Garth Brooks Returns To No. 1 Spot With 'Scarecrow'

NEW YORK (Top 40 Charts) - Country superstar Garth Brooks finds himself in a familiar spot this week: At No. 1 on The Billboard 200 with his latest effort, Scarecrow.

Scarecrow sold 465,523 in its first week, enough to knock Britney Spears' Britney out of the top spot after only one week. Brooks last hit the No. 1 spot in 1998 with his Double Live album. Britney falls to No. 2 behind a strong second week, selling 336,968 copies.

Elsewhere in a busy top 10, Shakira's English-language debut, Laundry Service finds itself debuting in the No. 3 spot, Madonna's GHV2 lands at No. 7, Rob Zombie's Sinister Urge hits No. 8, and Jewel's This Way grabs the No. 10 slot. Jewel, meanwhile, has just been announced as the opening act for Brooks' Wednesday (Nov. 21) night Coast to Coast Live show airing on CBS tonight.

An equally busy top 40 boosted by the beginning of the holiday release period sees a flurry of activity as well. UGK's Dirty Money debuts at No. 18, Paul McCartney's Driving Rain hits No. 26, Sevendust's Animosity lands at No. 28, Natalie Merchant's Motherland hits No. 30, Barenaked Ladies' Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits grabs the No. 38 spot, and Green Day's International Superhits lands at No. 40.

Other notable debuts include Radiohead's I Might Be Wrong -- Live Recordings (No. 44), Kittie's Oracle (No. 57), The Cure's Greatest Hits (No. 58), Keke Wyatt's Soul Sista (No. 60), Rod Stewart's Voice: The Very Best of Rod Stewart (No. 69), Michael Jackson's Greatest Hits: HIStory -- Vol. I (No. 85), Boyz II Men's Legacy: The Greatest Hits Collection (No. 89), and Shelby Lynne's Love, Shelby (No. 109).