Recovery
by Eminem
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 1313 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,099 out of 1313
  2. Mixed: 113 out of 1313
  3. Negative: 101 out of 1313

Review this album

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. jakerthetaker
    Jun 22, 2011
    10
    The best eminem album yet. Tons of classic beats and lyrics. Also, many people featured in his songs are perfectly integrated to keep the eminem feel, while still giving their own individual touch.
  2. blisss
    Jun 11, 2011
    10
    Hey, to everyone who says if we give this a good rating, we don't know the real slim shady, well yes i do, i have heard all his cds, i own all of them and i generally like them all (Relapse and Infinite are just ok though). He is the best rapper ever and i personally believe this is his best cd. It has nothing but good songs, it is amazing and shows just how great of a rapper he is
  3. Csuh94
    Jun 10, 2011
    3
    The people who give this album a high rating do not know the true Eminem-The Real Slim Shady. The once controversial and trashy rapper who everyone loved to hate has turned into America's sweetheart. His flow is still there, the amount of syllables he can fit in a bar is still amazing, but his "maturity" is nothing more than an act to gain approval from the contemporaries. I understand asThe people who give this album a high rating do not know the true Eminem-The Real Slim Shady. The once controversial and trashy rapper who everyone loved to hate has turned into America's sweetheart. His flow is still there, the amount of syllables he can fit in a bar is still amazing, but his "maturity" is nothing more than an act to gain approval from the contemporaries. I understand as an artist one must grow, but it's past Eminem's prime. He's a man who has been down "that road", and he exclaims his redemption in this album. I praise Eminem for his growth as a human being, but I think it's time for him to put down the mic.… Expand
  4. lovemusic
    May 12, 2011
    8
    eminem was more calm on this album. it was a good album. it deserved recognition at the grammys. it was decent. eminem proves he can sing and rap.
  5. pavlo79
    Apr 2, 2011
    8
    While this album does not have the variety and ground breaking songs and lyrics of old Eminem classics such as The Slim Shady LP (1999), The Marshall Mathers LP (2000), and The Eminem Show (2002), it is a big improvement on Encore (2004) and Relapse (2009). The only things that keep this album from being a classic are the lack of funny Slim Shady songs, no extremely homophobic or sexistWhile this album does not have the variety and ground breaking songs and lyrics of old Eminem classics such as The Slim Shady LP (1999), The Marshall Mathers LP (2000), and The Eminem Show (2002), it is a big improvement on Encore (2004) and Relapse (2009). The only things that keep this album from being a classic are the lack of funny Slim Shady songs, no extremely homophobic or sexist punchlines, terrible chorus, and terrible collaborations. This album however has some solid lyrics, and Eminem's skill of rapping is at an all time high.… Expand
  6. MattFitz96
    Feb 27, 2011
    10
    In his latest album eminem now finds himself maturing more from "relapse". this album is hardly a recovery. it his pretty much the same eminem whining about his life, his wife, and his love life and how he has had his heart broken. there good tracks like not afraid, and your never over, and some pretty bad ones like ridaz, love the way you lie and on fire. you would never expect an albumIn his latest album eminem now finds himself maturing more from "relapse". this album is hardly a recovery. it his pretty much the same eminem whining about his life, his wife, and his love life and how he has had his heart broken. there good tracks like not afraid, and your never over, and some pretty bad ones like ridaz, love the way you lie and on fire. you would never expect an album like this from eminem, where in one breath he is claiming that he is cold as a a cold wind when it blows, and that he has always been giving you his best, and in another saying how he is sorry that he almost dissed kanye and lil wayne and how his carrer would have been ruined and how he thinks that his last two albums were trash. he will also bash auto tune, then do a song with lil wayne, a notorious abuser of auto tune. the beats sound like they were made with someone with basic knowledge of garage band, dr.dre only has 1 beat on the album and 2 if you buy the bonus track one. the songs sound the same, his flow is good, but sounds the same on every song. i am a fan of the first 3 eminem albums and although this was better then relapse it still is disappointing. he didnt have a lot of time to do it in so i will give him credit for that, but the album still dose not live up the old eminem standards by any means… Expand
  7. burgerj
    Feb 10, 2011
    10
    Jonathan Burger
    1-24-11 Recovery-Eminem Review
    Eminem, now clean, once again shocks the music world with an outstanding album about his recovery from drug abuse. With his last album being named relapse, some thoughts might come to mind that â
  8. MichaelD
    Feb 9, 2011
    9
    Well what an album! It's not as good as Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy but his darkness and his ability to rap will blow you away.
  9. BIGREESE
    Jan 28, 2011
    10
    Eminem is back. With a much stronger album than his last 2. And you can tell the reason its so different from relapse isnt because of its poor reviews. its because like all his albums it reflects his life and what is going on in it. Mr. Mathers is starting to mature. and the product could not be more pleasing. sick beats with some of the most complex verses ive ever seen make this album aEminem is back. With a much stronger album than his last 2. And you can tell the reason its so different from relapse isnt because of its poor reviews. its because like all his albums it reflects his life and what is going on in it. Mr. Mathers is starting to mature. and the product could not be more pleasing. sick beats with some of the most complex verses ive ever seen make this album a must have. Mr. Mathers, Please continue to tell us your life story because it is a damn good one… Expand
  10. Iggy
    Jan 22, 2011
    10
    When he titled it RECOVERY, Em sure did mean it. To me this is probably his second best and only The Marshall Mathers LP would be better than this. He has finally come to peace with his demons and he is finally ready to let the whole world know how he feels which is good for the fans and bad for the haters. Infact, most of this album features songs saying how feels about some of the hatersWhen he titled it RECOVERY, Em sure did mean it. To me this is probably his second best and only The Marshall Mathers LP would be better than this. He has finally come to peace with his demons and he is finally ready to let the whole world know how he feels which is good for the fans and bad for the haters. Infact, most of this album features songs saying how feels about some of the haters ( eg. On Fire, Almost Famous, Untitled Hidden Track, No Love, Won't Back Down, Cinderella Man etc.) as well as personally driven songs ( Not Afraid, Going Through Changes, Talkin' 2 Myself, Your Never Over, Space Bound, 25 to Life etc.). This album is definetly the most complete album he has done since The Marshall Mathers LP. He still is looking to prove that he is THE best Rapper out there and is back to prove it. The first track ( Cold Wind Blows) pulled me in because it wasn' a skit for once and was actually a song that Em opens the album with. Very good song. Let's see if he can make people forget about that little punk Justin Bieber or that a**hole Kanye West. Give or take a year or two, but one of those guys will likely be forgotten because of EMINEM'S GREAT RECOVERY!!!… Expand
