Nelly well suited to top spots

Nelly’s only competition for the No. 1 spot on this week’s album chart was himself. The St. Louis rapper’s “Suit” album claimed the top spot after selling 396,000 copies in its first week in stores. That’s 55,000 copies more than Nelly’s new “Sweat” album sold in its first week.

It’s rare but not unprecedented for a major performer to release two albums at the same time. Among other notable dual releases: Bruce Springsteen’s “Human Touch” and “Lucky Town” in 1992, and Guns N’ Roses’ “Use Your Illusion I” and “Use Your Illusion II” in 1991. All four albums reached the Top 5 on the sales chart.

By taking over the top two spots on the charts, Nelly pushed last week’s No. 1 album (Alan Jackson’s “What I Do”) to No. 7 this week and last week’s No. 2 seller (Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying”) to No. 3. The two albums sold 72,000 and 121,000 copies, respectively.

The only other new releases to enter the Top 20 this week were by Megadeth (“System Has Failed” at No. 18 with sales of 46,000 copies) and Flogging Molly (“Within a Mile of Home” at No. 20 with sales of 38,000).

Usher’s “Confessions,” which climbed back into the Top 10, remains the top-selling album of 2004 and has now sold more than 5.6 million copies since its release in March.