2009 summer music preview

Hottest album: Green Day, '21st Century Breakdown'

It’s been five years since Green Day conquered the world with their punk opera “American Idiot,” and all signs point to the Bay Area trio picking right up where they left off with the ambitious “21st Century Breakdown.” The album’s complicated, three-act storyline follows the trials and tribulations of a young couple named Christian and Gloria, but never mind all that—it’s the album’s slashing punk power chords and anthemic choruses that will keep it blasting from millions of car stereos and iPod earbuds all summer.

Read Metromix's review of "21st Century Breakdown."

Other hot summer albums: Eminem, “Relapse”; Black Eyed Peas, “The E.N.D.”; Daughtry, “Leave This Town”; Dave Matthews Band, “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King”; Lil Wayne, “Rebirth.”