Avril Lavigne News

Avril Lavigne's The Best Damn Thing spent a second week atop the album charts, easily outselling new releases from R&B singer Joe and Brit buzz band the Arctic Monkeys.

The Best Damn Thing moved 121,000 copies for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures released today. While Lavigne's sales slid  58 percent sales slide from the previous week, she was the only artist to register six-figure sales. It also marks Lavigne's first multiweek stay on the Billboard 200.

The disc has hit number one in several other countries, including Japan, where its two-week tally has already surpassed 600,000 copies, compared to 408,000 total copies in the U.S.

Joe, meanwhile, debuted at two with 98,000 copies of Ain't Nothing Like Me. In comparison, his previous effort, 2003's And Then…, debuted at 26 with a more robust 121,000 copies, though that album was released during the sales-heavy holiday season.

The Arctic Monkeys swung into the seven spot selling 44,000 copies of their sophomore release, Favourite Worst Nightmare. The British sensations created a media frenzy across the pond last year with Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, but that disc peaked at number 24 in the States.

The new disc fared much better in America, benefiting from the "Brainstorm" single, which tops the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart for the second straight week.

A pair of flashbacks scored the next best bows: Neil Sedaka's Definitive Collection sold 24,000 copies at 22 while Donny Osmond's new covers collection, Love Songs of the '70s, sold 22,000 copies at 27. This marks Sedaka best chart bow since 1975, and Osmond's best since 1973.

Other noteworthy debuts included Chuck Brown's We're About the Business at 37, Dimmu Borgir's In Sorte Diaboli at 43, reggaeton stars Calle 13's Residente O Visitante at 52 and Porcupine Tree's Fear of a Blank Planet at 59.

Finally, proto-punk legend Patti Smith debuted at 60 with Twelve, a covers collection featuring Smith's take on Nirvana, the Rolling Stones and Jefferson Airplane, among others. The album comes a month after her introduction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Total sales were down 6 percent from last week and 19 percent compared to the same period last year. Year-to-date figures continue to lag behind 2006, with overall sales down 17 percent.

Here's a rundown of the Top 10 albums:

1. The Best Damn Thing, Avril Lavigne

2. Ain't Nothing Like Me, Joe

3. Year Zero, Nine Inch Nails

4. Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 24, various

5. Daughtry, Daughtry

6. Konvicted, Akon

7. Favourite Worst Nightmare, Arctic Monkeys

8. Some Hearts, Carrie Underwood

9. Waking Up Laughing, Martina McBride

10. Let It Go, Tim McGraw