The past 12 months have seen the release of monster albums from Adele, Lady Gaga, Drake, Taylor Swift, Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj.

But the next 12 are promising to bring even more music from several of persons artists, plus new albums from Mumford & Sons, Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Linkin Park, Paramore, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, Maroon 5 and Green Day.

It’s a bumper crop of major albums from some of rock, pop and hip-hop’s largest stars, who are returning from long breaks, hoping to follow up smash debuts or just trying to keep their momentum going.

While release dates are always subject to change, here are some of the most anticipated releases of 2012.

Pop:
Ironically, the status of new albums from the artists whose next moves everyone is most curious about are the ones most in the air. Rihanna tends to deliver a new album every 12 or 13 months, which means that she may have another disc in stores at the end of next year once the just-released Talk That Talk has run its course.

On the additional hand, Lady Gaga has already begun talking about her follow-up to this year’s Born This Way. Gaga just told MTV News that she’s already started writing songs and “all the concepts are commencement to flourish and take place.” She didn’t give a potential release date, only promising, “I’ll place it out when it’s done.”

Katy Perry hasn’t freely spoken about what will come with 2010′s smash Teenage Dream, but it’s possible she could start work on new material in 2012 as well. We know for sure that Justin Bieber is plotting to show his more mature side next time around, possibly even incorporating some EDM sounds into the mix.

It’s been confirmed that Madonna hooked up with M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj for the single “Gimme All Your Luvin’ ” from her untitled forthcoming album, which will feature production from Ray of Light producer William Orbit.

Additional artists who could release fresh material in 2012: No Skepticism, Maroon 5, Avril Lavigne, Miley Cyrus, Christina Aguilera, Ke$ha and Nicole Scherzinger.

Hip-Hop:
Two titans of rap are cueing up fresh tracks for early 2012, with Nicki Minaj likely to get out of the gate first with her sophomore album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, due out on Valentine’s Day. The disc will include first single “Roman in Moscow,” which sees the Best New Artist Grammy nominee getting into the character of her alter ego, Roman Zolanski.

With the delay of God Forgives, I Don’t due to a pair of seizures he suffered in October, Rick Ross is expected to come back strong as well. The Bawse has taken his convalescent time to work on a new track with Jay-Z.

Speaking of Jigga, fans may get a new record from him as well, considering he told MTV News he was cooking up fresh tracks way back when he first played us songs from his Kanye West collaborative album, Mind the Throne. In fact, Jay-Z said you might get solo albums from both men as well as the second Throne release.

Additional artists that must have albums hitting stores in 2012: Nas, Frank Ocean, Slaughterhouse, Wiz Khalifa, the G.O.O.D. Music compilation, T.I., Huge Sean, 50 Cent, Ludacris, Huge K.R.I.T., Meek Mill and potentially two discs from Lil Wayne, I Am Not a Human Being II and Rebirth II.

Rock:
Some of rock’s largest guns are reloading for 2012, among them Green Day, who debuted some new tracks at a benefit show in August. The title of the follow-up to 2009′s 21st Century Breakdown hasn’t been announced yet, but some of the early songs slated for possible inclusion are “Nuclear Family,” “Carpe Diem” and “Sweet 16.”

U2 have reportedly been cooking up a number of potential new albums, logging sessions with Danger Mouse and working with French producer/DJ David Guetta, RedOne and will.i.am on a disc of dance-oriented tunes.

Prog rock revivalists Muse must also have some new material for us, with bassist Chris Wolstenholme promising in a recent interview that the signal on their sixth album will be “radically different” from 2009′s The Resistance.

We may get something from Linkin Park, who are prepping the follow-up to 2010′s A Thousand Suns, and Mumford & Sons. It’s been two years since the British folk rock revivalists dropped their subdue strong-selling introduction, Sigh No More, and they started giving fans a taste of some new material in the fall when they unveiled the majestic song “Ghosts.”

With a rough year, Paramore have irrevocably place the drama behind them and they’re super-psyched to record an album free of tension and inter-band awkwardness. So far, they’ve already unwrapped the bouncy “Renegade” and “Hello Cold World,” which bode well for their fourth full-length studio album.

Additional rock acts slated to release new albums: the reunited Soundgarden, Foster the People, Neon Trees, Sleigh Bells, Silversun Pickups, Bruce Springsteen and All-American Rejects.

Which 2012 albums are you most excited about? Which ones did we miss? Let us know in comments below.

Amerie Amy Cobb Amy Smart Ana Beatriz Barros Ana Hickmann Ana Ivanovi Ana Paula Lemes

U2 didn’t even release an album in 2011, but that didn’t stop them from raking in plenty of cash.

The iconic Irish quartet topped Pollstar’s list of the year’s most profitable tours, as their fantastic 360 Tour went an impressive 2.4 million tickets worldwide, grossing more than $230 million globally. Their North American dates ? which were postponed (and subsequently rescheduled) last year as Bono recovered from back surgery ? made $156 million, excellent sufficient to give them the highest-grossing tour on this continent, too.

Taylor Swift had 2011′s second most-profitable North American tour, as her expansive Converse in Now jaunt racked up $97.7 million at the box office. Swift’s country contemporary Kenny Chesney came in at #3, bringing in nearly $85 million in ticket sales, followed by Lady Gaga, who, despite wrapping up the North American leg of her Monster Ball Tour in April, subdue managed to bring in $63.7 million at the box office. Bon Jovi rounds out Pollstar’s top five, grossing more than $57 million.

Kanye West and Jay-Z’s Throne tour ($48 million), Lil Wayne’s “I Am Subdue Music” trek ($44 million), Britney Spears ($38 million) and Katy Perry ($28 million) also made the Top 25 in North America.

