BRITNEY Spears has topped the US album chart with her new album. The self-titled third album “Britney” sold an impressive 745,744 copies in its first week of release, making it the second largest first-week sales of the year, just behind Britney’s label-mates N’Sync. Oh, I should also mention that she knocked off our favorite walking freak show Michael Jackson for that coveted No. 1 position.

This achievement makes the 19-year-old Britney the first female solo act to top the charts with her first three albums. Good job Jive records for a fantastic promotional and marketing campaign that included everything from a sponsorship deal with Pepsi to a live televised webcast from Las Vegas.

But is the album any good, I hear you ask?

Well, as someone once said, “If it isn’t broken then don’t try to fix it.” But I must confess Britney is trying to be taken a little more seriously. The first single and video “I’m A Slave 4 U,” was pretty racy for someone whose chastity is discussed more than her actual art, if you could call it art.

Britney is a walking paradox; she projects a squeaky clean image in her interviews, yet makes a video with a blatant hedonistic theme. But I guess it works for her. The same casts of characters are on board for this album, including a few new faces. You’ve got Max Martin and Rami who have played important roles in Britney’s previous two albums, plus new editions — the Neptunes, Justin Timberlake (Britney’s current love interest) and Dido who wrote the ironically titled ballad “I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman.”

“Britney” is not a huge leap forward for Spears, but her hardcore fans are sure to enjoy it. For those of you who are Britney fanatics, you can download Britney’s Pepsi ad, which was awarded “Online Event of the Year” at www.pepsi.com.

MADONNA GREATEST HITS VOL. 2: This holiday season is the last possible saving grace for one of the music industry’s most lackluster years. So when your back is against the wall, what do you do? Release a “Greatest Hits” package and sit back and count the money.

Some of the artists that have released a “best of” compilation in the last business quarter of 2001 are incredible. They include the following: Pink Floyd, The Backstreet Boys, Greenday, Tracy Chapman, Enigma, Ricky Martin, Rod Stewart and, last but not least, Madonna.

Madonna’s second “Greatest Hits” album picks up where the “The Immaculate Collection” left off. A decade of great music, and this is attributed to Madonna’s ability to spot a trend before anybody else, her impeccable business savvy and excellent taste in choosing producers.

“GHV2” chronicles Madonna’s best moments since 1990, “Erotica,” “Secret,” “Beautiful Stranger,” “Frozen” and “Music” and 10 more hits form the last 10 years.

There are some dull moments on the album, one being “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” which like most Andrew Lloyd Webber tunes are more of a novelty then a proper song. And another drawback about “GHV2” is that there are no new songs or unreleased tracks that usually give incentive to fans who own her whole collection of work to buy this retrospective album.

Overall, a must have for both casual and hardcore fans alike.