Opportunity knocks for 3 Doors Down

“Seventeen Days,” the latest album by the rock band 3 Doors Down, entered the national album chart at No. 1 on Wednesday after selling 231,000 copies in its first week in the stores.

Though not a critical favorite, the Mississippi band has built a powerful fan base since its “Kryptonite” single became a massive hit in 2000.

The group’s “The Better Life” album, which contains the single, spent months on the pop charts, reaching a high of No. 7. The band’s followup, 2002’s “Away From the Sun,” had such a ready audience that it entered the charts at No. 8.

By taking the top spot on the charts with “Seventeen Days,” 3 Doors Down pushed rapper the Game’s major-label debut, “The Documentary,” to No. 2 (158,000 copies last week).

The Game album entered the charts at No. 1 on Jan. 26 after selling an impressive 587,000 copies in its first week, then fell to No. 2 the following week before rebounding to No. 1 last week. Its total sales so far: 1.2 million copies.

Three other albums also debuted in the Top 10 on Wednesday: Brian McKnight’s “Gemini” (at No. 4 with sales of 103,000), volume four of the “Totally Country” compilation series (No. 5, sales of 98,000) and Michael Buble’s “It’s Time” (No. 7, sales of 93,000).

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By the Numbers: Southland CD rankings

Here are the 10 bestselling CDs in Southern California last week, along with their national ranking.

*--* TITLE, ARTIST NAT’L RANK LAST WEEK

1 “Documentary,” the Game 2 1

2 “It’s Time,” Michael Buble 7 --

3 “American Idiot,” Green Day 3 2

4 “Gemini,” Brian McKnight 4 --

5 “Seventeen Days,” 3 Doors Down 1 --

6 “All the Best,” Tina Turner 9 3

7 “2005 Grammy Nominees,” various 14 4

8 “Genius Loves Company,” Ray Charles 15 16

9 “Get Lifted,” John Legend 6 5

10 “Love.Angel.Music.Baby,” Gwen Stefani 25 7

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Source: Nielsen/SoundScan Inc.