  11. L0stR3negade
    Jan 22, 2011
    9
    Eminem is back and with noo surprize Kicking *** with his new album. Yes its not the same as his old stuff but still just as good. Eminem never fails to impress
  12. ovais
    Jan 2, 2011
    9
    Ive noticed somtimes critics don't appreciate great ablums untill a few years pass by. The Marshall Mathers LP got an okay pretty good 79 when it came out but now its considered a classic! Recovery is his best album since The Eminem Show. Relapse was much too silly but now Eminems serious he is spitting more impressive rhymes. There are onlly a few weak tracks (only for Eminem'sIve noticed somtimes critics don't appreciate great ablums untill a few years pass by. The Marshall Mathers LP got an okay pretty good 79 when it came out but now its considered a classic! Recovery is his best album since The Eminem Show. Relapse was much too silly but now Eminems serious he is spitting more impressive rhymes. There are onlly a few weak tracks (only for Eminem's standard) that aren't that bad they are pretty ok but the better tracks are amzing lyricaly and they cover about 90 percent of the whole album. Even the mainstream songls like love the way you lie are impressive… Expand
  13. jojexy
    Dec 2, 2010
    10
    So Eminem's Recovery has a lower score than Lil Wayne's I am not a human being. That shows how much common sense critics lack. Look Lil Wayne would only talk about his status, money, how much lady he gets, smoking weed, and how much powerful he is. Yes I have to admit that Recovery isn't a perfect album but still it's worthy of a 10/10. I was pretty surprised when this album came out... itSo Eminem's Recovery has a lower score than Lil Wayne's I am not a human being. That shows how much common sense critics lack. Look Lil Wayne would only talk about his status, money, how much lady he gets, smoking weed, and how much powerful he is. Yes I have to admit that Recovery isn't a perfect album but still it's worthy of a 10/10. I was pretty surprised when this album came out... it was like Eminem hitting his 2nd puberty. His voice has gone a little deeper and he has gone more mature. Before recovery Eminem was dissing rappers off, but now hes encouraging rappers to keep it up (Talking to My Self). The beats are Ok i would say, but I care more about the lyrics than the beats and that is why im giving a 10/10.… Expand
  14. fedelmason
    Nov 25, 2010
    8
    One of the greatest albums of 2010. This album is very good but it can't beat The Slim Shady LP or The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show. Great!
  15. DoctorKilla
    Nov 23, 2010
    7
    Lots of people are giving it a 10 unconsciously. In reality, it deserves a 7 because some of the content is repetitive, the nasal delivery can get annoying, and the singing isn't all that good, but I applaud him to his vocals shine through and not use auto-tune to cover it up. But still, the biggest problem is abysmal production, other then the Dre, Bo1da, and Blaze tracks, it's not veryLots of people are giving it a 10 unconsciously. In reality, it deserves a 7 because some of the content is repetitive, the nasal delivery can get annoying, and the singing isn't all that good, but I applaud him to his vocals shine through and not use auto-tune to cover it up. But still, the biggest problem is abysmal production, other then the Dre, Bo1da, and Blaze tracks, it's not very quality. Lyrically, it's an excellent album and his flow is back to being normal and his rapid fire delivery as back. It's a good introspective rap album. It's his best album since he got hooked on drugs (or the bad half of Encore). There are no real weak but the album mostly consists of average tracks, and there are a some of good tracks, and a few excellent tracks. But, by Eminem's standards, it's not classic, but a worthy and necessary addition to his collection. Buy: Space Bound, Not Afraid, Talkin' 2 Myself Download: Cinderella Man, On Fire, So Bad, You're Never Over, Almost Famous Skip: N/A Rapping (Lyrics and Flow): 9/10 Vocals (Singing): 6.5/10 Production: 6/10… Expand
  16. Kaztaj
    Nov 16, 2010
    10
    This album is the most anticipated album of 2010. Eminem is back, bigger, better and stronger. Reocvery holds the most whitty, funny and moving lyrics, ever made by Eminem. The choruses for the songs are fantastic, they have a light pop style in them which makes them catchy. Hip-hop and I are proud to say, Eminem, is the greatest rapper alive.
  17. Turine
    Nov 6, 2010
    8
    Pretty good and some nice songs in this album. Examples are, ''Not Afraid'', ''Love the way you Lie''.
    Overall, deserves a 8/10 rating for the number of hits it produced and it is one of Em's best albums to date.
  18. NJR
    Nov 3, 2010
    6
    To put it simply, a major disappointment, all of Em's "Mainstream fans" will love this one because he uses his proper voice, but as far as Hip-Hop goes, the album is weak, the production is pretty awful, Em's delivery gets seriously boring, his tone does not change at all in the album and lyrically the album is very predictable and corny. The reason I give the album a 6 is simply becauseTo put it simply, a major disappointment, all of Em's "Mainstream fans" will love this one because he uses his proper voice, but as far as Hip-Hop goes, the album is weak, the production is pretty awful, Em's delivery gets seriously boring, his tone does not change at all in the album and lyrically the album is very predictable and corny. The reason I give the album a 6 is simply because of his flow, which has never let him down, but honestly these last 8 years have just been disappointment after disappointment for us real Shady fans, I just hope to god that someday he can return to the form he showed from 99 to 02.… Expand
  19. mmd0101
    Oct 18, 2010
    10
    After listening to this album i was amazed it had funny sides but also serious.Way better than Relapse:Refill album.I thought he did a amazing job.10 years and hes still making hits!
  20. oddozz62
    Sep 7, 2010
    9
    This album says only one thing Eminem is back alive and kicking. Em's return has made a big impact on the charts with 2 singles already reaching the top 10 in the UK charts with Love the Way You Lie reaching number 1 for 1 week, this album is the best Eminem album ive ever listened to by far. Good work Marshall.
  21. tst
    Sep 4, 2010
    10
    the best album of the year, the songs are amazing im a normally a very strong critic when it comes to music, because i love it , this is one of eminems best albums

