Stewart beckons, fans follow

ROD STEWART has hung up his tux and fans seem to approve. The British singer’s “Still the Same ... Great Rock Classics of Our Time” is the bestselling album in the nation, following up his wildly successful, four-album series of pop standards.

“Still the Same” logged first-week sales of 184,000 copies to claim the top spot on the pop album chart.

The collection features the gruff-voiced Stewart’s interpretations of 13 familiar hits (most from the 1970s), including Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” Elvin Bishop’s “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” and the Eagles’ “Best of My Love.”

“Rotten Apple,” the second solo album from Lloyd Banks of the G Unit rap collective, opens at No. 3 on the chart with sales of 143,000 copies.

The rapper brought along plenty of backup from the G Unit family, including the group’s kingpin, 50 Cent, who is featured on three tracks.

Jimmy Buffett has the No. 4 album this week with “Take the Weather With You,” which sold 121,000 copies.

There were two other debuts in the Top 20 this week: “I Loved Her First” by Alabama-bred country band Heartland at No. 11 (with 61,000 copies sold) and “Still Searching” by New Jersey-based Senses Fail (No. 15, 49,000).