Courtesy of Geffen Records

Weezer, Weezer

Official Release Date: June 24

The Verdict: Since making dubious returns to the sound of their early, fan-loved classic albums seems to be paying dividends for bands these days, Weezer, too, has decided to give it a go on their sixth record, eight-tenths of which hit the Internet yesterday. In the face of logic and history, we were still holding on to crazy hopes that this might be another Pinkerton, mostly based on the goofily charming single "Pork and Beans." On a first listen, though, it barely sounds like another Maladroit. We really like "Troublemaker" and "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)," either of which is probably good enough to have been on 2000's "The Green Album," but everything else is pretty forgettable, more or less in line with 2005's Make Believe. Worst of all, Rivers Cuomo has loosened his death grip on creative control, and even allowed a song written and sung by rhythm guitarist Brian Bell, who sounds a little like Uncle Kracker.

Photo: Warner Bros.

Official release date: April 29

The verdict: For the past decade, Madonna's been impressing her own ideas on Mirwais Ahmadzaï, Stuart Price, and other dance producers that most of her fans had never heard of previously; on Hard Candy — which leaked in part over the weekend and in full this morning — she bends to the will of Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, and Justin Timberlake, three guys that everyone has been sick of for years. The results? Not bad!

Crotchy album cover and creepy video aside, Candy sounds less like a midlife crisis (than, say, Confessions on a Dancefloor) and more like something you'd actually listen to (than, say, Confessions on a Dancefloor). A couple Timberland/Timberlake tracks can grate ("Devil Wouldn't Recognize You" is practically a note-for-note rewrite of "What Goes Around…/…Comes Around"), but Pharrell's contributions are uniformly inspired, with his "Candy Shop," "Heartbeat," and the cowbell-enhanced "Give It 2 Me" being the album's most immediate highlights. On a first listen, this is way better than we expected.

Courtesy of Sub Pop

Official release date: April 22

The verdict: With the second season of their HBO show set to drop sometime later this year, Flight of the Conchords are releasing an album next week on Sub Pop. As big fans of the band in particular and the quotable comedy-rock album in general ("I’m gonna hump you … sweetly"), we regret to report that the results are mixed. Not in the usual album-review sense of "mixed," though, meaning that there are some good songs and some crap. Everything’s quite funny, and the songs stand up musically as genre parodies ranging from faux-Innervisions Stevie Wonder (“Children on the street … killing each other using knives and forks / Calling each other names like dork“), faux–French pop (“Foux du Fafa,” in which it becomes clear that the singer doesn’t actually know French), and faux–sensitive balladry (“Just because I’m in a novelty band doesn’t mean it’s all about poontang”). But they’re all old songs!

Courtesy of Island

Official release date: April 15

The Verdict: Not since writing the only Christmas song that doesn't send us into bouts of uncontrollable grinchery has Mariah Carey done anything to win a permanent place in our iTunes library; sadly, E=MC², which hit file-sharing networks yesterday morning, does not end that streak. 2005's semi-entertaining The Emancipation of Mimi, bolstered by beats from Kanye and the Neptunes, was hailed as a miniature comeback after it failed to stink as badly as her two previous albums — this one isn't quite that good. Too many middling, mid-tempo R&B tracks make most of the record indistinguishable, and the mostly hookless, conservative melodies keep her from properly smashing upper octaves like she used to (only the not-bad piano ballad "I Wish You Well" rises above the tedium). Also, there are no Christmas songs.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

The Raconteurs, Consolers of the Lonely

Official release date: March 25

The Verdict: Truth be told, we were never that crazy about the Raconteurs, probably just as much because that they kept Jack White from making White Stripes albums as for the fact that their last album was kinda boring. 2006's Broken Boy Soldiers was mostly just a plodding, Meg-less slog through a bunch of middling, prog-embellished power pop, little of which had any real hook (admittedly, though, "Steady As She Goes" is totally awesome). After a few listens, we're not sure we like Consolers of the Lonely much more. They've traded the proto-prog for a full-on (sometimes fiddle-enhanced) country sound, which actually suits them pretty well. But problem is, not many of these songs can carry the weight of their slick-ish, too big, full-band arrangements. "Many Shades of Black" might've made a great White Stripes track, though.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Official release date: April 1

