The ghost of Elvis Presley [ tickets ] might beg to differ with a press release issued Tuesday (10/6) by Columbia Records claiming that Mariah Carey [ tickets ] -- who just entered her 60th week as No. 1 -- has toppled the Beatles to become the artist with the most weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart.

According to Billboard, it's actually Presley -- with 79 weeks at the top -- who has spent more weeks at No. 1 than any other artist.

Nonetheless, Carey does find herself in elite company. When her single ''Heartbreaker'' hit No. 1 for the second consecutive week, she broke a dead-heat with the Beatles to become the artist with the second-most total weeks atop the Hot 100 Singles chart.

According to Billboard, Carey is also the only artist to have a No. 1 single each year in the 1990s. The last decade to see an artist hit No. 1 each year was the 1920s, with Paul Whiteman [ tickets ] & his Orchestra.

''Heartbreaker,'' which features rapper Jay-Z, is the 14th Carey single to hit No. 1, a feat that has been bettered only by the Beatles, with 20 No. 1 singles, and Elvis Presley, with 17. The song also tops this week's Billboard R&B and Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Single sales charts. According to her label, more than 115 million Carey records have been sold worldwide.

It's been a good month for other female artists as well. Last week, Britney Spears [ tickets ]' ''Baby One More Time'' surpassed LeAnn Rimes' ''Blue'' to become the top selling album by a female teen. The Recording Industry Association of America has certified that seven million copies of the album have been shipped to retailers.

The Dixie Chicks' album ''Wide Open Spaces'' was certified seven times platinum by the RIAA as well last week, making it the top-selling album by a country duo or group.

In other chart-related news, the newly-released Creed album ''Human Clay'' has taken the top slot on the Billboard 200 album chart for the week, besting the debut of Garth Brooks' ''In The Life Of Chris Gaines.''