Album: Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager – Kid Cudi

Release Date: Oct. 26

Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, or Kid Cudi as he’s known to fans today, has been blowing up the music scene since his “A Kid Named Cudi” mix tape dropped in 2008. In the two years following, Cudi’s original flavor and unique musical stylings have been sampled on tracks featuring the likes of Snoop Dogg, Kanye West and Common.

Now Cudi is releasing his second full-length studio album, “Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager,” as a sequel to 2009’s wildly popular “Man on the Moon: The End of Day.” Several of the album’s tracks have already made their way to the Internet, where they’ve been eagerly downloaded by fans hungry for their Cudi fix.

“MOTM2 is dark by nature, and instead of bringing you into my dreams like my first album, I’m bringing you into my reality. Good and bad,” said Cudi in a blog about his new music after he changed album titles this past April. And although the sophomore album delves deeper into Cudi’s mind, tracks like “Erase Me” and “I Do My Thing” prove he’s still the same old Kid.

Cudi dabbles in a variety of genres, toying with different sounds and rhythms to create his signature style. He even calls on old friends like Ratatat and Pharrell to juice up the album. Look for it in stores Oct. 26.

Album: Teenage Dream – Katy Perry

Release Date: Aug 24

Katy Perry is a woman of many talents. Since the start of her career in 2007, Perry has kissed a girl, dealt with a hot ‘n’ cold fiancé and lately she’s been strutting around California in Daisy Dukes with bikinis on top. With the release of her second album, Perry delivers more of the same flirty pop that fans have grown to love.

The first single, “California Gurls,” which hit airwaves this past May, quickly became a summer anthem for females ages 8 to 28, with the Candy Land-inspired video only adding to the buzz. Now, “Teenage Dream” has climbed to the No. 3 spot in the iTunes charts only a few weeks after its release.

After Perry’s engagement to actor Russell Brand, some fans would expect her sound to become more mature and refined. Though Perry does touch on some more of life’s more serious elements in tracks like “Not Like the Movies” and “E.T.,” she still keeps it light and dance-worthy, proving that if Lady Gaga is the queen of pop, Perry is still the candy-coated princess.

Album: Come Around Sundown – Kings of Leon

Release Date: Oct. 19

When we think about overnight success in today’s music industry, the story of Kings of Leon almost immediately comes to mind. After all, the Tennessee natives were relatively unknown until they released “Sex on Fire” and “Use Somebody” in 2008, although they had already put out three previous albums since 2003. The Kings are now dropping their fifth studio album, entitled “Come Around Sundown,” and it is already receiving attention as one of the most promising albums of 2010.

Currently, the Kings have been on a U.S. tour, which will cap off in Dallas on Sept. 23. The band has added some of the new tracks to the tour’s set list, including “Mary” and “Radioactive.” So far, this is the only taste fans have gotten of what’s to come with the new album, as no singles have been released to the public yet.

It’s true that the Kings did clean up their gritty, Southern sound somewhat on their last album. However, fans can rest assured that “Come Around Sundown” will contain the same down-home, rootsy tunes that made the band so popular.