From Katy Perry and Stone Temple Pilots to MGMT and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, some of 2010's most anticipated albums are hitting stores this season. Big debuts from Court Yard Hounds and Drake are due, along with eagerly awaited releases by Christina Aguilera, Hole, the Hold Steady and Gaslight Anthem. Read up on 38 of the spring's discs, plus get your first listen to new tunes from Jakob Dylan, Willie Nelson and Peter Wolf, and watch exclusive performances and sneak peeks featuring fresh tunes by Erykah Badu, Justin Bieber and more.

March

Justin Bieber
MY WORLD 2.0 3/23

LOWDOWN: Just four months after releasing his debut, teen phenom Justin Bieber is rolling out the follow-up. "With My World, I was a rookie," says the singer. "I'm still a rookie, but I think of this album as an upgrade, a step above." The disc — produced by hitmakers Tricky Stewart and Bryan-Michael Cox — leans R&B, from its influences (Boyz II Men, Usher, Anthony Hamilton) to its theme. "I'm not allowed to have a girlfriend until I'm over 16," says Bieber, who reached the milestone on March 1st. "But I wrote a lot about girls."

WATCH IT:
Exclusive: Behind the scenes of Bieber's video for "Never Let You Go"

HEAR IT:
"Baby" feat. Ludacris

LAST TIME:
• Review: My World (2009)

Goldfrapp
HEAD FIRST 3/23

LOWDOWN: Written and recorded in six months, the fifth album from London electropop duo Goldfrapp is a return to the luxurious beatwork that made them dance-floor darlings and Xtina's studio pals. Heavily influenced by the pillowy atmospherics of Giorgio Moroder and Suicide, Head First is a soft-focus haze smeared with a newfound, ABBA-esque positivity. "I wasn't very happy before," says frontwoman Alison Goldfrapp. "We've done introspective, we wanted to make an 'up' album."

HEAR IT:
"Rocket"

LAST TIME:
• Review: Seventh Tree (2008)

Meth, Ghost and Rae
WU-MASSACRE 3/30

LOWDOWN: "Lyrics over some nice beats — that's what the people want from us," says Ghostface Killah, who recruited fellow Wu-Tang Clan members Method Man and Raekwon for the closest thing to a Wu album since 2007. Even though most of the Clan aren't involved, the trio got the retro-soul beat for first single "Our Dreams" — which features a 1975 Michael Jackson sample — from RZA's stash. "When I heard that beat, I was like, 'Holy shit!'" says Ghostface. "It's not a roughneck joint — just nice and mellow."

HEAR IT:
"Our Dreams"

Erykah Badu
NEW AMERYKAH PART TWO: RETURN OF THE ANKH 3/30

LOWDOWN: Erykah Badu's latest is the right-brained counterpart to 2008's New Amerykah Part One. "I was in a political place," she says. "This album is emotional, vulnerable." To get the moody vibe on cuts like the piano-driven "Window Seat," about an ambivalent lover, Badu recorded in her shower: "I wanted to sound like I was in a tunnel. I got my laptop and closed the door."

WATCH IT:
Exclusive: Badu goes through her make-up routine in a visual piece set to "Window Seat"

HEAR IT:
"Window Seat"

LAST TIME:
• Review: New Amerykah (2008)

• Full List: Spring Music Preview 2010