The month of November sees the biggest number of record releases than any other time of the year. But this holiday season was one for the record books, as releases by Michael Jackson, Madonna, Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys made for a blood match on the album charts.

Hurt little by the Sept. 11 events (after all, this is the nation that made Jay-Z’s The Blueprint No. 1 the week following the tragedy), music buyers went out in droves to support their favorite pop stars.

So how did all the artists fare in first week sales figures?

One of the most anticipated albums of the year was Michael Jackson’s long-awaited comeback effort, the brazenly titled and poorly reviewed, Invincible. Some cynics dismissed a Jackson return, predicting sales under 300,000 copies. Scandals have made Jackson a tabloid favorite since the 1990s. This, combined with fading popularity and a music market decline, had led many to doubt Jackson could ever come near the success of his 1982 opus Thriller, the biggest selling album in history with sales of more than 40 million units worldwide.

Detractors be damned! Jackson rocked our world with a respectable 366,000 copies sold, enough to land him at the No. 1 position on the Billboard 200 album chart and help him reclaim the throne as the “King of Pop.” Surrounded with a bevy of publicity, (including an ABC special which attracted an impressive 25 million viewers) Invincible has yet to fall out of the top ten since its Oct. 30 release. In a little family comparison, Jackson’s kid sister Janet shifted 605,000 copies of her latest album last April.

Powered by the post-9/11 anthem “Hero,” Enrique Iglesias’ Escape debuted just behind Jackson at No. 2 with sales of 267,000. The Backstreet Boys’ The Hits – Chapter One moved only 197,000. Even though greatest hits packages usually don’t have colossal openings (they continue to sell well over time if the artist/group maintains longevity), the debut is rather disappointing, considering the million plus debuts of their two previous albums.

But Jackson didn’t have much time to gloat at the pole position, as Britney Spears made a debut at the top of the charts the following week. The self-titled effort scared major rivals from the release date, including idol Madonna’s GHV2: Greatest Hits Volume 2, pushed back to the following week. Spears’ previous album Oops…I Did It Again broke the record for first-week sales by a female artist with 1.3 million copies last year. Britney dropped a staggering 46 percent to 746,000 copies compared to her previous disc. Despite the steep decline, the album became the second-best opening week of the year (behind ‘N Sync’s Celebrity take of 1.9 million) and making her the first female solo act to reach No. 1 with her first three albums.

Madonna’s GHV2 debuted at No. 7 with sales of 150,000 copies, a strong debut considering that the record contains no new material and that the Material Mom did no publicity for the release. Madonna’s previous greatest hits collection, The Immaculate Collection, has sold 22 million units worldwide.

Garth Brooks, the best-selling solo artist of all time, landed on top of the charts this week with Scarecrow selling in excess of 465,000 copies. The country superstar now has a total of seven pop albums that have debuted at No. 1, a new chart record.

The aforementioned releases may help to alleviate the sales slump experienced during the earlier part of the year. Due to several factors, including the recession and growing CD piracy, this year has been a rough one for most record companies and retail chains.

Record sales dropped five percent the week after Sept. 11, but the music industry returned to normalcy about a month later. On a sour note, however, sales of new releases fell more than six percent from 2000. The lack of powerhouse records this year has hurt the industry as well – ‘N Sync’s Celebrity was the only album to sell more than 1 million copies in its first week, compared with five records in 2000. For the first time in a decade, the music industry is faced with the possibility of declining sales.

Part of the problem seems to be the lack of talent with staying power. Unlike many 80s acts such as Michael Jackson, Madonna and U2, the record industry has found itself artists with diminishing presences. Poor performances from anticipated hits by Mariah Carey and Macy Gray were just a few albums that under performed this year.

With superstar releases bringing customers in, most album sales may rise slightly before the year ends. The fourth quarter is always the industry’s bright light and this year it may end up being the most important fourth quarter in history. In 2000, nearly thirty-five percent of the year’s sales occurred between October and December, and a repeat performance is more than likely. Record releases, including heavyweights Kid Rock and Creed, also hold promise.

Other problems contributing to the slump in sales include a decline in the teen-pop market. As manufactured pop albums continue to crop up like unwanted weeds, fans are becoming savvier in discerning the difference between substance and style.