DESTINY'S CHILD SCORES THE #1 SPOT WITH, UM, #1'S

Roadrunner/IDJ’s Nickelback—the rock success story of the quarter—jumps two spots to #2, with 101k, while RCA Nashville’s Martina McBride still looks mighty purdy at #3, maintaining that same spot from last week with 90k. Rod “The (formerly) Mod” Stewart (J Records/RMG) trades places with those young whippersnappers in Nickelback, dropping two spots to #4, with 88k.

No stopping A&M/Interscope’s Black Eyed Peas who maintain their chart stranglehold, jumping three spots to #5, with 79k. Alas, Geffen’s Ashlee Simpson isn’t quite as impressive, dropping five spots to #6 this week, with a 69# sales decrease at 72k. Universal South’s Joe Nichols makes a healthy chart debut at #7, with 56k, despite being an awfully annoying character in Annie Hall. Kanye West (Roc-A-Fella/IDJ) jumps two places to #8, with 54k, while “Divine Miss M” Bette Midler (Columbia) debuts at #9, with her tribute to the late Peggy Lee selling 54k. Rounding out the list at #10 is Rap-A-Lot/Asylum’s Bun-B (a name HITS’ own Bud Scoppa now insists we call him in tribute following Holdship’s recent edict that, from here on out, he only be addressed as “Old Jeezy”) at 52k.

Other notable debuts include Hip-O/Universal’s new Johnny Cash compilation at #12, with 47k; Columbia’s Aerosmith at #24, with 32k; Columbia’s Il Divo at #36, with 24k; and Jive/ZLG’s NSYNC at #43, with 19k.

Watch for debuts next week from yet another Now That’s What I Call Music compilation, as well as Santana, Slipknot, Blink-182, Terri Clark, Montgomery Gentry, Diana Krall, Nirvana and John Fogerty.