The verdict: If you've read any of the early reviews for R.E.M.'s fourteenth album, Accelerate, you're probably aware that this is supposed to be the band's return to form after a decade-long slump (which started with 1998's Up and lasted through 2004's Around the Sun). Is it, then? Well, after listening all weekend (the album leaked Saturday morning), we can unequivocally tell you that the answer is sort of. Sure, lead single "Supernatural Superserious" sounds like it could've fallen off the truck on the way to Reckoning or Out of Time — as do "Man-sized Wreath," "Living Well Is the Best Revenge," and at least three other tracks here — but is this really what we wanted?

Courtesy of Downtown Records

Official release date: April 8

The verdict: "Crazy" aside, we liked Gnarls Barkley's 2005 debut St. Elsewhere less for its songwriting and more for its ridiculous, genre-melding ambition (combined with Cee-Lo's impressive willingness and ability to sing over all of Danger Mouse's wacky drum-machine pyrotechnics). On a first listen, their second album, which hit the Internet last night, seems to have a bit more substance. The arrangements are still pretty manic — about half of it sounds like you're listening to Odelay and The Turtles Greatest Hits at the same time — but the songs feel sturdier. Apart from the obligatory "Crazy" rewrite ("Neighbors") and a few weird psychedelic missteps, there's not much here that we don't already love. To save you some time, here are the tracks that'll definitely end up on your iPod: "A Little Better," "Blind Mary," "Charity Case," "Going On," "Surprise," and "Whatever."

Courtesy of Geffen Records

Snoop Dogg, Ego Trippin

Official release date: March 11

The verdict: Like all latter-day Snoop Dogg albums, Ego Trippin is half-loaded with interminable filler. But how's the other half? Not too bad! You've heard "Sensual Seduction," his seventies-biting sex jam with the awesome video, but the Rick James ripoff the Time interpolation (thanks, helpful commenter!) "Cool" as well as "My Medicine," a not-half-bad country song (!) recorded in the style of Johnny Cash, should make for equally hilarious YouTube fodder. Also among the listenable are the slow, brass-enhanced "Press Play," the Kanye-produced (we think) "Those Gurlz," and the Neptunes-y "Sets Up." No real ground is broken, obviously, but the production is uniformly decent, and Snoop's drawl can still sound as menacing or funny as he wants it to. As usual, it'll probably take some sorting, but somewhere in here there's a pretty excellent EP.

Courtesy of 4AD Records

The Breeders, Mountain Battles

Official release date: April 8

We think: 2002's Title TK picked up, more or less, where 1993's Last Splash left off, and the Breeders' new, just-leaked fourth album finds the Deal sisters in pretty much the exact same place; Mountain Battles is just more likable, laid-back fuzz pop that typically makes its point in less than two minutes. On a first listen, nothing here is as much fun as "Cannonball" or "I Just Wanna Get Along," but "Walk It Off" and "No Way" come close enough. So far we really like "Regalame Esta Noche," on which Kim plays guitar like Santo & Johnny and Kelley sings in Spanish, sort of.

Courtesy of Virgin Records

Lenny Kravitz, It Is Time for a Love Revolution

Official release date: February 5

We think: First, let it be said that it wasn't inconceivable that Lenny Kravitz could've surprised here us with a decent album — he'd gone four records without having a single idea, and we figured he might be due. Sadly, no. Love Revolution is just more plodding, mid-tempo seventies rehash with dull hooks and lyrics so bad they might make your ears nauseous ("You are my life and my passion / That never goes out of fashion," "It's getting heavy / But I am ready / To take on this world and rock steady," etc.). Particularly egregious are the "Miss You" rewrite "Dancin' Till Dawn" and the limp protest anthem "Back in Vietnam." Even if you were still a fan, this probably isn't worth the space on your hard drive.