'marshall' Law From Eminem 'marshall' Law From Eminem / Best First-week Tally For Solo Act As Rapper Sells 1.76 Mil Units

Rap is proving stronger than sugar pop as Eminem not only steals the No. 1 position from Britney Spears but tops the teen pop queen's first-week sales.

"The Marshall Mathers LP," the Grammy-winning rapper's second release on Aftermath/Interscope Records, sold 1.76 million copies during its first week, according to SoundScan figures obtained from industry sources. That's the biggest debut-week tally for a solo act and No. 2 all-time behind 'N Sync's "No Strings Attached," which sold 2.4 million units during its first week of release in March.

Eminem pushes Spears' sophomore album, "Oops! ... I Did It Again," to the No. 2 spot on the Billboard 200. Her Jive release moved 612,400 units during the week ending May 28, a decrease of more than 50% from 1.3 million copies sold the previous week, when it bowed at No. 1.

Steve Berman, head of marketing and sales at Interscope Records, after whom Track 6 on "The Marshall Mathers LP" is named, attributes the album's success to a promotional push from MTV and Farmclub.com as well as the producer talent of Dr. Dre, who signed the 26-year-old rapper to his Aftermath label and also included him on his latest multiplatinum hit "Dr. Dre -- 2001."

"I am not surprised (about the success of 'Marshall Mathers') because of Dr. Dre's involvement. Dre has set Eminem up perfectly," Berman said. "All Interscope had to do was come in and execute that vision. ... And MTV did a tremendous job from A to Z with this record."

Rock music also made a chart comeback with matchbox twenty's second album, "Mad Season," debuting at No. 3 with 365,000 copies scanned, and A Perfect Circle's debut "Mers De Noms" (Virgin), which features Tool's Maynard James Keenan on vocals, coming in at No. 4 with 188,000 units sold.

'N Sync's "No Strings Attached" falls a notch to No. 5 with 170,000 units scanned, while the "Mission: Impossible 2" soundtrack holds at No. 6, moving 135,400 copies, up 24,100 from the previous week.

Don Henley's latest Warner Bros. release, "Inside Job," scores the No. 7 spot in its first week on sales of 114,000 units. Creed's "Human Clay" moves up a notch to No. 8 with 107,200 copies sold vs. 101.775 the previous week.

Arista artist Whitney Houston's "Greatest Hits" album, which features new duets with Enrique Iglesias, Deborah Cox and George Michael, drops four spots to No. 9, scanning 105,500 units, down 52,250 from the previous week. New Orleans hip-hop duo Big Tymers' "I Got That Work" falls from No. 3 to No. 10 on 100,775 units sold.

Other notable debuts include Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance" (No. 17), Lucy Pearl's self-titled debut (No. 26), the "Family Values Tour 1999" compilation (No. 32) and Gloria Estefan's "Alma Caribena-Caribbean Soul" (No. 50).