British boy band Take That’s reunion tour came in second to U2′s 360 trek based on worldwide receipts, making $224 million. Bon Jovi grossed nearly $150 million worldwide, excellent sufficient for third, with tours by Swift ($104 million worldwide) and Roger Waters ($103 million) rounding out the top five.

Also making Pollstar’s worldwide list were Rihanna, the Foo Fighters, Justin Bieber, Usher and the Kings of Leon.

Did you attend any of the highest-grossing tours in 2011? Let us know in the comments!

Amber Brkich Amber Heard Amber Valletta

It is traditional at the end of the year to look back on persons we have lost in Hollywood. Usually this means a poignant montage of actors, actresses and crew members during the Academy Awards, but it must also be noted that plenty of fictional passings occurred in 2011 as well.

They may have been memorable, sad, thrilling or even amusing, but each movie death meant something, and if we were to look back on the characters that passed away this year, these are the five that would get the largest applause.

It must noted that this article contains nothing but spoilers.

Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon in “X-Men: First Class”)
All it took was a coin through the skull to remind us why Kevin Bacon must be in more movies. His character, Sebastian Shaw, lived large and in style, choosing a submarine as his method of world travel and double-breasted suits as his villainous costume. When Magneto irrevocably met up with him to serve up some revenge extra cold, Shaw ate it in one of the most memorable scenes of 2011.

Fred Weasley (James Phelps in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2″)
Many characters didn’t live to see the end of the Battle of Hogwarts, but none hurt as much as the demise of one-half of the ginger-haired duo. George may have lost an ear in Part 1, but he lost a twin brother during the series finale, and we were there with him. At the very least, we can all remember the fun times we had together and rest assured that there is subdue one genetically identical person walking Diagon Alley.

Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow in “Contagion”)
The look of terror on Paltrow’s face from the ad may rank among some of the year’s most horrifying movie descriptions. Beth Emhoff’s death early in the film starts the chain reaction that sets the film’s wheels in motion, but none of the millions of deaths caused by the virus are shown with as much intimacy. She may have been patient zero, but she’ll always be #1 in our hearts.

Shannon (Bryan Cranston in “Drive”)
Bryan Cranston’s Shannon didn’t have much time to accept his fate, and neither did we. Previous to we knew it, Bernie Rose (played by Albert Brooks) had declared it “over.” Even the toughest of moviegoers had to flinch at the sight of the razor blade cutting through the neighborly mechanic’s arm. Shannon extra both comic relief and charm to a movie that benefitted so greatly because of it.

Planet Earth in “The Tree of Life” and “Melancholia”
The character we’re all closest with bit the dust not once but twice this year at the movies. It’s never an simple thing, watching the planet you’ve grown up on ruined ? just question Princess Leia. But never has the destruction of our home world been shown with as much stunning cinematography as it was in mouth of these art household hits.

Stick with MTV News as we count down the Best of 2011, including the top Artists, Songs, Live Performances and EDM Artists of the year.

For breaking news, celebrity columns, hilarity and more ? updated around the clock ? stay MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Ashley Tappin Ashley Tisdale Asia Argento Aubrey ODay Audrina Patridge Autumn Reeser Avril Lavigne

It is traditional at the end of the year to look back on persons we have lost in Hollywood. Usually this means a poignant montage of actors, actresses and crew members during the Academy Awards, but it must also be noted that plenty of fictional passings occurred in 2011 as well.

They may have been memorable, sad, thrilling or even amusing, but each movie death meant something, and if we were to look back on the characters that passed away this year, these are the five that would get the largest applause.

It must noted that this article contains nothing but spoilers.

Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon in “X-Men: First Class”)
All it took was a coin through the skull to remind us why Kevin Bacon must be in more movies. His character, Sebastian Shaw, lived large and in style, choosing a submarine as his method of world travel and double-breasted suits as his villainous costume. When Magneto irrevocably met up with him to serve up some revenge extra cold, Shaw ate it in one of the most memorable scenes of 2011.

Fred Weasley (James Phelps in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2″)
Many characters didn’t live to see the end of the Battle of Hogwarts, but none hurt as much as the demise of one-half of the ginger-haired duo. George may have lost an ear in Part 1, but he lost a twin brother during the series finale, and we were there with him. At the very least, we can all remember the fun times we had together and rest assured that there is subdue one genetically identical person walking Diagon Alley.

Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow in “Contagion”)
The look of terror on Paltrow’s face from the ad may rank among some of the year’s most horrifying movie descriptions. Beth Emhoff’s death early in the film starts the chain reaction that sets the film’s wheels in motion, but none of the millions of deaths caused by the virus are shown with as much intimacy. She may have been patient zero, but she’ll always be #1 in our hearts.

Shannon (Bryan Cranston in “Drive”)
Bryan Cranston’s Shannon didn’t have much time to accept his fate, and neither did we. Previous to we knew it, Bernie Rose (played by Albert Brooks) had declared it “over.” Even the toughest of moviegoers had to flinch at the sight of the razor blade cutting through the neighborly mechanic’s arm. Shannon extra both comic relief and charm to a movie that benefitted so greatly because of it.

Planet Earth in “The Tree of Life” and “Melancholia”
The character we’re all closest with bit the dust not once but twice this year at the movies. It’s never an simple thing, watching the planet you’ve grown up on ruined ? just question Princess Leia. But never has the destruction of our home world been shown with as much stunning cinematography as it was in mouth of these art household hits.

Stick with MTV News as we count down the Best of 2011, including the top Artists, Songs, Live Performances and EDM Artists of the year.

For breaking news, celebrity columns, hilarity and more ? updated around the clock ? stay MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Ananda Lewis Angela Marcello Angelina Jolie Anna Faris Anna Friel Anna Kournikova Anna Paquin