The 20 Albums We're Most Looking Forward to This Fall

1. OUTKAST
Not Yet Titled
There are artists whose albums provoke prerelease excitement. And then there's OutKast, a rare (lone?) breed of multiplatinum risk taker that automatically earns our hard-earned $15 without delivering even a single lick of new music. ''With us it's expect the unexpected,'' says Big Boi of the follow-up to 2003's Grammy-winning Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. ''I can't really put it into words.'' Okay, then, we'll give it a shot. The duo's sixth studio album is also the soundtrack to their very own movie-musical vehicle — tentatively titled Idlewild (due in January) — budgeted at roughly $30 million and set in the 1930s South. (In addition to OutKast's Big Boi and Andre 3000, it stars Terrence Howard, Cicely Tyson, Ben Vereen, and Patti LaBelle.) ''Dre plays the son of a mortician and my character is the star performer at the club in the town of Idlewild,'' says Big Boi. ''And then something happens and...I can't tell you!'' Okay, spoiler-phobe, but what's the music like? Possible first single ''Idlewild Blues'' is ''based in ragtime, '20s and '30s era,'' he says. ''We dip into a bit of everything — ballads, up-tempos, blues, gospel — and put it together like Frankenstein.'' An innovative album attached to a movie musical: Are we looking at a triumph of Purple Rain-ian proportions? ''That's what people been saying,'' says Big Boi. ''It's definitely not our Under the Cherry Moon.'' (Dec. 6)

2. Neil Diamond
12 Songs
When you think of Diamond, mom-friendly anthems, jazz hands, and a sequined blazer probably come to mind. But Rick Rubin had a different image. ''He's one of the great American songwriters,'' says Rubin, the legendary producer who's worked with the Beastie Boys, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Johnny Cash, among many others. ''Somewhere along the way the perception of that changed. Because his concert is such a theatrical event, the songwriter part fell away in the public's eyes.'' After months of what Rubin calls ''weekly therapy sessions,'' he finally convinced Diamond to ditch the shtick and pick up a guitar. The result is a quiet, introspective album that's unlike anything Diamond's ever done. ''It's a very intense emotional journey,'' says Rubin. ''This is not a party record.'' (Nov. 8)

3. Kate Bush
Aerial
The bewitching British chanteuse returns from the world's longest maternity leave with her first album in 12 years. A leadoff single — the beautifully whooshy ''King of the Mountain'' — debuts online Sept. 27, but the main event will be a two-CD concept album that promises to be her most ambitious yet. Move over, Tori Amos — the real fairy queen is back to reclaim her throne. (Nov. 8)

4. Pharrell
In My Mind
With the release of his solo debut, the charismatic public face of the Neptunes should — based on an early listen to a couple of tracks, at least — seriously challenge Kanye West as the hottest artist-producer in the biz. Divided equally into seven rap tracks and seven R&B songs, the disc will be preceded by simultaneous singles: the club-crushing banger ''Can I Have It Like That'' (featuring Gwen Stefani) and the effervescent soul jam ''Angel.'' (Nov. 15)