    yours sicerly

    tst
  22. BlueLotusPoet
    Sep 3, 2010
    7
    Recovery is a pretty good jump from Relapse. No crazy accents thrown around and he doesnt over do his joking around. Eminem hasnt been this fierce since The Eminem Show. It does bear some of the moodiness of Encore but it isnt mellowed over. While Eminem's fierce flow, crazy & thought provoking lyrics are a plus here, Recovery still has a major flaw. The finger shouldnt be pointed atRecovery is a pretty good jump from Relapse. No crazy accents thrown around and he doesnt over do his joking around. Eminem hasnt been this fierce since The Eminem Show. It does bear some of the moodiness of Encore but it isnt mellowed over. While Eminem's fierce flow, crazy & thought provoking lyrics are a plus here, Recovery still has a major flaw. The finger shouldnt be pointed at Eminem's performance, but at his more at his guest list. Rihanna's singing is decent, but on an Eminem song, she just seems out of place. While Pink's cameo isnt as out-there as Rihanna's, its honestly nothing special either. Eminem wouldve been better off using sampled hooks or underground, unknown singers (Kobe was a slight plus). Lil Wayne's cameo is nothing special at all either. He brings his usual, played out structured punchline flow, making it seem like he's not saying anything he hasnt said already. Eminem totally outshines him on "No Love", putting his speedy, comical, and partially fierce flow next to Wayne who sounds either delibertly high or bored. That song wouldve been PERFECT for a Bad Meets Evil reunion.… Expand
  23. marsb4
    Aug 31, 2010
    4
    This is Just not a good album really yes if he's not screaming he's cussing I've heard worse though his verses are good but it seems his beats are repetitive and he tries to hard to tell make himself seem as innocent we all want to hear your story but tell it raw but with less screaming and cussing and less pop and rap and more REAL
  24. Eminem
    Aug 27, 2010
    10
    Eminem keeps improving his skills in the last couple of years. Relapse was good, but this is PERFECT!
    Certainly one of the best hip-hop albums in the last 5 years.
  25. AnnaJ
    Aug 21, 2010
    10
    This is one awesome album. And no, it's not good as Marshall Matters or Eminem Show or Encore, but I really, really like it. I would pick out 3 fav songs from this album: Not Afraid, Love The Way You Lie (And it will be a hit ! You' ll see) and W.T.P. Go,Em, go !
  26. JamalKing
    Aug 18, 2010
    7
    Good but not great. Too much pop for my taste. Better than "Relapse", that's for sure. I'm glad that he is still making some good songs. Album certainly exceeded my expectations.
  27. thenewchuchoarc
    Aug 17, 2010
    10
    very good album one of his best along the eminem show and mmlp, i would rank his albums in this order:

