2016 was a big year for music, but 2017 just might be bigger. Long awaited projects from Gorillaz and The xx will finally see the light of day, while enticing clues have surfaced about new material from Kanye West and St. Vincent. Vampire Weekend must take on a new dynamic after losing a band member, Fleet Foxes are sampling the sound of goat hooves, and Kendrick Lamar is working in the shadow of his universally lauded sophomore album—whatever surprises 2017 holds, we’re ready for them!

Each day, thousands of fans from around the world come to Genius to discuss music and add knowledge to our song pages. Some of our most dedicated and knowledgeable music lovers discussed the coming year in music and voted for the most anticipated projects. Here are the Genius Community’s 15 Most Anticipated Albums Of 2017.

15. SZA, CTRL Music

Despite signing with TDE back in 2013, SZA has yet to release her debut LP. Sure she dropped the 10-song EP Z in 2014, but her full-length project has been in the works ever since. In October, she tweeted “I actually quit,” adding “Punch (TDE co-president) can release the album if he ever feels like it.” Luckily for the fans, a few weeks later she announced that the album, titled CTRL Music, is still on its way. After features on labelmates' records—like Isaiah Rashad’s The Sun’s Tirade and ScHoolboy Q’s Blank Face—and a show-stopping appearance on Rihanna’s “Consideration,” it’s finally time for SZA to be the star of her own show. —Vuk Aleksić

14. St. Vincent, TBA

“I think it’ll be the deepest, boldest work I’ve ever done,” Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) said of her upcoming album in a recent interview with Guitar World. “The personal is political and therefore the political can’t help but influence the art. And only music that has something pretty real to say is gonna cut the mustard.” Though its release is only a few months away, that’s all we officially know about the album. There are, however, a few guesses we can make: her style typically intertwines rock, pop, and jazz. She was also photographed recording in producer Sounwave’s studio, and her album will likely feature homages to Prince and David Bowie, two of her musical influences who passed away last year. Clark has done nothing but amaze fans with her past five albums, and we shouldn’t expect anything less from her sixth. —Alec Ratnaswamy

13. Vic Mensa, TBA

Vic Mensa once referred to his debut album, formerly titled Traffic, as the “best album of 2015.” But at the beginning of 2017, he’s still gearing up to release the project. The production ensemble 1500 or Nothin', with Grammy accolades for their work with artists like Jay Z under their belt, appear to be spearheading much of the production. While no audio has been officially released, 1500 or Nothin’ member Larrance Dopson shared a minute-long video of an unmastered song from the album, and Mensa himself has debuted three new songs in concert—“Stoner,” “Heaven On Earth,” and “We Could Be Free.” The tracks focus on addiction, the death of Mensa’s long time friend Killa Cam, and the overlap of Mensa’s personal struggles and America’s social problems. While fans may lament the two year delay of Mensa’s debut, he seems to be carefully crafting an engaging and emotional album. —B4_Da_BASED

12. Fleet Foxes, Crack Up

Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold described their upcoming third album, Crack Up, as “Entire World Music, 70 percent ocean, 30 percent landscape.” It’s been over five years since the group’s last album, Helplessness Blues, and Fleet Foxes fans are starving for some new material, but it looks like the wait’s almost over. In between various replies and clips from Robin’s Instagram, he commented on Facebook, writing that Crack Up is “Alllllmost done.” Influenced by an array of varied artists like Joanna Newsom, Nina Simone, and Radiohead, Fleet Foxes are renowned for their baroque pop/folk music. On Crack Up, though, Robin is looking to be a bit more experimental—surely an album sampling the sounds of pencil lead and goat hooves will satisfy fans' hunger. —Aenex

11. Arcade Fire, TBA

Arcade Fire’s first four albums arrived in three-year intervals, but 2016 came and went with no release. The band’s glut of solo work combined with exhaustion means that the follow-up to 2013’s Reflektor is arriving slightly behind schedule. In fairness, synth player Will Butler warned us as early as mid-2015 that February 2017 was most likely the arrival date. Now band members are talking about the spring. With the band due to headline Primavera Festival in June, it’s almost certain the album will be out by then. Recording sessions with Jack Ü have been played down, Pulp bassist Steve Mackey has been touted as a more than likely producer and early listeners have described material as “dynamic, danceable rock”—and there’s at least one anthemic “na na na” chant. Expect to be listening to the next album within five months. —Vesuvius

10. Vampire Weekend, TBA

After 2013’s critically acclaimed Modern Vampires of the City, fans and critics wondered what the future of Vampire Weekend would hold, especially since band member and main producer Rostam Batmanjili left the group. In a tweet announcing his departure, he said that his “…identity as a songwriter + producer…needs to stand alone,” but that “…Ezra and I will continue to collaborate on future projects + future VW songs.” In an Instagram post that confirmed Batmanjili’s exit from the band, frontman Ezra Koenig announced that the band was indeed working on a fourth LP and that the working title was Mitsubishi Macchiato. The band has reportedly signed a deal with Columbia Records for the new project, which is rumored to be released later this year. —John Adamson

9. Smino, blkswn

St. Louis-born rapper Smino has been gaining a buzz over the last few years thanks to his EPs S!ICK S!ICK S!ICK and blkjptr. After moving to Chicago, he began collaborating with Saba, Noname, and Chance the Rapper, but now he’s ready to introduce himself to a wider audience with blkswn. He stands out from the crowd with his sharp puns, and futuristic, jazzy production from the hands of frequent collaborator Monte Booker. If the eponymous single is anything to go by, it’s going to be a special project. —Zeniths

