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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    • 59 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Fast Man Raider Man
    If it weren't for the album's studio polish, it'd feel like an extremely well-recorded concert -- it has the ebb and flow of a good live set, and its expansive warmth ends up making its length work in its favor.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Under The Iron Sea
    Die-hard fans might rush to judge Under the Iron Sea as sounding a bit too much like U2.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Free To Stay
    It's their simplicity and lack of pretense that's so refreshing to hear and what makes Free to Stay so listenable.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The True False Identity
    From nearly anyone else, The True False Identity would be a striking and adventurous work, but given Burnett's body of work, there's no arguing he can do better.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    It's Alive!
    It's not earth-shaking, but it's far better than nearly any other reunion of this kind.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Corinne Bailey Rae
    Her self-titled debut sounds a wee rushed and sometimes meanders its way into background music territory, but this comfortable effort is pleasingly homegrown, warm, and poignant in parts.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship
    The album is a major production.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Cansei De Ser Sexy
    The record is very reminiscent of the Sounds' 2006 release Dying to Say This to You, because of the sassy, provocative vocals as well as the overall mood.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Audience's Listening
    Necessary if you like that wikki-wikki-scratch; recommended if you enjoy impossible pop and hip-hop from the fringe.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Avalanche: Outtakes & Extras From The Illinois Album
    Stevens constructed an alternate version of Illinois that is almost as good as the original.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Victory For The Comic Muse
    Yes, Victory for the Comic Muse has its funny moments, its sad asides, and some of the now standard Nyman minimalist moments, but in the Divine Comedy's overall discography it's a rather slight and often flat affair with unfortunate suggestions that Hannon might have milked the comic cow dry.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Sound The Alarm
    Sound the Alarm is ultimately just another good Saves the Day record.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Time Being
    Like all Ron Sexsmith albums, Time Being is reliable and expertly crafted, and contains a handful of cuts that will kick around in your head until the next one swoops in to replace them.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Death In The Garden, Blood On The Flowers
    A true alternative potpourri -- quite refreshing in a day and age where more often than not, rock bands stick closely to a single style/approach.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    In The Maybe World
    There's less of the wry humor Germano usually allows to shine through once in a while... This is also her least gauzy-sounding album since Slide... Despite these differences, In the Maybe World is still a strong addition to her body of work.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Another Fine Day
    The only drawback for fans is this Golden Smog doesn't bear much aural resemblance to the band that made Down by the Old Mainstream and Weird Tales; then again, the bands who make up Golden Smog's membership don't sound much like they did back then, either, so that shouldn't come as much of a surprise.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Highway Companion
    At its core, it's moodier than most of his records.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Nineteeneighties
    While it's hard not to be overtaken with a sense of nostalgia while listening to this album if you knew these songs from back in the day, Phillips pulls them out of their original context and in the process reveals their strength is more timeless than one might have imagined.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Personality (One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird)
    The album is impressive, especially in small doses or when Steele reigns it in a bit, as on the pretty, bossa-nova tinged "Miles Away." As a whole, it's a sometimes exhausting listen.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Alright, Still
    Enough of Alright, Still works -- as pure pop and on the meta level Allen aims for -- to make the album a fun, summery fling, and maybe more.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Reprieve
    The downside of Reprieve is that it isn't as musically arresting as earlier albums like Out of Range, and DiFranco, on a song like "Millennium Theater," can be rather obvious.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Winter Women / Holy Ghost Language School
    As a whole, Winter Women/Holy Ghost Language School is a lot to process at once, but untangling the mysteries of Friedberger's music feels like more fun than it has in a while.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Razorlight
    They make honest indie rock for those looking for a solid, good song. There's no frills, no fancy production, just the purity of these songs.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Body, The Blood, The Machine
    With The Body, The Blood, The Machine the Thermals haven't made another thrilling noisy gem like More Parts Per Million, they've made an inspired and inspiring, semi-grown up indie rock record with more thought than thrills.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    To The Races
    Fans of Bachmann's gruff Neil Diamond-meets-Steve Earle vocals and lonesome and literate subject matter will find everything they love about the Carolina native on display, while those who prefer his vocal affectations surrounded by the din of a full band should stick with his group efforts.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Nightcrawler
    Despite it missing the fire of his first record, it's a worthy piece of work.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Pieces Of The People We Love
    The uniformity of the album is at the expense of clear-cut standout tracks.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Kelis Was Here
    What makes it less successful than 1999's Kaleidoscope and 2003's Tasty is that it's extremely choppy and excessively long, and it doesn't have the range of emotions to match the varied backdrops.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Outsider
    The Outsider is a carefully crafted, artistically elusive mess -- far more scattershot than even his first UNKLE record (Psyence Fiction), but much more interesting for its excellent productions.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Darkel
    Sometimes Darkel seems in danger of floating away on its flights of fancy, suggesting that Godin gives some of Dunckel's more whimsical ideas some grounding when they work together as Air. Nevertheless, this is a lovely working holiday, full of songs as shimmery and delicate as bubbles, and their slightness doesn't make them any less enjoyable.
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