EVANESCENCE OPENS DOOR TO TOP OF CHART

Wind-up’s Evanescence, otherwise known as Amy Lee and the guys, find The Open Door to #1 this week, with an impressive 408k debut, which was enough to set back Island’s The Killers, as the Vegas boys’ Sam’s Town chalks up one of the largest #2 debuts of the year with 318k.

MCA Nashville country vet George Strait’s It Just Comes Natural does just that, landing at #3, with 230k in sales.

Geffen PoMo ruler Beck’s futuristic The Information (#7) and J Records/RMG diva Monica’s The Taking of Me (#8) are the week’s other Top 10 bows.

RPM/Columbia octogenarian crooner Tony Bennett is #4, followed by Jive/ZLG’s Justin Timberlake (#5), last week’s chart-topper, Def Jam South/IDJ’s Ludacris (#6), Aware/Columbia’s John Mayer (#9) and Unviersal Republic’s resilient Okie rockers Hinder (#10).

Other Top 50 newcomers include Atlantic’s Jet (#15), Sony BMG Nashville’s Chris Young (#21) and Concord Jazz’s Ray Charles/Count Basie collaboration (#22), the best-selling of the almost 70 posthumous Charles albums that have come out since his Grammy-winning Genius Loves Company. Verity gospel star Fred Hammond (#28), Capitol neo-classicist pop group The Decemberists (#43) and Star Trak/Interscope blue-eyed soul man Robin Thicke (#49) are the other first-time chart entrants.

Arista/RMG’s Carrie Underwood (#32-27, +6%) is the week’s largest gainer, followed by Universal Motown’s Blue October (#40, +5%), Lyric Street’s Rascal Flatts (#29-25, +4%), Roadrunner/IDJ’s Nickelback (#14, +2%) and MCA Nashville’s Josh Turner (#34, +1%).

This week’s releases include G Unit/Intercope’s Lloyd Banks at the head of the class, along with J’s Rod Stewart, Mailboat/SBMGN’s Jimmy Buffett and indie Lofton Creek country act Heartland.