Top Five is rounded out by bows from Geffen’s Weezer at #3, V2’s Moby at #4 and Anthem/Atlantic’s Rush at #5.

"I can’t remember the last time the top of the chart was five-for-five in new releases," Fuller exclaimed, though he can’t remember what he had for lunch, either.

Elsewhere, Aware/Columbia’s John Mayer climbs (24-20), as "No Such Thing" has a huge week at radio—expect him to be around all year. Also gaining is the soundtrack to a little movie called Star Wars Episode II, which goes 39-21 on a sales jump of 30%.