Less than a year after his breakthrough sophomore record, Charge It to Da Game, debuted at No. 3, southern rapper Silkk the Shocker returns to the charts with Made Man, the new No. 1 album in the country. Featuring cameos from his older bro Master P, Snoop Dogg, Mya, Mystikal, Mia X, and C-Murder, Made Man sold 240,000 copies for the week ending Jan. 24, according to SoundScan.

Silkk bounced teen favorite Britney Spears from the top spot. After one week at No. 1, the seventeen-year-old singer's debut dropped to No. 3, while the new live album by Dave Matthews and band buddy Tim Reynolds, Live At Luther College, came in at No. 2. The record is the second in a series of low-key live releases from Matthews and his label RCA, meaning the discs are modestly priced, and there's no single or video to accompany the release. Nonetheless, fans scooped up 187,000 copies last week.

The only other new record in the top 100 belongs to indie folk rocker Ani DiFranco. Her latest, Up Up Up Up Up Up, sold 51,000 copies, good enough for No. 29. Meanwhile, male model-turned R&B crooner Tyrese has a hit on his hands. Riding the success of his single "Sweet Single" (not to mention his regular face time on MTV as a part-time VJ), the singer's self-titledalbum has jumped from No. 81 to No. 48 in the last two weeks.

From the top, it was Silkk the Shocker's Made Man, followed by Dave Matthews' Live at Luther College; Britney Spears' ...Baby One More Time (selling 122,000 copies); the Offspring's Americana (114,000); 'N Sync (103,000); Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (102,000); DMX's Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood (98,000); 2Pac's Greatest Hits (96,000); Dixie Chicks' Wide Open Spaces (89,000); and Jay-Z's Vol II: Hard Knock Life (87,000).

ERIC BOEHLERT(January 27, 1999)