Like 'N Sync's No Strings Attached before it, 98 Degrees' Revelation was supposed to be the album that took the industry by storm and put an end to people dismissing them as also-rans in the boy band sweepstakes. But unlike No Strings Attached, which was delivered with a record-breaking 2.4 million album sales its first week in stores, Revelation didn't live up to its hype or name. The Ohio group's latest sold only 276,343 and debuted at No. 2 behind New Orleans rapper Mystikal's fifth album, Let's Get Ready. But of course, Mystikal's album, which sold a healthy 330,663 copies its first week in stores, had an edge over 98 Degrees going into this race: a spot on the Jive Records roster.

This week's Top 10 finds two other debuts by rap acts, one of them the same age as your typical 98 Degrees fan. Bad Boy hopeful Shyne, currently facing an attempted murder rap stemming from the same December nightclub fracas that has given his label boss Sean "Puffy" Combs so many legal headaches over the last year, managed a No. 5 entry with his self-titled debut, which sold 159,852 copies, according to SoundScan. Teen rapper Lil' Bow Wow, meanwhile, barked up sales of 101,397 copies of Beware of Dog for a No. 8 debut. The lil' dog better watch his heels though, because the Baha Men remain a strong presence at No. 10 with Who Let the Dogs Out; the album, packing one of the summer's biggest left-field surprises with its title track, sold 93,821 copies, up nearly 10,000 from the previous week.

Elsewhere on the chart, country stars Kenny Chesney and John Michael Montgomery both made a strong showing, with Chesney's Greatest Hits hitting No. 13 and Montgomery's Brand New Me landing at No. 15, one spot above pre-teen Aaron Carter's Aaron's Party (Come Get It). Other debuts include hard rockers Soulfly, who came in at No. 32 with Primative, former Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler at No. 60 with Sailing to Philadelphia and the Black Eyed Peas at No. 67 with Bridging the Gap.

Finally, in the never-seen-that-before department, Pearl Jam make history this week as the first act in the history of the known world to have five albums -- five double live albums, no less -- enter the Top 200 simultaneously. Some folks -- including a few at Sony Music -- no doubt thought the band was insane for its ambitious beat-the-bootleggers plan to release a live album documenting each show on its recent European tour, but the loyal "Jamily" fans backed them up in style. The band's Katowice, Poland show (from June 16, 2000) debuted highest, selling 14,058 copies to debut at No. 103, followed by Milan, Italy (No. 125), Verona, Italy (No. 134), London (No. 137) and Hamburg (No. 175).

Next week, find out exactly how many people bought into the Radiohead hype, how many still remember Paul Simon and how many forked over green for Green Day. But given the previous week's hip-hop showing, it could all be moot because of a guy by the name of Scarface.

This week's Top 10: Mystikal's Let's Get Ready (330,663 copies sold); 98 Degrees' Revelation (276,343); Madonna's Music (212,084); Nelly's Country Grammar (172, 962); Shyne's Shyne (159,852); Creed's Human Clay (127,050); Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP (108,506); Lil' Bow Wow's Beware of Dog (101,397); 3 Doors Down's Better Life (96,744) and the Baha Men's Who Let the Dogs Out (93,821).

RICHARD SKANSE
(October 5, 2000)