Springsteen’s ‘The Rising’ Remains at Top of the Chart

Without any blockbuster new arrivals to challenge it, Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” held on to the top spot on the nation’s album sales chart for the second consecutive week.

The collection, most of whose songs deal with the mourning and resilience of the country in the weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, sold 239,000 copies to bring its total to 764,000, according to the figures released Wednesday by Nielsen SoundScan.

The runners-up on the chart: Nelly’s “Nellyville,” which sold 208,000 to bring its seven-week total to 2.5 million, and Eminem’s “The Eminem Show,” which sold 173,000 for a three-month total of 4.9 million.

Two new rap releases debuted in the Top 10: Scarface’s “Fix” and Trick Daddy’s “Thug Holiday.” The rest of the Top 10 spots are claimed, in order, by volume 10 of “Now That’s What I Call Music,” Linkin Park, Toby Keith, Avril Lavigne and the Dave Matthews Band.

The nation’s best-selling single is the Dixie Chicks’ “Long Time Gone.”