A hot week for Chili Peppers

THE Red Hot Chili Peppers have been putting out albums since the Reagan administration, but the Los Angeles band never sold enough of them in a single week to claim the No. 1 spot on the nation’s pop chart. That changed on Wednesday when “Stadium Arcadium,” the group’s ninth studio album, debuted in the top spot on the weekly list of the nation’s bestsellers.

The Peppers, which headlined the KROQ-FM (106.7) Weenie Roast in Irvine last weekend, saw its double album sell 442,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The first single from the album, “Dani California,” has had strong radio play; it’s the band’s ninth No. 1 on Billboard’s Modern Rock airplay chart, the most by any artist.

Finishing a distant second for the week is Nick Lachey, whose second solo album CD, “What’s Left of Me,” sold 172,000 copies in its first week in stores. The former 98 Degrees member (and estranged husband of Jessica Simpson) also will be starring in a sitcom on the newly formed CW network, tentatively titled “She Said, He Said.”

Last week’s bestseller, Tool’s “10,000 Days,” slips to No. 3 on the new chart with 157,000 more copies sold. The next two spots belong to a pair of new R&B; releases: The self-titled album from Atlanta quartet Jagged Edge sold 115,000 copies, while “Baby Makin’ Music,” the new CD from the venerable Isley Brothers, finished close behind with 111,000 copies. The Isleys began in the 1950s as a gospel group and scored their first major hit with “Twist and Shout” in 1962.

Two other names from the 1960s arrived on the chart this week. Paul Simon, whose first album in six years, “Surprise,” opens at No. 14 on sales of 61,000 copies. Right behind is “Living With War,” Neil Young’s politically charged new release, which sold 60,000 copies.

At No. 20 is “St. Elsewhere,” the debut album for Gnarls Barkley, the joint effort by rapper Cee-Lo Green and DJ/producer Danger Mouse. The album, which features the single “Crazy,” sold 50,000 copies in its first week. Also new this week: Teena Marie’s “Sapphire” at No. 24, Snow Patrol’s “Eyes Open” at No. 34, Korn’s “Live & Rare” at No. 51 and “The Best of Chris Isaak” at No. 54.

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-- Geoff Boucher