Pit5 Music News Cache

By Katie Hasty Wed Oct 3, 1:39 PM ET

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Amid a heavy week of new releases, country combo Rascal Flatts scored its third consecutive No. 1 on the U.S. album charts Wednesday, but suffered a hefty sales slide in the process.

Acts such as Foo Fighters, Jill Scott and Melissa Etheridge also saw diminished numbers for their new releases.

Rascal Flatts' "Still Feels Good" sold 547,000 copies in the week ended September 30, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It was the largest sum for a country act since the band's own "Me and My Gang" debuted with 722,000 copies last year. The trio's third album, 2004's "Feels Like Today," also bowed at the summit with 201,000 copies.

All told, 11 of this week's top 20 albums were new releases. R&B singer Keyshia Cole's sophomore set "Just Like You" bowed at No. 2 with 281,000, a huge leap from her 2005 debut, "The Way It Is," which opened at No. 6 with 88,500 copies. Its sales were fueled in part by the single "Let It Go" featuring Missy Elliott and Lil Kim, which currently stands at No. 7 on the Hot 100 chart.

Foo Fighters' "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace" entered at No. 3 with 168,000 copies. The band's last record, 2005's "In Your Honor," earned its best charting numbers, bowing at No. 2 with 311,000. The new album currently rules the British charts.

R&B vocalist Scott's "The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3" opened at No. 4 with 148,000, a drop from her 2004 album "Vol. 2," which bowed and peaked at No. 3 with 192,500.

Kanye West's former chart-topper "Graduation" fell three places to No. 5 with 133,000. Last week's champ, Reba McEntire's "Reba Duets," dropped to No. 6 with 130,000 copies. Disney's "High School Musical 2" soundtrack slipped one to No. 7 with 85,000.

R&B group Jagged Edge's "Baby Makin' Project" debuted at No. 7 with 78,000. The quartet's self-titled 2006 effort peaked at No. 4 with 115,000 copies.

Rapper 50 Cent's "Curtis" fell six places to No. 9 with 71,000 units; country star Kenny Chesney's "Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates" dropped five places to No. 10 with 68,000.

Queen Latifah scored her best charting album ever, "Trav'lin' Light," at No. 11 with 51,000 copies. But her 2004 release, "The Dana Owens Album," which peaked at No. 16, had a better sales start with 61,500 copies.

Etheridge earned her 10th top 40 album as "Awakening" debuted at No. 13 with 48,000 copies. Her previous studio set, "Lucky," started at No. 15 with 91,500.

Other new releases included Joni Mitchell's "Shine," at No. 14; Chaka Khan's "Funk This" at No. 15; "Tony Bennett Sings the Ultimate American Songbook, Vol. 1" at No. 16; and rapper Gorilla Zoe's "Welcome to the Zoo" at No. 18.

Sales this week were up 9.2% from the previous week at 9.05 million, but down 8.5% compared to the same week last year. Sales for the year sit at 337.3 million units, down 14.2% from the sum at the same time last year.

Reuters/Billboard