Despite a wide array of harsh reviews, Lil Wayne managed to defy the critics and sell 964,000 copies of his ninth LP Tha Carter IV in its first week, more than enough to place the album at #1 on the new Billboard Top 200 chart. Weezy has now displaced Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch The Throne as the album with the second-best sales week this year, behind only the 1.1. million copies Lady Gaga’s Born This Way sold in late May. (Of course, Tha Carter IV achieved its feat without the aid of a 99-cent Amazon MP3 store deal.)

Last October, Lil Wayne’s previous album I Am Not A Human Being initially debuted at #2 on the Top 200 with sales of 110,000, after being made available only in digital format. Two weeks later the LP jumped to #1 following the release of the physical CD. Three years ago, Tha Carter III posted first week sales of 1.01 million copies.

Other new entries to the Top 10 this week include Red Hot Chili Peppers’ I’m With You at #2 (229,000) — which arrives nearly 20 years after the alt-rock band’s seminal LP Blood Sugar Sex Magik — David Guetta’s Nothing But The Beat (#5, 58,000) and Jake Owen’s Barefoot Blue Jean Night (#6, 55,000).

Meanwhile, both Adele’s 21 (up 88%) and Beyonce’s 4 (up 87%) see boosts following their respective performances at the MTV Video Music Awards two Sundays ago.

The Top 10 Of Billboard’s Top 200 Chart:

1. Lil Wayne, Tha Carter IV *new* *1 week*
2. Red Hot Chili Peppers, I’m With You *new*
3. Adele, 21
4. Jay-Z & Kanye West (The Throne), Watch The Throne
5. David Guetta, Nothing But The Beat *new*
6. Jake Owen, Barefoot Blue Jean Night *new*
7. Beyonce, 4
8. Game, The R.E.D. Album
9. Barbra Streisand, Whatever Matters Most
10. Various, NOW 39