Robert Plant and Band of Joy
“Band of Joy” Release date: Sept. 14
Before Led Zeppelin, there was Band of Joy. Robert Plant, being the crotchety, awesome 61-year-old he is, has taken it upon himself to gather a band together, name it after one of his pre-Zepp projects, record some fresh material and trot it out on the road. His voice — shrillness intact — has aged beautifully (see 2009’s Grammy-winning duet with Alison Krauss, “Raising Sand”), so “Band of Joy” is definitely essential for anybody who’s ever played air guitar to “Stairway to Heaven,” myself included.
— MC

of Montreal
“False Priest”
Release date: Sept. 14
Kevin Barnes and company turned downtown Norman into the weirdest place in the Midwest when they played their bizarre brand of performance art rock at the second edition of Norman Music Festival two springs past. Judging by a few track leaks and an awesome summer performance of “Sex Karma” with Beyoncé’s sister Solange Knowles on “Jimmy Fallon,” of Montreal is headed in a funkier direction with its 10th studio recording. Toss white-hot superstar Janelle Monáe (who recently tweeted that the band’s album is a “musical masterpiece”) into the mix, and of Montreal is probably in for its most impressive release to date.
— MC

The Roots and John Legend
“Wake Up!”
Release date: Sept. 21
It’s been a while since there’s been a good hip-hop and R&B collaboration album, but the Roots and John Legend will almost certainly fix that. The talented collective’s album, “Wake Up!,” will be sure to keep listeners from dozing off. It should prove to have an excellent concoction of instrumentals and vocals, whether sung or rapped, as can be heard in the songs “The Fire” and “Wake Up Everybody.” The project will probably end up being one of the better albums this year, and is definitely something everyone should check out.
— RQ

Sufjan Stevens
“The Age of Adz”
Release date: Oct. 12
Sufjan hasn’t released a proper studio LP since you were in high school (unless you’re a sixth-year senior, in which case, stop reading this and go to class). “The Age of Adz” (pronounced “odds”) will mark a lot of growth from indie’s most sensitive big-time star since 2005’s epic masterpiece “Illinois”. The album’s fourth song, “I Walked,” is currently available for download at Sufjan’s website, which says that “Adz” shares thematic elements (existentialism, love, loss and the apocalypse) with his recent EP, “All Delighted People,” but sounds entirely different. Expect fewer of the lovely melodies that enthralled listeners of “Illinois” and more drum machines and sweeping, alien orchestration with backing choruses.
— MC

Kings of Leon
“Come Around Sundown”
Release date: Oct. 19
The singles from 2008’s “Only By The Night” elevated the Followill boys to arena-rock status after two excellent scruffy rock albums about partying (“Youth and Young Manhood” and “Aha Shake Heartbreak”) and another (“Because of the Times”) that built the launch pad for them to explode into superstardom. But if “Come Around Sundown” proves as crass, image reinforcing and generally skanky as the band’s previous records, it’ll rake in a pile of cash. I’m only hoping they do it while incorporating the shamelessly gross non-sequiturs and scat back rock ‘n’ roll that endeared “Aha Shake Heartbreak” to hipsters everywhere.
— MC

Taylor Swift
“Speak Now”
Release date: Oct. 25
No Mr. West, Taylor Swift will not wait to let you finish. Swift announced in July that “Speak Now” — one of the year’s most-anticipated recordings — would be a concept album, composed of confessions made to real people. In a summer video chat with fans, she said that each song is composed of “a lot of things I wanted to say in the moment that I didn’t.” Such personal admittance is Swift’s gold mine of lyrical content, helping sell more than 10 million copies of her self-titled debut and 2008’s “Fearless.” “Speak Now” will easily move than half a million in the first week, no small feat in the twilight of the recording industry.
— MC

Kid Cudi
“Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager”
Release date: Oct. 26
Kid Cudi is certainly not the most typical rapper, and in fact can be considered in a league of his own. His twist on hip-hop is both interesting and entertaining, and it will certainly be fascinating to see whether or not his second album, “Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager,” will follow his first effort with success. Cudder’s approach to music has been unique to say the least, but has allowed him access to a wide range of fans who love what he brings to the table. His first single,“Erase Me,” which features label-mate Kanye West, is not fantastic, so it’s hard to say whether or not he’ll find success, but the album will still be worth checking out.
— RQ

Norah Jones
“…Featuring”
Release date: Nov. 2
Sweetie singer Norah’s been holding out on us. She’s been hanging on to recordings from nearly 10 years ago that’ll finally see the light on “…Featuring” including notable duets with indie darlings Belle and Sebastian, M. Ward and Gillian Welch. She might actually be the only person on the planet awesome enough to record with Q-Tip and the Foo Fighters on the same album. Willie Nelson, OutKast and Dolly Parton all make appearances, as does the grave-dwelling Ray Charles.
— MC

Kanye West
“Dark Twisted Fantasy”
Release date: Nov. 16
All right rappers, Imma let you finish, but Kanye West could prove to have the best hip-hop album in 2010. West has a lot of pressure on him to recover from his lackluster effort on “808s & Heartbreak,” and it will be interesting to see if he can regain praise from some of the loyal fans that he lost from his previous album. He’s definitely got the fans buzzing over the two songs he’s dropped so far, “Power” and “See Me Now,” both of which seem to show West returning to his old self. “Dark Twisted Fantasy” will most likely be a valiant effort, and, as previously mentioned, could prove to be the best hip-hop effort of the year.
— RQ

T.I.
“King Uncaged”
Release date: TBA
The self-proclaimed King of the South is out of prison, and about ready to drop his seventh studio album, “King Uncaged”. T.I. started his new album’s campaign with the promo single “I’m Back” and followed that with the club-ready “Got Your Back” featuring Keri Hilson. So far it seems as though the Atlanta rapper is keeping with a similar makeup to his previous albums, having some songs be more street-oriented and some being more club-oriented. Given that his previous albums have done well commercially, this one should do the same, and T.I. will probably not let his fans down with his upcoming project.
— RQ