There's a lot of stylistic distance between Faith Hill's twang and Staind's roar, but both are going to make a dent this month. And watch out for Labor Day: When Late Registration drops, Kanye's going to own the back-to-school crowd.

Faith Hill, Fireflies

The Nashville chanteuse with the great pipes and the husband as famous as she is drops her first set in three years, and it's tagged as being "more country" than her last, overtly pop, affair. The buzz is being generated by the biographical lead track, "Mississippi Girl." It's a twang-tinged self examination that mixes mandolin plinks and Bon Jovi drums to explain that Faith may be known around the world, but she still wears jeans and gives her kids piggy-back rides. If you put your ear to the ground you can actually hear the tune--the fastest rising of Hill's career--galloping up them thar charts.

Release date - August 2

Staind, Chapter V

The band's fifth (duh!) disc finds Aaron Lewis and pals cowering under the usual blanket of depression and dark clouds, despite the terrific record sales and the impressive industry stature. Figuring out the whys and wherefores of hideous relationships (take a spin through the lead single "Right Here") ain't easy, but it's Staind's signature. The track's molten guitars and heavy-hearted pining remind us that they were one of the first nu-metal/post-grunge outfits to bring the drama to the hit parade. Would Evanescence have made it without them?

Release date - August 9

The Click Five, Greetings from Imrie House

Power pop for pre-teens? The Click Five brings its snappy suits and neat haircuts to a TRL near you, and, if you're lucky, you can catch 'em signing autographs after their opening set for the Backstreet Boys ... The band's debut, Greetings from Imrie House, is a cheat-sheet on pop history, covering the spectrum of ultra-melodic rock vibes, from the Beach Boys and Tommy James all the way up to Good Charlotte and Simple Plan. You can decide if this is a good thing.

Release date - August 16

Hilary Duff, Most Wanted

Ms. Duff is a busy girl. So busy in fact that she only had time to record three new songs for her new album Most Wanted. After selling nearly 12 million copies worldwide of her first two discs, the singer and her generals decided to kick back and remix/remaster/repackage her most popular tunes, all of which you've already danced to. A deluxe edition with special packaging and some bonus items will also drop the 16.

Release date - August 16

Kanye West, Late Registration

The brilliant and cocky rapper-producer ("he could have crossed the Atlantic on his own hot air" says London web daily The Guardian) follows up his double platinum debut with Late Registration, possibly the most anticipated record of the year. Guests at the party include Jamie Foxx, Jay-Z, Maroon 5's Adam Levine, and songwriter Jon Brion, who gets a co-producer credit. The lead single "Diamonds (From Sierra Leone)" proves he's refined his already-sleek MC skills, and The New York Times recently reported that this well-known perfectionist is tinkering with the final product right up till the last sec. If it has half the impact of The College Dropout, it'll rock quite a few worlds.

Release date - August 30