Staind Books "Chapter" at No. 1

08/17/2005 3:14 PM, E! Online
David Jenison

No disrespect to Harry Potter, but J.K. Rowling isn't the only one who knows how to write a great chapter.

New England rockers Staind have landed their third consecutive chart-topping album on the Billboard 200 with their latest release, Chapter V. The new disc took top honors, selling nearly 185,000 copies last week, according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers released Wednesday.

Staind previously scored number ones with 2003's 14 Shades of Grey and 2001's Break the Cycle, the latter selling over 716,000 first-week copies on the strength of its smash hit "It's Been Awhile." Chapter V is currently filling up the airwaves with its own hit, "Right Here."

Staind is one of the few nu-metal bands to remain commerically viable. Indeed, the group has been faring better than its mentor, Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst, the poster boy for the genre-bending movement and the one who actually discovered Staind.

With Staind making its mark at number one, last week's chart champ, Faith Hill's Fireflies, slid down to number three, moving 124,000 discs. Now That's What I Call Music! 19 took the two spot with 160,000.

Though there were no other big bows, some of the Top 10 regulars got minor sales boosts. Mariah Carey's Emancipation of Mimi sold 103,000 copies, up 4,000, in the four spot, while Black Eyed Peas' Monkey Business jumped three spots to five, selling 74,000 copies, up 13,000. The Gorillaz's Demon Days moved up two spots to eight selling 57,000 discs, a bump of nearly 4,000.

Rounding out the Top 10 were Young Jeezy's Let's Get It at six, Coldplay's X&Y at seven, Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway at nine and Bow Wow's Wanted, which reentered the Top 10 in the final slot.

SoCal trio Nickel Creek scored the week's second-highest debut as Why Should the Fire Die? sparked up at 17 with over 41,000 discs sold. The new album, produced by Eric Valentine (Queens of the Stone Age) and Tony Berg (Beck), is the band's third for Sugar Hill Records.

Michael McDonald's new hits disc, Ultimate Collection, sold 40,000 discs at 19. The Doobie Brothers' alum made a big comeback in 2003 thanks to an MCI television commercial that helped turn "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" into a Grammy-nominated radio hit.

Though their hand-holding hit days are behind them, Hootie & the Blowfish continue to swim onward. The band's latest, Looking for Lucky, was snapped by 20,000 fans, good enough to open at 47.

Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, who's taking his own stab at reality TV with Tommy Lee Goes to College, opened at 62 with his new solo album, Tommyland: The Ride. D12 rapper Proof followed at 65 with Searching for Jerry Garcia.

Other noteworthy debuts included Chimaira's self-titled at 74, Pennywise's The Fuse at 78, Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen at 105, Tina Turner's All the Best at 105 and Motion City Soundtrack's Commit This to Memory at 136.

Here's a recap of the Top 10 albums for the week ended Sunday:

1. Chapter V, Staind
2. Now That's What I Call Music! 19, various
3. Fireflies, Faith Hill
4. Emancipation of Mimi, Mariah Carey
5. Monkey Business, Black Eyed Peas
6. Let's Get It, Young Jeezy
7. X&Y, Coldplay
8. Demon Days, Gorillaz
9. Breakaway, Kelly Clarkson
10. Wanted, Bow Wow