As 2008 recedes in our collective rearview mirror, the headlines trumpeting bad news are still there: record sales are lousier than ever, the economy sucks, record executives are still trying to flog the Pussycat Dolls. But there are still reasons to be excited by what’s to come in the probably contracting, definitely shapeshifting world of pop music. Nine things to look forward to today and in the 364 days that follow after the jump!

1. New albums by Franz Ferdinand, Bruce Springsteen, Roger Manning Jr., Lily Allen, Erykah Badu (!), Neko Case, Kelly Clarkson, etc., etc. And those are just the bands who a) have sorta-set release dates (although we all know how they can change) and b) I’m familiar with.

2. And, OK, the U2 record. If nothing else, it’ll be a useful benchmark for just how big pop music can still be in the face of plunging record sales and ever-diminishing interest on the part of anyone who can be described as a casual music fan, what with music getting ever less airtime from the corners of the earth that confer any sort of cultural influence.

3. And wait, more Prince! In an interview with Ann Powers previewed on the Los Angeles Times‘ site yesterday, the Purple One said he’s planning to release three albums in 2009, and that he wants to bring back the Quiet Storm sound via his latest protege, Bria Valente. Why? Because he “got sick of waiting for Sade to make a new album.” Sure, the surfeit of material probably means there’ll be hits and misses, but there’ll probably at least one diamond and/or pearl in the rough. (Plus maybe he’ll tour!)

4.. Springsteen at the Super Bowl. C’mon, this is a gimme.

5. Ida Maria is coming to the States. Her album will be legit-released on iTunes imminently, according to her American label head, although her live dates over here are just scheduled for NYC and LA for now. I’m pretty sure that my pattern of loving Scandinavian artists who are cruelly ignored by 99.9% of the American populace will hold steady with her, but I’m still excited. (See also Alphabeat. Yes, they’re opening for the human jar of itching powder that is Katy Perry, but it’s not like I’ll be locked into the venue and forced to watch her set at dildo-point. At least, uh, I hope not.)

6. Maybe the recession will cause at least some of the dopey “music should be free” Web 2.0 pundits to take their heads out of the tag cloud and be OK with, you know, paying artists and realizing that silly ideas like “1,000 True Fans” are sort of dependent on said “True Fans” having “True Sources Of Income”? I know, I know, I’m hoping that people who love to hear themselves talk will realize their irrelevance and dopiness and maybe realize that they should devote their hours to helping people instead of talking out of their collective Twitterholes. A tall order. But it’s New Year’s Day—what better time to dream, right?

7. The end of “credit bubblegum.” Having reached its nadir with Fergie’s shrill, Sex And The City-shilling “Labels Or Love,” this subgenre of pop—in which barked-out brand names fill in for lyrics, and the music’s quality is judged by how “hot” it sounds over a booming sound system at one of those shitty bottle-service clubs—will seem even more gauche as the world gobbles aspirins for its debt-fueled hangover. Just pray that Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package doesn’t involve a “Flo Rida provision” for any musician who wants to help kickstart the economy by endorsing American-made designer products.

8. More opportunities for 50 Centenfreude. See above for the reasoning, and note that his MTV competitive-reality show about power and money and not being here to make friends was scuttled because it “typified the kind of ethos MTV is trying to move away from,” according to Variety. (Yeah, so it got replaced by the inanely scripted, yet curiously dialogue-free adventures of bubbleheaded socialities, but any setback for Curtis is a good thing.) Will Before I Self-Destruct—which, recall, was originally going to come out last February—be the Her Name Is Nicole of late-’00s hip-hop? God that would be so awesome.

9. Hey, you never know. If you had told me a year ago today what my favorite albums and songs and concerts of the year would have been, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. Beyonce’s sister? The Gym Class Heroes? Billy Freaking Joel? That’s the great thing about music, though; it can hit you in the best, most unexpected ways, even in this era when it’s seemingly lost all its value and afforded about as much cultural capital as 15th-century epic poetry. That’s ultimately the reason I’m excited for the next clutch of days: Hope. Maybe it’s corny, but it’s true.