In 2016, music will be more than mere entertainment. It’ll have to be. Between the squawking and squabbling of presidential candidates and the bad news filtering in from all corners of the planet, the noise of modern life will be damn near deafening. Fortunately, there are dozens of promising albums scheduled to drop in the next 12 months. (One of them might even be Rihanna's long-delayed Anti, unless it drops before the Times Square ball does.) What follows are the records we’re most excited for -- the ones that stand the best chance of keeping us happy and sane in these crazy times. Let the music play.