Usher is the best man

Usher’s “Confessions” retained the No. 1 spot on the national sales chart released Wednesday by Nielsen SoundScan, selling more than 460,000 copies last week to lift its three-week total just over the 2-million mark.

While last week’s sales marked a drop of about 20,000 from the previous week, Janet Jackson’s “Damita Jo” lost more than half of its debut-week sales pace, going from 380,000 to less than 150,000 to finish No. 3.

The biggest gainer in the Top 10 was Jessica Simpson, likely benefiting from the buildup for her and husband Nick Lachey’s Sunday network variety show. Her “In This Skin” went from 77,000 to 113,000 to finish No. 4 for the week. The “Now That’s What I Call Music” hits collection is No. 2. The rest of the Top 10, in order: Norah Jones, Evanescence, Kenny Chesney, Lil’ Flip, Guns N’ Roses and J-Kwon.

The highest debut was registered by Tamia, whose “More” entered the chart at No. 17 with sales of 71,000. The jokey karaoke of “American Idol” reject William Hung attracted more than 37,000 record buyers to his “Inspiration,” which debuted at No. 34.