KENNY CHESNEY IS A COWBOY-HAT WEARIN’ WONDER AT #1!

Four debuts in this week’s Top 10, but BNA’s Kenny Chesney is by far this week’s big winner, taking the #1 spot with 457k. And it should be the beginning of a long run, with the cowboy-hat wearin’ wonder set to open the CMAs this week, performing on the AMAs and the Radio Music Awards later this month, not to mention his own ABC-TV special on the 23rd. In other words, this will continue to be a big seller throughout the holiday season.

The Shady/Aftermath/Interscope soundtrack to 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’ takes second place, with 319k (and no one’s been shot while listenin’ to it, either!). UTV’s Now That’s What I Call Music 20 comes in #3, with 214k. And Columbia/CRG’s Neil Diamond makes a big comeback via his teaming with Rick Rubin on an album of a dozen songs titled, strangely enough, 12 Songs, hitting #4 with 92k. He is, he said...to which Ashlee Simpson (charting at #17 this week) might reply: “I Am Me!”

Roadrunner/IDJ’s Nickelback drops two spots to #5, with 89k, while A&M/Interscope’s Black Eyed Peas also drop two spots to #6, with 85k. Geffen’s Floetry is this week’s final Top 10 debut, hitting #7 with 75k and just going with, um, the Flo.

The bottom of the Top 10 is rounded out by Arista/RMG’s Santana at #8, with 70k; RCA/RMG’s Kelly Clarkson jumping two spots to #9 with 56k; and Sony Urban/Columbia’s Destiny’s Child hitting #10, with 54k.

Other notable debuts include: Dee Money/Asylum’s D4L at #20, with 37k; Koch’s Sheek Louch (what were his parents thinking?) at #22, with 36k; Mass Appeal’s Young Buck (no relation to Bun-B or Young Jeezy) at #32, with 29k; Columbia’s Kate Bush (that would be the kindler and gentler Bush) at #37, with 27k; Machette’s Wisin & Yandel (what’s with the friggin’ names this week?!) at #41, with 26k; and new greatest hits collections from Capitol’s Beastie Boys and Flip/Geffen’s Limp Bizkit hitting #42 and #43, with 26k and 25k, respectively.

Watch for debuts next week from Madonna, Carrie Underwood, Big & Rich, Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart and Mariah Carey.