Alan Jackson Drives All the Way to No. 1

Alan Jackson has broken Creed’s eight-week hold on the nation’s pop album chart. The veteran country music star’s “Drive” collection entered the sales list at No. 1 on Wednesday after selling 423,000 copies in its first week in stores.

Jackson has been turning out million-selling albums for more than a decade, but this is the first time one of his albums has gone to No. 1 on the pop chart.

Although the album would surely have been the best-selling collection in a week of light competition, the package benefited from the widespread radio and television exposure received by one of its tracks--”Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” a reflection on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Creed’s “Weathered” finished second, selling 128,000 copies. That figure pushes the album’s total sales to more than 4 million since its release in November.

The remaining positions in the Top 10 this week were claimed, in order, by Linkin Park, Nickelback, Ludacris, Ja Rule, Nas, Usher, Pink and Enya. The best-selling single continues to be B2K’s “Uh Huh.”