AS the weather gets cooler, so does the music. The clubs, halls and arenas are running on eclectic current this fall, with a diverse line up ranging from the hip-hop groove master Usher to the snarling twiddle-dee-dee of Irish punks Flogging Molly.

Here, in chronological order, are 15 of the most anticipated concerts.

PHIL COLLINS (Sept. 17 and 18 at Madison Square Garden): In the beginning, Phil Collins was the drummer for Genesis; then the world discovered the bald beat boy can also write and sing great music. He’s best when he sets his powerhouse drumming to starkly orchestrated songs. Besides, who wouldn’t want to hear “Sussudio” for just one more night?

GLORIA ESTEFAN (Sept. 21 at Madison Square Garden): This old-school bon-bon shaker defines the Miami sound. Her influence is felt in hip-hop, dance and R&B; without her there would be no J.Lo. You should make it a point to hear this seminal Latin-pop singer at least once, and there’s no better hall than the Garden to contain her explosive show.

FLOGGING MOLLY (Sept. 29 at Roseland Ballroom): Playing a fusion of traditional Irish pub music and punk rock, Flogging Molly attracts everyone from old booze hounds to skater kids. After playing the Warped Tour’s main stage this summer, the seven-piece outfit is headlining solo gigs. As the Pogues and Black 47 taught us, you can still rock -even with a tin whistle and an accordion in the band.

WILCO (Oct. 5 and 6 at Radio City Music Hall): Love him or not, Wilco mastermind Jeff Tweedy is an artist to watch. The onetime alt-country icon’s increasingly skewed rock can be ponderous, but sometimes inspiring. Playing Radio City is a risky move for this band of shoe-gazers, who might not have the charisma to pull off a concert in such a large hall. That will get tested when Tweedy and company attempt to play lengthy numbers like the 15-minute “Less Than You Think” and the 11-minute “Spiders (Kidsmoke),” both from the new Wilco disc, “A Ghost Is Born.”

JULIO IGLESIAS (Oct. 8 at Radio City Music Hall): No singer comes as close to being the quintessential Latin artist as Julio Iglesias, the single best-selling soloist in music history. He has recorded albums in English, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and even German. Yet he’s most attuned to the secret language of women – a fluency he’ll no doubt demonstrate at Radio City.

BEASTIE BOYS (Oct. 9 at Madison Square Garden): The Beastie Boys make their triumphant return to the city that started it all, the inspiration for this year’s top-selling album “To the Five Boroughs” (which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart) -an homage to the Big Apple that their fans waited six long years for. After years of political activism, the Boys are returning to what they do best: rockin’ the mic. Rumor is the aging but still relevant rap pioneers will add a second Garden gig.

MORRISSEY (Oct. 9 and 10 at Radio City Music Hall): The Pope of Mope played a stunning concert series at the Apollo earlier this year, but the uptown venue could hold only so many of his fans. Then he was to headline the massive Lollapalooza fest this summer, but that gig went belly-up. We’ll see if the third try is the charm when Morrissey lands at Radio City. Expect the concerts to be uncharacteristically upbeat, mixing some Smiths songs with the full range of Morrissey’s solo efforts.

BRIAN WILSON (Oct. 12 and 13 at Carnegie Hall): As the patron saint of pop music, Brian Wilson has accomplished just about everything there is to do in the field – except finishing his masterwork, “Smile.” Until now, that is. After years of wrangling, false starts, drugs, drink and extended bedtime for Brian, the Beach Boy gets his day in the sun with the Sept. 28 release of the legendary lost recording. Wilson performed “Smile” in its entirety this spring in a series of London concerts; the Carnegie Hall shows mark the work’s Stateside debut.

THE FAINT (Oct. 15 and 16 at Webster Hall): Like Duran Duran, Depeche Mode and the Cure all rolled into one, the Faint is everything that’s great about new wave synth-pop, mixing Goth with electronica and a dash of social commentary. The group’s two-night series is sure to get more than head-bobbing from even the most blasé hipsters.

STING (Oct. 19 at Madison Square Garden): Sting continues his never-ending world tour with a one-night stand at the Garden. After years of people griping about how he lost it when he went solo, this ex-Police chief has finally shut down the bellyachers with his great new CD, “Sacred Love.” Don’t be late for this one: Sting has enlisted former Eurythmic Annie Lennox as his opener.

BILL COSBY and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (Oct. 21 at the Rose Theater): Hey, hey, hey, Bill’s not going to play, but he’ll serve as master of ceremonies when the Rose Theater opens its doors to the public with a concert by trumpeter extraordinaire Wynton Marsalis and his Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. And who knows, Marsalis may even coax Cosby, an amateur musician, to sit in on a jam. Hey Bill: Leave the stogies at home – the joint is brand new.

REVEREND AL GREEN (Oct. 22 at Westbury Music Fair): With a radiant joyousness and gospel fervor, the Reverend Green is a singing preacher from the church of soul. At a Green concert, expect to head for the higher ground, where he’ll praise Jesus in one song and turn up romantic R&B flames in the next. His vocal sweetness is the missing link between Sam Cooke and Luther Vandross.

TAKING BACK SUNDAY (Nov. 19 at Roseland Ballroom): Maybe it’s singer Adam Lazzara’s dangerous microphone swing that’s the band’s big attraction, or maybe it’s just all those mopey songs about girls. Whatever. On this tour, Taking Back Sunday takes a chance and expands its repertoire with tunes from its new album, “Where You Want to Be,” featuring bruising rock anthems about fear, misery and politics. Well, OK, there might be a mopey song about girls, too.

THE LIBERTINES (Oct. 12 at Webster Hall): Lead singer Pete Doherty’s drug problems may keep him off the tour (as they did in 2003), but the Libertines are stellar Brit-rockers with or without him. They just might be the best band to come out of England in years, and this could be your last chance to see them before they self-destruct.

JOSS STONE: the 17-year-old singing sensation not only has a great voice, but on her upcoming “Mind, Body & Soul” album (set to drop Sept. 28), the pretty young songstress proves she’s a skilled writer, too. Her last disc, “The Soul Sessions,” was made up of covers of other artists’ tunes; since then, Stone was determined to craft an album of original songs custom-tailored to her earthy voice. She’ll road-test them tonight at an intimate Irving Plaza showcase.