'Junkie' tops chart again

R. Kelly into No. 2 spot with 'R'

By ADAM SANDLER

Alanis Morissette's "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie" was the bestselling album in the nation for the second consecutive week, with more than 268,000 copies going home with consumers, according to sales data released Wednesday.

The tally for the Maverick Records disc may have been a 200,000-unit drop from her first-week, record-breaking debut, but its sales still outpaced R. Kelly's "R" -- which nabbed the No. 2 spot -- by 50,000 copies.

The Jive Records disc led a hefty list of debuts from artists across all genres during the period ended Nov. 15, including the boxed set "Tracks" from Bruce Springsteen, 'N-Sync's Christmas album, and best-of sets from Rush and George Michael.

It was also an unusual week, as three record labels -- RCA, Island and Jive -- each had a pair of albums in the Top 10. Previously, just tiny Def Jam had multiple albums, as many as three at one time, in the Top 10.

Sales action was nearly the same as the previous chart, with Polygram and BMG family acts splitting eight entries among the Top 10 albums. Warner Music and Sony each boasted one disc on the list.

At No. 3 was Celine Dion's 550/Epic Records disc "These Are Special Times," which rose one slot and posted a nearly 40,000-unit uptick from the previous chart.

The disc's rise pushed Def Jam Records rapper Jay-Z's "Hard Knock Life ... Vol. II" down a berth, though its tally was less than 1,000 units off Dion's "Times."

U2's best-of set from Island Records slid three notches to No. 5 on sales action of just more than 136,000 copies, representing a 100,000-unit drop from the previous week's chart.

RCA Records' ensemble 'N-Sync owned two spots on the Top 10 list: Its eponymous disc held steady at No. 6 for the second week, and the band's seasonal disc "Home for Christmas" bowed at No. 7 with a first-week tally of nearly 118,000 copies.

MTV's frequent playing of Shania Twain's perf of "You're Still the One," from VH1's "Divas Live" concert, no doubt helped her Mercury Records disc "Come On Over" post an 8,000-unit increase in sales to nearly 105,000 copies. The disc rose a spot to No. 8.

Dru Hill's Island Records disc "Enter the Dru" slid a slot to No. 9, but topped by more than 300 copies the better-than 89,000-unit tally of the No. 10 disc, Backstreet Boys' Jive Records disc.