Purring diva Mariah Carey is on a good wave this year – her most recent studio effort, the not so formulaic “E=MC2,” has sold 463,000 copies, becoming her sixth No. 1 album on the U.S. pop chart, a rare and precious feat.

Mariah Carey is known for her impressive multi-octave vocal range and her unique whistle as well as for her demands (which she calls “comfort”), her precious ways and her obsession with butterflies. Carey is also known for breaking records.

Earlier this month, she surpassed Elvis Presley on the Billboard charts as the solo artist with most No. 1 singles, by reaching her eighteenth No. 1 with her latest single, “Touch My Body.”

This week, Carey outdid herself again, scoring the highest debut of the year by any artist so far,  the highest first-week sales of her career and entering sacrosanct territory: female artists with the most No. 1 albums, reports Billboard.com.

“E=MC2” sold 462,971 copies during the week ended April 20, according to Nielsen SoundScan data. The previous album to mark 2008’s best first week was “Sleep Through the Static,” from Hawaiian singer-songwriter Jack Johnson, who debuted at No. 1 with 375,000 units in February.

Barbra Streisand remains the female artists with most No. 1 albums, eight, while Carey, Madonna and Janet Jackson tie for the second most No. 1 albums. Madonna releases “Hard Candy” next week so the ranking may change again.

In early April, the Queen of Pop ousted the King of Rock’n’Roll from his throne of artist with most top-ten singles, when “4 Minutes,” a duet with Justin Timberlake, became her 37th Top 10 hit.

British pop singer Leona Lewis’ debut album “Spirit” slipped to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 95,000 units in its second week, followed by Miley Cyrus’ “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both Worlds Concert” at No. 3. The album jumped a lengthy 28 places, with 47,000 units. It became available from all music retailers last week after 5 weeks of Wal-Mart exclusivity.

Country group Lady Antebellum debuted at No. 4 with its self-titled album, moving 43,000 units, while multi-artist compilation “NOW 27” slipped one to No. 5 with 39,000.

The following places are as follows: George Strait’s “Troubadour” at No. 6, down four places; the soundtrack to “Alvin and the Chipmunks” at No. 7, down one; the “Juno” soundtrack at No. 8 (up 38 places in conjunction with the film’s DVD release, notes Billboard); R. E. M.’s “Accelerate” at No. 9, down four; and Taylor Swift’s self-titled debut at No. 10, up three.