Chart Watch: Limp Bizkit's Sales Record

October 25, 2000 -- Rock the Charts: You knew it'd be on top this week. According to SoundScan's figures, Limp Bizkit sold 1,054,511 copies of its third album, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water, in its first week on the shelves, landing it squarely at No. 1, and breaking Pearl Jam's single-week rock sales record. In fact, the Bizkit's album becomes the first rock record ever to sell a million copies in a single week. Looks like Fred Durst knows who his generation is after all.

The Rest of the Best: A week ago, Ja Rule's Rule 3:36 ruled the charts. This week, it's down to No. 2, selling another 177,000 copies. Not a bad showing, but the difference between the top two albums is more than 850,000 copies. Nelly's Country Grammar sells more than 148,000 copies at No. 3, for an astonishing total of more than 3.3 million for the year. He's followed by Ludacris' Back for the First Time, which bows at No. 4 with impressive sales of more than 133,000. Creed's Human Clay comes in at No. 5, selling yet another 118,000 copies.

A good anthem never hurt anyone, especially the Baha Men and their album Who Let the Dogs Out, which has climbed all the way to No. 6, selling another 118,000 copies as the title track rattles through sports stadiums around the world. Mystikal's Let's Get Ready has quietly remained a strong seller, moving another 110,000 unites at No. 7, its fourth week in the Top 10. Behind that is 98 Degrees' Revelation, which sells 93,000, and Madonna's Music, which sells 92,000. And rounding things off is 3 Doors Down's The Better Life, selling yet another 90,000 copies.

Take a Bow: Outside the Top 10, Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek's Reflection Eternal bows the highest, selling more than 58,000 copies at No. 17. Everlast sells almost 50,000 copies of Eat at Whitey's at No. 20, while Profyle comes in at No. 50, with sales of more than 27,000. Further down, the triumphant return of Johnny Cash, American III: Solitary Man, sells more than 16,000 at No. 88, and Billy Ray Cyrus, who's also been gone for a while, sells 14,000 copies of Southern Rain at No. 102. Charlotte Church's Dream a Dream sells 13,000 at No. 107, while Tony Iommi's Iommi musters sales of just more than 10,000 at No. 129.

Movin' on Up: Not content to only buy one Limp Bizkit album, more than 30,000 fans also picked up Significant Other, moving it from No. 55 to No. 43, and pushing its total sales past 6.5 million in the United States. Matchbox Twenty saw a nice bump, selling more than 43,000 copies of Mad Season and moving from No. 31 to No. 25, while Wyclef Jean's The Eclectic: 2 Sides II a Book sells more than 41,000 and jumps four notches up to No. 28. Further down, both Shaggy and Avant continue to climb; Shaggy's Hotshot has jumped from No. 119 two weeks ago to No. 60, selling just short of 23,000, while Avant's My Thoughts has moved from No. 120 to No. 63 in the same amount of time. Also, the sales of the Remember the Titans soundtrack keep chugging along — the album has moved from No. 153 to No. 78 in just two weeks.

THISCLOSE: Who's approaching the sales milestones? Well, as described above, Limp Bizkit has certainly passed one this week. Madonna's Music has sold more than 975,000 copies to date and will move right past the million mark this time next week. Eminem's Mashall Mathers LP recently crossed the 7 million mark, while Pink's Take Me Home just sold its first million, after 29 weeks on the charts.

Molded, Not Moldy: Here's a shocking figure: Creed's Human Clay has sold almost 4.3 million copies in the United States in the year 2000, and more than 6.3 million in total.

Bottom Feeding: This week's No. 200: The Grateful Dead's latest posthumous collection, Ladies & Gentleman, which sells 6,330 copies to earn the position.