NSYNC will be Number One this week by a mile. When the chart’s completed on Tuesday, their final tally will be around 2 million copies sold.

Wow.

That said, amid this week’s boy band frenzy is some serious, hard-rocking action. Elektra’s Staind remains at home in the Top Five, while Warner Bros.’ Linkin Park, Island/IDJ’s Sum 41, MCA’s Blink-182, Wind-Up’s Drowning Pool, New Noize/DreamWorks’ Alien Ant Farm and Parlophone/Virgin’s Gorillaz all show very solid sales gains inside the Top 20.

Add to that a probable Top Ten debut by Columbia’s Cake and the world seems so much louder than it used to be.

Other debuts of note this week include Violator/Loud/Columbia’s "Violator… The Album," as well as an impressive bow by the king of all that’s pierced and tattooed, Neil Diamond (whose VH1 "Behind the Music" installment has aired 2,456 times since you started reading this story).

The geniuses at Top 40 tell us Epic’s Macy Gray featuring Erykah Badu will feel the most Top 40 love this week, while the new one from London/Sire’s Eden’s Crush will have an impressive week. Meanwhile, look for strong close-out on J’s Alicia Keys and Atlantic’s Craig David.

The brain surgeons who track Jamz and Mix tell us that Roc-A-Fella/IDJ’s Jay-Z is one of the biggest tracks of the year and is a lock to crossover.

At Post Modern this week, it’s all about Atlantic’s P.O.D., Columbia’s Craving Theo and U.S. President George W. Bush’s complete alienation of all remaining U.S. allies.