A host of huge stars -- ranging from Madonna to Nickelback and Soundgarden -- are planning album releases during the next 18 months. Here's a run-down of where they are in the recording process, and how long we'll have to wait for the music.

MADONNA

Madonna entered the studio on July 4 to begin recording her first album outside the Warner Music fold. Manager Guy Oseary has tweeted Madonna's whereabouts for awhile, noting in April she had entered a studio to work on the score for the film that marks her directorial debut, "W.E.," and that in May she was listening to potential tracks. Rumored collaborators include A-Trak and David Guetta. Her last album, Hard Candy, was released in April 2008. With the next album expected in 2012, the gap will exceed the three years and five months between 1994's Bedtime Stories and 1998's Ray of Light. Madonna has seven No. 1 albums, 12 No. 1 singles and has sold more than 26.9 million albums since 1991, according to Nielsen SoundScan. (Her career predates the SoundScan era.)

billboard.com