AllMusic's Scores

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For 18,310 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 63% higher than the average critic
  • 5% same as the average critic
  • 32% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 1.5 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 74
Highest review score: 100 The Marshall Mathers LP
Lowest review score: 20 Graffiti
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15,355 out of 18310
  2. Mixed: 2,929 out of 18310
  3. Negative: 26 out of 18310
18310 music reviews
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    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Bluenote Cafe [Live]
    As a two-disc set, Bluenote Café feels a bit overstuffed and drawn out, but these recordings confirm the Bluenotes hold up better than many of Young's creative left turns in the '80s, and this is a thorough and entertaining look at an often overlooked phase in Young's creative journey.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Moogmemory
    he album seems to come closer to the lineage of synthesizer innovators like Raymond Scott rather than most techno or ambient artists, even if there's a relaxed, meditative feel to a lot of these pieces, and it showcase's Bourne's skill for exploring the vast capabilities of his instrument.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Lukas Graham
    The unpretentious nature of the music and Graham's laid-back attitude give each song an everyman quality, presented by a youthful, wide-eyed raconteur who has just enough life experience to speak to a wide audience.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Total Time
    The album is a hypnotic, slightly silly expression of physical as well as spiritual desires.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Minor Victories
    While Minor Victories builds on its members' legacies, the band sounds more excited about the present and the future than looking back.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Exodus Suite
    A consistently brooding and steadily paced set, The Exodus Suite plays like a set of torch songs, but for humanity's sense of well-being rather than a romantic lost love. Occasional imperfections from the live recording process lend extra doses of humanity to the eerie proceedings.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Overnight
    The result is a beautifully arranged but fleeting collection that could work a little harder to draw listeners in.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Double Take
    While the production is just a tad too polished to feel as gritty as Miller's best '70s works, the music is nevertheless in that vein and many of the songs are quite good, particularly the gospel-drenched Elton John number "Where Do the Guilty Go?" and the swaggering "Way Past Midnight" (performed with Lewis).
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    What Now
    What Now is less eccentrically atmospheric than its predecessor, but their boisterous energy is intoxicating enough to win you over, and their sense of fun is palpable.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Talk Tight [EP]
    Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever are still working out their game on this EP, but if you want to know if this band has promise, the answer is an insistent yes. Talk Tight has plenty of fine tunes, dry wit, and chiming guitars, and how much else do you really need?
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Mr. Dynamite
    Given its experimental origins, Mr. Dynamite is a little scattered, but Creep Show's sophisticated mischief is so entertaining that it's a pleasure to hear each unexpected turn they take.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    You're Driving Me Crazy
    You're Driving Me Crazy is as energetic as any live show. Of the three successive recordings done in this way, this one stands head and shoulders above for its inspired performances and choices of material.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Miserable Miracles
    Just as the group's first two albums fit into the shoegaze revival category without coming close to playing by the rules, Miserable Miracles demonstrates Pinkshinyultrablast's truly unique approach to making pop music, which is equally as exciting and refreshing.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Attention Attention
    At its core, Attention Attention is a fun, engaging ride, maintaining Shinedown's power while making subtle bids to attract a wider audience.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Let's Make Love
    At 13 tracks, Let's Make Love drags just a little, especially in its first quarter, but as a whole, it's a welcome comeback from an enduringly creative act.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Mambo Cosmico
    Their sonic restlessness never falls off track into musical excess, but instead allows keen articulation of the plethora of identities found in non-Anglo culture, and denotes the places they intersect. Besides, you can dance your ass off while absorbing its coded messages. Bravo.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    How Many Times Have You Driven By
    While a bit mercurial in nature, by its overall impression, How Many Times Have You Driven By is a grooving, otherworldly standout that establishes Vu as one to watch.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Living in Extraordinary Times
    it's a record that reflects how James always swing for the fences. As such, the album can be a little exhausting for those who aren't true believers--there is plenty going on in the songs and productions but no direct way inside--but can prove to be fascinating for the dedicated sort who choose immersion over skimming.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Is This Thing Cursed?
    Like contemporaries AFI and Rise Against, age and experience have smoothed out the band's delivery (Skiba's stint with blink-182 could also be a contributing factor), resulting in less danger and gloom. However, Cursed is ultimately an enjoyable ride, packed with rousing anthems.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Ritual
    Steeped in the lurching, groove-laden thrash attack of the band's late-'90s/early-2000s heyday, Ritual evokes the savagery of Cavalera's tenure with Sepultura, eschewing some of the more overt world music predilections that have come to define Soulfly over the years with something leaner and more uncompromising.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Blow.
    Those who expected Blow. to be McCaslin's return to jazz will likely be disappointed. That said, those who enjoy adventurous rock--indie, prog, and otherwise--will likely find the album to be greatly enjoyable and perhaps even revelatory.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Disturbance
    The first album from the rebooted Test Dept. is an update of their '80s aesthetic, with metallic percussion, dramatic samples, and aggressive, political lyrics all forming the basis of the group's sound.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Dizzy Spells
    Fans of Veronica Falls can still lament that the band is gone for good, but Patience is a fine substitute that delivers the same great songs and deep feelings only in a different package.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    To Each His Own
    To Each His Own goes down plenty easy, due in large part to the effortless soft rock arrangements--warm electric piano, weepy pedal steel, lush harmonies--but all of those breezy pop vibes would feel rote were it not for Pulido's affable presence and keen ear for melody.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Chris Cohen
    Instead of drowning in dense reflections, these songs see Cohen carefully, patiently sorting them out, and creating another stellar work of art in the process.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Love + Light
    While Love + Light feels a lot rougher than Avery's first two solo albums, and initially takes a few more listens to fully appreciate, it's just as inspired and creative.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Limbo
    Mature and consistently satisfying, Limbo is a statement-making highlight in the rapper's discography.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Host
    Musically dense and emotionally candid, the risks Cults take on Host make it a grower that embellishes on their strengths with flair.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    CMFT
    The stylistic shifts can be jarring, but Taylor sells the hell out it, and in doing so manages to bring some fun into the often-dour Slipknot universe.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Royal Tea
    Bonamassa has plenty of opportunity to show his facility with synthesizing different classic guitarists -- there's a bit of Rory Gallagher and Peter Green to offset his Claptonisms -- but the best moment on Royal Tea is "A Conversation with Alice," a chiming bit of soul-pop where he channels the best moments of Steve Marriott.
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