Fall 2009 music preview

Does anyone still buy albums anymore? Inquiring superstars want to know.

Fall is always the time of year when the record industry dusts off some of its biggest acts and sends them forth into the world to sell more records. A few of this season's stars are a bit dustier than usual—it's been seven years since we had last got treated to a new Whitney Houston album, and 11 years since KISS roared out of Detroit Rock City with new tunes—but most of the big names are familiar ones: Carrie Underwood, Mariah Carey, Pearl Jam, Lil Wayne, Shakira, along with a few upstarts like Kid Cudi and Paramore. What's the advance word on this year's crop of would-be blockbusters? Allow us to fill you in.—Andy Hermann, Metromix