Dylan is # 1.....avoids # 2....

[RonJonSurfer]

Bob Dylan earns first No. 1 album since 1976 By Katie Hasty

NEW YORK (Billboard) - For the first time in 30 years, Bob Dylan topped the U.S. album charts Wednesday with "Modern Times," his third consecutive top-10 studio set.

The Columbia Records release sold 192,000 copies in the week ended September 3, according to Nielsen SoundScan data.

Not only is it the legendary songwriter's first album to reach the throne since "Desire" in 1976, it's also his highest debuting album and his best sales week since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991.

Dylan's previous album, 2001's "Love & Theft" opened at No. 5 with 133,760 copies. Before that, he peaked at No. 10 with 1997's "Time Out of Mind," which opened with 101,600 units. Aside from "Desire" and "Modern Times," only two other Dylan albums assumed the plateau on the chart: 1974's "Planet Waves" and 1975's "Blood on the Tracks."

After crowning The Billboard 200 last week, MTV girl-band Danity Kane slipped to No. 2 with 117,000 copies, a sales hit of 50 percent.

Young Dro's major label debut, "Best Thang Smokin'," bowed at No. 3 with 104,000 copies. With help from his smash hit "Shoulder Lean" (featuring T.I.), the Grand Hustle/Atlantic release also overtook OutKast's soundtrack to "Idlewild" (LaFace) at No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Christina Aguilera's former chart-topper "Back to Basics" (RCA) fell one to No. 4 on the Billboard 200, with 101,000 copies. Jessica Simpson's "A Public Affair" (Epic) entered the chart at No. 5, selling only a couple hundred albums fewer than "Back to Basics" with 101,000. Her last album, 2003's "In This Skin," originally peaked at No. 10 but hit No. 2 after a 2004 re-release.

The Disney soundtrack to "The Cheetah Girls 2" fell one to9 No. 6 with 80,000, while "Idlewild" tumbled five to No. 7 with 78,000.

Rapper Method Man scored his fifth consecutive top 10 debut, as "4:21 ... The Day After" (Def Jam) landed at No. 8 with 62,000 units. Another Def Jam effort followed at No. 9 in the form of the Roots' "Game Theory," which moved 61,000.

In its 48th week on the chart, Canadian rock band Nickelback's "All the Right Reasons" (Roadrunner) moved up two to No. 10.

Other big debuts this week include Too Short's Jive release "Blow the Whistle" (No. 14, 40,000), Ray Lamontagne's sophomore RCA set, "Till the Sun Turns Black" (No. 28, 28,000), Crossfade's sophomore Columbia effort, "Falling Away" (No. 30, 28,000) and Hatebreed's first Roadrunner album, "Supremacy" (No. 31, 27,000).

The Toby Keith-led "Broken Bridges" soundtrack, released on his Show Dog label, opened at No. 36, followed by the Atlantic debut of reggaeton star Tego Calderon, "The Underdog/El Subestimado," at No. 43. Singer/songwriter Pete Yorn bowed at a disappointing No. 50 with the Columbia album "Nightcrawler"; its predecessor, 2003's "Day I Forgot," debuted at No. 18.

Indie veteran M. Ward made his Billboard 200 debut with the Merge album "Post-War" at No. 146.

At 9.39 million units, overall CD sales were down 1.5 percent from last week's count and down 10 percent compared to the same week a year ago. Sales for 2006 were down 6 percent compared to 2005 at 354 million units.