8. Travis Scott, AstroWorld

Travis Scott announced Astroworld during Rihanna’s 2016 Anti tour and later confirmed a 2017 release for the project. The album title references the closed theme park Six Flags: Astroworld in Houston, TX that’s now used to house the Houston Rodeo. In September 2016, Travis told Hot 97 that he “wanted to focus on raps.” However, the new album might feature more Travis production after all, as he announced on Twitter that he’s “making more beats” this year. Whether it’s beats, bars, or both, we’re excited for Travis’ twisted theme park fantasy. —Astroworld

7. Lorde, TBA

All eyes are on the reclusive New Zealand-born singer-songwriter Lorde who’s currently preparing the follow-up to her 2013 dream-pop record Pure Heroine, which shot her to international fame. Lorde’s reportedly been writing new material since 2013 and has made “exciting breakthroughs” in the last year. It seems as though she’s got good company in the studio, too. She’s teamed up with Taylor Swift producer and Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff recently and tweeted that the pair had “really crushed it at work this week.” She shared a photo of superstar DJ Flume around the same time. Most recently, she revealed that the record is written and that she’s in the production stages now. “I’ve worked like a dog for a year making this thing great for you guys,” she said. —s_connoisseur

6. Pusha T, King Push

At the BET awards in June 2016, Pusha T told Complex that his sophomore solo album King Push was coming out by the end of the year—its first single would be “Drug Dealers Anonymous” featuring Jay Z. “People know the mood of the album; street hip-hop at it’s finest,” he said. But since then, the President of G.O.O.D Music has been mum on the subject. He released “H.G.T.V Freestyle” and the strip club anthem “Circles” to close out the year. Given the stark, menacing raps on King Push — The Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude, we’re looking forward to more of the same on King Push. And with photos of Push in the studio with old partners in crime The Neptunes making the rounds, we can only expect more Virginia fury on his next release. —Michael Heal

5. Kendrick Lamar, TBA

Kendrick dropped his B-side EP untitled unmastered. in early 2016 with eight leftover tracks from To Pimp A Butterfly. In the year since, there’s been little noise about what he’s got planned next. DJ Dahi spoke about a potential tribal sound for Kenny’s next album, while Kendrick himself hinted at having the confidence to make a non-rap project. Close collaborator Terrace Martin claimed Kendrick’s third studio album will be just as innovative as TPAB, and may be a trap-infused conceptual piece about loving yourself. Whatever sound emerges on the new installment, evidence that Kendrick has been in the studio with Flying Lotus,

London On Da Track, BADBADNOTGOOD, and even Samuel L. Jackson, is more than enough to grab our attention. —Drew_Harvie

4. G.O.O.D. Music, Cruel Winter

The long-anticipated follow-up to G.O.O.D Music’s 2012 album Cruel Summer, Cruel Winter, is rumored to have been in the works since late 2012. The label dropped “Champions” last June, a posse cut featuring Kanye West, Travis Scott, Quavo, Gucci Mane, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, Yo Gotti, and Desiigner. Kanye also teased a 15-minute remix of Desiigner’s “Panda,” featuring the entire G.O.O.D Music roster. Fast forward to September and Travis Scott told Rolling Stone that he was an executive producer of the project and that the label had “singles on top of singles on top of singles on top of nuclear bombs.” He also appeared on the Hot 97 show Ebro in the Morning later that week, revealing that he expected the project to be out sometime this February; he labeled it “very youthful,” “straight to the point,” and “the illest ever.” Let’s hope he’s right. —John Adamson

3. The xx, I See You

Will Jamie xx take his bandmates to the higher places his solo work reached? Or will The xx return to the moody, skeletal sound they seemed to almost exhaust on their second record? These are just some questions that loom over their forthcoming third project. The singles released so far, “Say Something Loving” and “On Hold,” sit somewhere between Romy’s delightful In Colour contribution, “Loud Places,” and the traditional xx ethos. Jamie’s production is more optimistic, breathing fresh life into the music while remaining distinctly xx. The potential for more of this is enough to excite any music fan, even before realizing there’s a chance Young Thug will jump on a ballad about lost love. —Heisenferg

2. Gorillaz, TBA

The Gorillaz’s fifth album is an elusive beast. The band began a relentless social media campaign in September, revisiting their previous releases and unveiling four Instagram-hosted graphic narratives that follow each of the band’s members in the years since Plastic Beach. Though it’s been nearly four months, no new music has officially surfaced. What we do know can be pieced together from interviews and appearances. Damon Albarn, the musical mastermind behind the project, has set a strangely specific “benchmark of 125 bpm.” This tempo would likely make the album more Demon Days than Plastic Beach, potentially signifying a return to the group’s hip-hop roots. In recent times, Albarn’s been in the studio with Snoop Dogg, Vic Mensa, and De La Soul. In the words of real-life-person-behind-the-animated-band Jamie Hewlett, the album’s “really fuckin special.” —s_connoisseur

1. Kanye West, Turbo Grafx 16

It all started with a tweet in February 2016, but after a host of personal and family issues in the second half of the year, Kanye’s plans to release Turbo Grafx 16 last summer were left in shambles. After a brief stint at a Los Angeles hospital, Kanye jumped straight back into the studio, and a rumored tracklist appeared online incorporating familiar gaming titles such as Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Super Mario Galaxy Pt. 1 & Pt. 2. Given Kanye was supposed to release the album in 2016 (the console does have “16” in the name), it’s unknown if this album title will live on into 2017. All we can do is wait and trust that Kanye won’t give us what we want, but what we need. —s_connoisseur