for a change as his new Paper Trail debuted at No. 1, selling a career-high 568,000 copies and ending the three-week reign of Metallica's Death Magnetic.
Jennifer Hudson, Robin Thicke, James Taylor and Kellie Pickler all landed albums in the Top 10.
This gives T.I. his third No. 1 in three years, following 2006's King (522,000 first-week copies) and 2007's schizophrenic T.I. Vs. T.I.P. (468,000).
Paper Trail also features the rapper's first songs to top the Hot 100. "Whatever You Like" started a long run at No. 1 in late August. On tomorrow's chart, "Live Your Life" is set to bounce "Whatever You Like, " thanks in part to 296,000 legal downloads. The ascent of the track, which features Rihanna, makes T.I. first artist to replace himself atop the singles chart since Usher's "Confessions Part II" bested "Burn" in summer 2004.
While Metallica tumbled to No. 5, the band did get a consolation prize. The weekly sales of 86,000 put Death Magnetic over the 1 million-copy mark and onto the year's Top 10 bestsellers' list at No. 9, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Meanwhile, American Idol contestant and Dreamgirls Oscar winner Hudson debuted at No. 2, selling 217,000 copies of her long-awaited eponymous debut. That trumps both albums by the woman who won season three, Fantasia.
Thicke followed at No. 3 selling 137,000 copies of his Obama-loving Something Else. The Grammy-winning singer, whose dad is Alan Thicke of Growing Pains, peaked at No. 5 with his 2006 sophomore album, The Evolution of Robin Thicke.
Taylor's Covers nabbed the No. 4 spot selling 95,000 copies. The album, featuring new spins on the likes of Leonard Cohen, Buddy Holly and the Temptations, was self-released through Starbucks' Hear Music label.
Jack's Mannequin scored its first-ever Top 10 bow as The Glass Passenger sold 49,000 copies at No. 8.
Pickler, the season-five American Idol contestant turned country singer, followed at No. 9 selling 43,000 copies of her self-titled sophomore album. This matches her debut position for 2006's Small Town Girl.
Just missing the Top 10, Ben Folds' Way to Normal sold 40,000 copies at No. 11, while Anberlin's New Surrender sold 36,000 copies at No. 13.
Other notable new entries include Trivium's Shogun at No. 23 and the Nightmare Revisited soundtrack at No. 31. Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello finished way down at No. 179 with his Nightwatchman album The Fabled City.
While T.I. topped the Digital Tracks chart, there were two other big Top 10 bows worth nothing. Christina Aguilera sold 144,000 copies of "Keeps Getting Better" at No. 3 while David Cook's "Light On" sold 109,000 copies at No. 8.
Thanks to all the Top 10 action, album sales were up 16 percent from last week but down a similar percentage compared to the same week in 2007, when Bruce Springsteen's Magic topped the charts.
Here's a rundown of the Top 10 albums:
1. Paper Trail, T.I.
2. Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Hudson
3. Something Else, Robin Thicke
4. Covers, James Taylor
5. Death Magnetic, Metallica
6. Year of the Gentleman, Ne-Yo
7. Rock N Roll Jesus, Kid Rock
8. The Glass Passenger, Jack's Mannequin
9. Kellie Picker, Kellie Picker
10. Fearless, Jazmine Sullivan
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