Our Most Anticipated Albums of 2012

2011 was a fantastic year, considering we got releases from Britney, Gaga, King B, The Throne, Chris Brown, Adele and my favorite Nicola Roberts. Now, we have a lot of artists who aren't necessarily as big right now, be we still expect to put out amazing albums!

15. Frank Ocean - TBA

My excitement for Frank comes more so from his productions than his own album. He produced my favorite song on Beyoncè's 4, "I Miss You," and Watch The Throne's "Made In America." With that, I expect his next album to show massive growth from his mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra, which was so good, even Kanye West jumped on the bandwagon.

14. Diana Vickers - Music to Make Boys Cry

Her first album, Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree, received very mixed reviews. Most people either loved it or hated it... but I'm totally #TeamDiana. The best way to describe her music is polite. Her songs come across as teenybopper, but lyrically her songs are very emotional. It's a major plus that I'm totally in love with her style. The two leaks thus far took me right back to loving her first album. 

13. No Doubt - TBA

During their extended hiatus, Gwen Stefani has given us two incredible albums. Their group albums are no less spectacular either. Everyone knows No Doubt, everyone loves their music. I really hope they stay true to their nineties groove-style rock and don't go all Fall Out Boy on us! *crosses fingers*

12. will.i.am - #willpower

I think this will make the 2nd or 3rd blog post today were I've stated how excited I was for his album. He produced my favorite tracks from Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj recently, plus he's working with another one of my favorite's, Chris Brown. I know I'm one of his few fans, but I really think will.i.am is the male Kelis and way ahead of his time.

11. T.I. - Trouble Man

T.I. has a pattern with his album releases. One good. One bad. Welp, it's time for a good one and his good ones are REALLY good. T.I. could be as major as Lil Wayne or Kanye, especially since he hasn't conformed to the whole urban gone pop movement. 

10. Ke$ha - TBA

Face it. Whether you admit it or not, you loved Ke$ha's last album. She's the most catchy artist of her era and she writes her songs. Not that her hits are anything extremely profound, but some of the other things she has written really amaze me. Plus, she's revealed that this album will be more personal, which always makes for a great album (but mostly poor sales).

9.  Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded 

Nicki Minaj listened to her fans and went back to her mixtape style of music! Fuck yes! Even though I'm not crazy about the two releases so far, I'd be a liar if I said it's brought my interests down. I wanna see Nicki bring it hardcore, but with a her new baller budget.

8. Santigold - Master of My Make Believe

Her music is weird. Even more-so then M.I.A... but you can really groove to it. Her first album was dubbed my official "chill out anthem" during my freshman year of college. Now I'm a senior and it's only fitting that I have some good (but wild) study music.

7. Madonna - M.D.N.A.

Madonna is fifty and still a hotty. Throw up your photoshop claims all you want, she still works the camera like it's 1985. The hype around her right now is crazy, with confirmation of Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. appearing on her record and a new rumor of a Britney collabo. Plus, Madge will be taking over the Superbowl's halftime show. Time for the Queen to show these Princesses what it means to wear the crown.

6. Lana Del Rey - Born To Die

For an "up-and-coming" artist, she has a ton of hype. Her song "Video Games" has instantly become my most played song of 2012. It's incredibly addictive. I don't care for the other songs, but I'm hopeful she'll serve up an incredible album. 

5. Christina Aguilera & Eminen

No, they aren't releasing together, but I'm looking at their releases from the same angle. They're both the most talented artists from the respective debut eras and they both are know for making huge waves in music (though Christina has ha one unfortunate blip). There is a rumor of the two working together, but we don't know if that's 100% confirmed yet, especially considering they used to fucking hate each other. These are two albums I'm already putting money on the side for.

4. The Throne - Watch The Throne Part II (or anything by Bey, Jay or Ye)

Do I really need to explain this? Seriously?

3. the Bird and the Bee - TBA

They are my favorite duo and extremely underrated in the US ... and well, everywhere else. Still, every single one of their albums is a complete masterpiece, and I'm talking Picasso level art. If you don't know them, check out their music on YouTube.

2. Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror 

I don't think they are getting enough recognition, considering how incredible their debut was. MTV is still using their songs for background music. I'm excited to see where they take this "America Noise" genre and bring it to mainstream. 

1. Regina Spektor - What We Saw From The Cheap Seats

I'm 100% convinced that she is the most underrated talent of all time. Her lyrics, her songs, even her slightly off-beat personality are all just so beautiful. I'm been a huge fan of hers since 2006 and I would recommend Regina over any artist. You'll definitely be hearing a lot about her album on the blog.

What albums are you expecting to blow you away in 2012?