Who’s Poised to Knock Off the Fab Four?

The Beatles’ hit compilation “1” continues to hold a comfortable lead in the nation’s album sales race, but the end of the Fab Four’s latest chart-topping reign may be just two weeks away.

Though the classic rock band is likely to hold on to the top spot for the seventh straight time next week with its collection of 27 of its No. 1 singles, it then faces a serious challenge from Jennifer Lopez.

Lopez’s new album, titled “J.Lo” and due in stores Tuesday, is the follow-up to the singer-actress’ debut collection, “On the 6,” which has sold more than 2.4 million copies.

That debut collection sold about 110,000 in its first week in 1999, but Lopez is a far more established presence in the pop world now. Her album also arrives in tandem with her latest movie, “The Wedding Planner,” which opens Jan. 26.

Lopez’s album “probably has the best shot at giving the Beatles a run for their money, but I honestly don’t know if it’s going to knock them out,” says Scott Levin, director of marketing for the Musicland/Sam Goody chain.

“1” held on to the No. 1 spot this week by selling about 260,000 copies, followed by Shaggy’s “Hotshot,” which sold around 191,000, according to SoundScan. The pop-reggae star’s album, in fact, has a longshot chance of being the one to knock the Beatles out of No. 1. It was the only album in the Top 10 last week that actually saw a sales increase from the previous week--up about 5,500 copies.

“The resurgence of that record in the last 90 days has just been wonderful,” Levin said Wednesday.

The reason for Shaggy’s strength?

“I keep going back to the same reason the Creed record [“Human Clay”] continues to sell,” Levin said. “People now recognize that there are three or four or five really great songs on this album. It’s like, ‘I didn’t know that song was on this album, but now that I do, I’m going to buy it,’ as opposed to just downloading one single off Napster.”

Retailers will also be watching albums due Tuesday by O-Town and Dream, two hot teen groups with recent No. 1 singles.

“They’ll both do OK, but they’re not going to the No. 1 area,” says Tower Records’ Southwest territory director Bob Feterl. “They might debut in the Top 50.”

That makes the short list of contenders for the No. 1 slot these days exactly that--short. Which isn’t making retailers very happy about moving into a new year.

“It’s pretty bleak,” Feterl says. “A lot of big titles that got lost in the fourth quarter of last year could be coming out now, and we could be working those now.

“Last year [the record companies] did pretty well distributing big records in the first and second quarters,” he adds. “This year there’s an Aerosmith album coming, and a Dave Matthews Band that would be huge for us. But there isn’t much else.”

The rest of the national Top 5: the hits compilation “Now That’s What I Call Music, Vol. 5,” Creed’s “Human Clay” and Limp Bizkit’s “Chocolate Starfish & the Hot Dog Flavored Water.”

The nation’s fastest-rising album last week was the soundtrack for the film “Save the Last Dance.” It jumped from No. 41 to No. 11.

The news was not so good, however, for some critically acclaimed acts that continued their descents. They included Erykah Badu’s “Mama’s Gun” (down 34 to 40), Radiohead’s “Kid A” (72 to 83), Paul Simon’s “You’re the One” (138 to 149) and the Wallflowers’ “Breach” (166 to 179).

The nation’s best-selling single is Britney Spears’ “Stronger.”