Predicting the Top Selling Albums of 2015 (UPDATED)

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

That, in a nutshell, defined the top selling albums of 2014. Veteran Taylor Swift scored big with 1989, while newcomer Sam Smith reached pay-dirt with In the Lonely Hour (which “borrowed” from Tom Petty). Finally, the icy blue Frozen soundtrack (it’s a stretch, I know) brought in a lot of green thanks to earworm “Let It Go”.

At this time last year, odds were that Swift was going to “Shake it Off” (shake off any skepticism of her continued success, that is). But for Smith, “Stay with Me” was an April release and momentum didn’t start to swell for his album until the latter part of 2014.

So basically, when it comes to predicting top album sales in a given year, it can be a crapshoot, and the outlook in February can be turned on its head come spring.

That being said, the most-anticipated releases of 2015 (that we know about so far) are sure to rack up their fair share of sales; and we’re going to do our best to predict which ones are going to triumph (economically speaking) in their respective genres.

In the wide-world of pop, Mark Ronson (with a huge helping hand from Bruno Mars) is the favorite thanks to Uptown Special and its mega-hit-single “Uptown Funk”. (Not since the days of Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley has uptown been such a trendy place!) But the kaisers of the rhyming couplet – Kanye West, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar – will all be gunning for top spot with 2015 releases.

Meanwhile, three massive alt bands (it’s a broad label, we know, but it will have to suffice for now) are set to duke it out in 2015, with Passion Pit, Death Cab, and Modest Mouse all releasing albums in the coming year.

Below, check out our predictions for pop, alternative, EDM, country, metal, rock, and folk [and now hip-hop/rap as well]!

As always, if you have a hot take, let us know in the comments. But, before you scold us, note that some artists – like Adele, the Biebs, and Rihanna – aren’t on the list as their next release dates are still too up-in-the-air.

Odds on the Top-Grossing Albums for 2015

Pop: 
Mark Ronson, Uptown Special: 5/1 
Kanye West, Swish: 6/1
Drake, Views from the 6: 6/1
Nicki Minaj, The Pinkprint: 8/1
Meghan Trainor, Title: 10/1
Maroon Five, V: 15/1
Fall Out Boy, American Beauty/American Psycho: 25/1

Alternative:
Passion Pit, Kindred: 6/1
Death Cab for Cutie, Kintsugi: 8/1
Modest Mouse, Strangers to Ourselves: 8/1

EDM:
Hardwell, United We Are: 8/1
Madeon, Adventure: 12/1
Calvin Harris, Motion: 18/1

Country:
Darius Rucker, Southern Style: 6/1
Luke Bryan, Spring Break … Checkin’ Out: 8/1
Carrie Underwood, Album Title TBA: 10/1

Metal:
Slayer, Repentless: 3/1
Marilyn Manson, The Pale Emperor: 5/1
All That Remains, The Order of Things: 5/1
Atreyu, Long Live: 8/1

Rock:
Imagine Dragons, Smoke & Mirrors: 4/1
Kid Rock, First Kiss: 6/1
Guns N’ Roses, Album Title TBA: 15/1
Halestorm, Into the Wild Life: 25/1

Folk:
Mumford & Sons, Wilder Mind: 1/1
Father John Misty, I Love You, Honeybear: 6/1
Frank Turner, Album Title TBA: 15/1

Hip-Hop/Rap: 
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter V: 3/2
Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly: 3/2
Future, DS2: 10/1
A$AP Rocky, At. Long. Last. ASAP: 12/1
Tyler the Creator, Cherry Bomb: 50/1

(Photo credit: rodrigoferrari (Kanye West 05) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)