Madonna once again enjoys ‘Life’ at the top

Madonna’s “American Life” album entered the national sales chart Wednesday at No. 1, but the collection’s first-week figures were far behind her previous album, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The new album, which contains several moving songs based on reappraisals of her earlier material girl values, sold 241,000 copies last week, whereas her 2000 album, “Music,” sold more than 419,000 copies in its first week.

But the figure was easily enough to dominate the charts in a relatively weak sales week. No other album last week topped the 150,000 sales mark. Rapper 50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die Tryin’ ” sold 142,000 for second place on the charts. The collection has sold almost 4.4 million copies since its release in February.

“American Idol” phenomenon Kelly Clarkson, whose debut album, “Thankful,” sold 297,000 copies in its first week in stores, slipped to the No. 3 spot on the charts after the album sold only 134,000 in its second week on the shelves.

The only other new release to join Madonna in the Top 20 was the soundtrack for “The Lizzie McGuire Movie,” which finished No. 18 by selling 51,000 copies.

Among acts with recent high-profile releases, Linkin Park’s “Meteroa” is No. 4 in its fifth week on the charts (total sales: 1.6 million), while Fleetwood Mac is No. 8 in its second week (total: 305,000 copies) and Celine Dion is No. 12 in her latest album’s fifth week (898,000).

The White Stripes’ “White Elephant” climbs six places to No. 15 in its fourth week (314,000 copies), while Lisa Marie Presley’s “To Whom It May Concern” is No. 17 in its fourth week (279,000).

The Dixie Chicks’ “Home” album, which has been slipping down the charts since the controversy growing out of singer Natalie Maines’ derogatory remarks about President Bush, climbed 10 spaces to No. 23 after the trio did some high-profile TV and magazine interviews. The album has sold 5.3 million since September.