Staind’s ‘Grey’ comes out on top

Staind’s new “14 Shades of Grey” album sold a modest 221,000 copies in its first week in the stores, but it was enough to capture No. 1 on the nation’s sales chart Wednesday, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The Massachusetts rock group’s last album, “Break the Cycle,” sold more than three times that number -- 717,000 copies -- during its first week in the stores two years ago. The album, which featured the radio hit “It’s Been Awhile,” went on to sell more than 5 million copies.

The Deftones’ self-titled album captured the No. 2 position on the chart by selling 167,000 copies in its first week in the stores. With Evanescence’s “Fallen” placing No. 4, rock collections claimed three of the top four slots. Kelly Clarkson’s “Thankful” was No. 3.

Staind’s victory marked the second consecutive week that a new rock release topped the charts. Marilyn Manson’s “Golden Age of Grotesque,” which was No. 1 last week, fell to No. 21 this week.

Led Zeppelin’s “How the West Was Won,” a three-disc collection of live concerts that was released Tuesday, is expected to challenge for No. 1 next week.

But the new album that is expected to really rock the charts in the coming weeks is Metallica’s “St. Anger,” which is due in stores June 10. The heavy metal quartet’s last album, 1999’s “S&M;,” sold 300,000 in its first week. New Radiohead and Steely Dan albums will also be released that day.