AFI ousts the Chicks from No. 1

THE rock band AFI has the new No. 1 album in the country this week with “Decemberunderground,” the seventh release from the group that started as a Mendocino County punk outfit.

“Decemberunderground” sold 182,000 copies its first week in stores to take the spot from the Dixie Chicks, whose “Taking the Long Way” had been the nation’s bestseller for two consecutive weeks. The Chicks CD sold 175,000 this last chart week and slipped to No. 2, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks retail music sales.

Yet another Atlanta rapper is near the top of the charts: Yung Joc enters at No. 3 with his debut CD, “New Joc City,” which features “It’s Goin’ Down,” a major radio hit and the most-played video on BET. The album sold 148,000 copies in its first week.

A more august name in hip-hop, Ice Cube, is back after an absence from the charts. The movie star, director and producer (and N.W.A. alumnus) opens at No. 4 with “Laugh Now, Cry Later,” his first CD in six years. It sold 144,000 copies.

It’s a banner week for Disney’s Buena Vista Music Group, with three titles in the Top 10. “High School Musical,” spawned by the Disney Channel, is at No. 5 (87,000 copies sold on the week) and Rascal Flatts sit at No. 8 with “Me and My Gang” (66,000). Debuting at No. 7, meanwhile, is the soundtrack to the animated hit “Cars,” (68,000) which features tracks from James Taylor, Randy Newman, Sheryl Crow and John Mayer.

The only other Top 20 debut: Miami mix-tape hero DJ Khaled from the Terror Squad has “Listennn! The Album” at No. 12. The album sold 44,000 copies.