    1.The Eminem Show/recovery
    3.The Marshsall Mathers LP
    4.sslp/relapse/encore
  28. shadyfreak23
    Aug 15, 2010
    10
    this may not be the best eminem album but not the worst album yet.Any person can keep on listening 2 diss album continuosly without skipping a track not a great stuff but still its shady back again..
  29. Harbinger
    Aug 12, 2010
    10
    This is Em's return to form, as 'Recovery' is his strongest album since The Eminem Show. Strong, focused, and truly memorable, 'Recovery' is as moving as any of his previous albums, probalby even more so with the new direction he's taking with this CD. His flow has never been better, and whatever "ring rust" he may have had is now gone, and he is killin' them one by one in 'Recovery'.This is Em's return to form, as 'Recovery' is his strongest album since The Eminem Show. Strong, focused, and truly memorable, 'Recovery' is as moving as any of his previous albums, probalby even more so with the new direction he's taking with this CD. His flow has never been better, and whatever "ring rust" he may have had is now gone, and he is killin' them one by one in 'Recovery'. He won last year for "Best Rap Album" with 'Relapse', so I can only predict that he will undoubtedly win this year as well. Anyways, the album isn't perfect, as some songs such as "Seduction", "W.T.P.", "On Fire", and "So Bad" don't seem to belong in the album. They have a "Relapse" vibe to them, and I think he should have included them in 'Relapse' not here in 'Recovery'. Despite that, the songs are all great, especially "Not Afraid, "Going Through Changes", "Love The Way You Lie", "Talkin' 2 Myself", and "No Love", which really bring this album alive and become instant classics. I really loved this album and I hope Em has something as good as this prepared for the future. Anyways, ignore the pathetic critic score of 62-for they don't know nothing of Rap/Hip-Hop-and buy this CD. This is Rap-and Eminem-at its best.… Expand
  30. NoahD
    Jun 28, 2010
    10
    Eminem has always made it crystal clear that pleasing his critics is the last thing he aims for when applying his trade in the studio. With the majority of the above critiques blasting this album, we begin to understand why he feels this way. It has never been more evident that his fans get what the critics don't. Mike S. said it best: when the critics are left to compare Eminem to Eminem has always made it crystal clear that pleasing his critics is the last thing he aims for when applying his trade in the studio. With the majority of the above critiques blasting this album, we begin to understand why he feels this way. It has never been more evident that his fans get what the critics don't. Mike S. said it best: when the critics are left to compare Eminem to his past self it's obvious he is in another stratosphere altogether. This album cements Em's legacy as the greatest rapper alive. I firmly believe that critics will change their tune years from now and come around to the reality that all of Em's are already aware of.… Expand
Page:

Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Most Discussed Album of 2010
2
#2 Most Shared Album of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
63

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 28
  3. Negative: 4 out of 28
  1. Expert Witness (MSN Music)
    Jan 7, 2011
    91
    No matter how cleverly he's rhyming, which varies, he could use subject matter beyond married-to-the-game and his traditional obsessions. But with Shady in the shadows, rarely are these themes lifted by Em's long-recessive sense of play.
    Read full review
  2. Slant Magazine
    30
    Much of Recovery centers around such themes as romantic devotion and anxiety, but the resulting material rings unsurprisingly hollow.
    Read full review
  3. The Guardian
    60
    Sadly, a piecemeal approach to production (Dr Dre has just one credit) leaves the album lacking an abiding mood and drowning in fashionable soft-rock samples.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »