Album Release events
- RCA Victor received 500,000 advance orders for Elvis' Christmas Album before its release, even though only 200,000 copies had initially been pressed. The album later spent four weeks at No. 1, received diamond certification in the US, and according to sources more than 17 million copies were shipped in the US. Irving Berlin also campaigned against Presley's version of “White Christmas.”
- Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album was released in the US. Among other things, it contains the “Rock Notes” section, which begins with a fictional report about Rex Stardust, the lead electric triangle player of the band Toad the Wet Sprocket. Seven years later, a real band of the same name was formed in California and had hits in the 1990s with “Walk on the Ocean” and “All I Want.”
- Exodus released their second studio album Pleasures of the Flesh.
- Garth Brooks released an album as “Chris Gaines,” a fictional character created for a planned film. The concept alienated some fans, and the album was Brooks's first since 1995 not to debut at No. 1; it ranked behind Creed's Human Clay.
- Elvis Presley released the compilation album Elvis 2nd To None, a follow-up to ELV1S: 30 #1 Hits. The collection included Presley hits not featured on the previous compilation, other notable recordings, the previously unreleased song “I'm a Roustabout,” and a remix of “Rubberneckin'” by Paul Oakenfold. Elvis Presley's official website confirms the release date as October 7, 2003.
- Weezer released their ninth studio album Everything Will Be Alright in the End, which reached No. 5 in the US. It was the band's first album on Republic Records and marked the return of producer Ric Ocasek, who had produced the 1994 debut album The Blue Album and the 2001 Green Album.
- Sum 41 released the album 13 Voices, their first album in five years. Much of the album deals with singer Deryck Whibley's journey from alcoholism to sobriety.