There should be a couple of of albums landing high in the Top 10 of the album chart next week, giving Dixie Chicks and High School Musical a bit of competition, and AFI if it doesn't fade too much in its second week. Busta Rhymes has an album out on Dr Dre's Aftermath titled The Big Bang. Frankie J's Un Nuevo Dia will be released by Columbia. The Waist Deep soundtrack on Def Jam is a wild card. Soundtracks can be a tough sell.

The week's releases are really about established and past stars, and some critics' favorites. Billy Joel's 12 Gardens Live is a two-CD set that should do pretty well. Allison Moorer and Keb' Mo' remind us that it's not all about teenage pop stars. Joan Jett has a new album, has been on tour and has been getting a lot of press because of it. Should be interesting to see how that does.

Critics darlings: The Replacements recorded two new songs for its Rhino greatest hits comp, Don't You Know Who I Think I Was? Sonic Youth's Rather Ripped has been getting great reviews and will probably make it into scores of year-ending top tens...and it will probably struggle to top 100,000 within three years. Rapper Mr Lif finally returns with a solo album, Mo'Mega. (the last we saw of him was the backpacker super group The Perceptionsists). And the Futureheads return with their sophomore album, News and Tributes on Vagrant.

It's not included on the list because it's a single, but Coolfer will mention “Do I Make You Proud”/”Takin' It To The Streets” by “American Idol” winner Taylor Hicks.

• Between the Buried and Me: The Anatomy Of (Victory)
• Sam Bush: Laps In Seven (Sugar Hill)
• Busta Rhymes: The Big Bang (Aftermath)
• Couch: Figure 5 (Morr)
• Dabrye: Two/Three (Ghostly International)
• Elan: Together As One (Interscope)
• Final Fantasy: He Poos Clouds (Tomlab)
• Pedro Luis Ferrer: Natural (Escondida)
• Frankie J: Un Nuevo Dia (Columbia)
• The Futureheads: News and Tributes (Vagrant)
• Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band: The Phat Pack (Immergent)
• Hot Chip: The Warning (Astralwerks)

Continue reading "Previewing The Week Ahead" »