Benefiting from a week’s worth of solid promotion, including TV appearances on Good Morning America, American Idol, Live with Regis and Kelly, and Saturday Night Live, Kelly Clarkson debuts at #1 on the Billboard album chart with her fourth album, All I Ever Wanted.

With 255,000 copies of her latest release in fans’ hands, Clarkson lays claim to the second-biggest tally of 2009 so far (U2’s No Line On The Horizon, new last week, sold 484,000). It’s the second time she’s started out on top of the Billboard 200. Her 2003 debut, Thankful, released seven months after her American Idol win, moved 297,000 units out of the gate.

While the initial numbers for All I Ever Wanted best sophomore set Breakaway by 5,000, Clarkson’s previous at-bat, 2007’s My December, began somewhat stronger with 291,000. With such consistent first-week figures over four albums, anyone wanna bet on how her future #5 might fare?

To date, here’s how each of Clarkson’s releases stack up, sales-wise:

Thankful (2003) – 2.7 million copies
Breakaway (2004) – 6.1 million copies
My December (2007) – 788,000 copies
All I Ever Wanted (2009) – 255,000 copies

Yes, My December unfortunately stalled, but packed with potential hits, All I Ever Wanted is positioned well for the long haul.