Say Hello, Again, to No. 1 J. Lo

In a remarkably tight sales race that saw the top three albums separated by fewer than 5,600 copies, Jennifer Lopez’s remix collection has recaptured the No. 1 spot on the nation’s album sales chart.

The singer-actress’ “J to tha L-0!: The Remixes” sold 101,557 copies last week.

In doing so, it edged out Linkin Park’s “Hybrid Theory,” which sold 96,377 copies, and Alan Jackson’s “Drive,” which sold 96,043 copies, according to SoundScan.

Lopez’s album, which offers revamped versions of songs from her “J-Lo” collection, entered the charts at No. 1 two weeks ago but fell to third place last week behind Jackson and Creed.

The odd thing about Linkin Park’s album is that it has sold more than 6.3 million copies since its release early last year but has never reached No. 1.

The highest new entry on the chart is gospel star Kirk Franklin’s “Rebirth of Kirk Franklin,” which is No. 4 after selling 91,000 copies last week.

The remaining positions in the album Top 10 are held, in order, by Ludacris, Creed, Nickelback, Pink, Britney Spears and Puddle of Mudd.

Alanis Morissette’s “Under Rug Swept,” released Tuesday, shows signs of being a contender for the No. 1 spot on next week’s chart. Morissette’s last album, “Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie,” sold 470,000 in its first week in 1998. Mr. Cheeks’ “Lights, Camera, Action!” is the new No. 1 single.

*

Robert Hilburn