Red Hot Chili Peppers, Counting Crows Debut High; Lavigne, Groban Post Gains

NEW YORK (Top40 Charts) - The Red Hot Chili Peppers knock Eminem out of the No. 2 spot on The US albums with By the Way, which raked in 281,948 in its first week. Thus, Nelly's Nellyville hangs onto the top position for the third week in a row, and The Eminem Show drops a notch to No. 3.

Counting Crows fly in high to No. 5 with their latest, Hard Candy, while Styles' Gangster and a Gentleman comes in at No. 6. The only other top 20 debut is by rapper E-40's The Ballatician: Grit & Grind at No. 13.

Meanwhile, 17-year-old singer Avril Lavigne continues to make strong gains with her debut album, Let Go, which sets a SoundScan record for being the first debut album (in the SoundScan era) to post five consecutive weeks of increased sales since its release.

Another impressive gain this week comes from classical crossover vocalist Josh Groban, whose 2001 self-titled debut album jumps an astonishing 17 positions, from No. 25 to No. 8. According to Warner Brothers' Liz Rosenberg, sales jumped due to Groban's performance and interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show last week.

"It's been part of Josh's sales trajectory that every time he appears on TV, huge record sales follow. This was especially a big jump as his performance was quite stupendous," Rosenberg tells allstar.

Other notable debuts include Onyx, Bacdafucup Part 2, No. 46; Dolly Parton, Halos & Horns, No. 56; Andy Griggs, Freedom, No. 77; Glassjaw, Worship & Tribute, No. 82; and Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Jacknife to a Swan, No. 131.