AllMusic's Scores

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For 18,338 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: 15,381 out of 18338
  2. Mixed: 2,931 out of 18338
  3. Negative: 26 out of 18338
18338 music reviews
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    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Roadkill Rising - The Bootleg Collection: 1977-2009
    The material is arranged chronologically, but beyond that, one set of tunes stumbles into another without making sense of their different sonic and musical characteristics as Iggy's backing bands (none of whom are credited) and musical approaches shift from concert to concert throughout this set, leaving Roadkill Rising in dire need of some sense of focus.
    • 92 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    The Bang Years: 1966-1968
    Diamond knows just how good these recordings are, as indicated by the terrific autobiographical liner notes he's penned for this collection, notes that give this music context, but they're not necessary to appreciate The Bang Years: this is pop music that's so pure it needs no explanation.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Tan Bajo
    Davila 666 have that all-important spark of primitive energy and power that have made bands from the Sonics to the Hives so vital and alive, and Tan Bajo is another great record that all fans of garage rock, new or old, need to add to their collections.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Innings
    Innings proves underground pop is still very much alive, and Nodzzz have made an album that strikes a perfect balance between simplicity and intelligently applied craft; they've made it a whole lot of fun, too.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Diotima
    At their best, they're an overwhelming sonic force, and Diotima is their best album to date.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Time Travel
    With that as an unavoidable comparison point and baseline, as can be heard again on songs like the title track, Time Travel is still a pleasant album, where what comes out more are the moments of variation on the form than the form itself.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Kitty Wells Dresses: Songs of the Queen of Country Music
    Cantrell's all-too-brief Kitty Wells Dresses contains its object's sense of sophisticated vocal economy that still conveys the power of truth in the human heart with elegance and grace, making it a fitting tribute for all the right reasons.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Cosmic Ocean Ship
    Cosmic Ocean Ship is Todd's most "exotic" recording, but it's easily one of her most ambitious, focused, and satisfying as well.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Diaper Island
    Hard to imagine any of his future albums beating this one, but it's entirely possible, and all signs seem to point toward this inventive young producer/songwriter being on the rise.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Double Cross
    Sloan are craftsman who weld their good taste into charming miniatures, and if The Double Cross retains a hint of familiarity--not due to the source material but rather the workmanship--the group's level of skill assures that this is as comfortably satisfying as its predecessors.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Ramble at the Ryman
    mble at the Ryman may not be the same as hearing Levon Helm play for a few dozen guests at his studio--or for a few thousand fans at one of America's most venerable venues--but it captures a living legend on-stage proving he doesn't have to rest on his laurels to win applause, and this is a hell of a party coming from a guy well past retirement age.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Feel It Break
    On this consistently hypnotic debut, Austra carve out a place of their own among their contemporaries.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Free
    Free is just too derivative to make the impact the band appear to crave.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Rock & Roll Submarine
    Nash Kato and Eddie "King" Roeser are taking everything dead seriously, playing for the sake of music itself, giving Rock & Roll Submarine an unexpected soul and heart that makes it a rousing comeback.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Tunnel Blanket
    Good proof that tranquil moments are just as powerful as deafening ones.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Eye Contact
    This album is indeed a key turning point for the unit, and easily the most fully realized project in their catalog.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    False Beats and True Hearts
    It feels like Damon & Naomi have always been around to soundtrack the inner lives of melancholy dreamers smart enough to seek them out, and with this album they continue to provide the same impressive and necessary level of solace and inspiration, deeply felt songs, and enchanted performances that they always have.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Give Till It's Gone
    While nowhere near as focused as 2009's White Lies for Dark Times, Give Till It's Gone does possess moments when all of Harper's gifts as a writer and guitarist are evidently clear.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Nursing Home
    Nursing Home is the best kind of second album--it reminds you why you liked Let's Wrestle in the first place and manages to improve on an already stellar offering.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Rome
    Lovingly detailed, atmospheric, and oozing the Technicolor glow of a smoke-stained '70s movie screen, Rome is awfully hard not to cheer for, even when it's stuck on autopilot, as rarely do pet projects feel this alive and sumptuous.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Destroyed
    Latecomers, as well as longtime fans whose favorite Moby material remains the Mimi Goese collaborations on Everything Is Wrong, should have no problem soaking it up.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Turtleneck & Chain
    Back once again with the ill behavior, Lonely Island's second effort is more of the same, which for many means that life is still worth living.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Past Life Martyred Saints
    This powerful debut was a long time in the making, but Past Life Martyred Saints will win Andersen new fans as well as thrill longtime ones.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The January EP
    Even if the primary common characteristic of this stuff is how exceedingly pleasant it all is, there's always a place for that, regardless of what month it is.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Life Fantastic
    While there are definite left-field aspects to Life Fantastic, fans of crossover-indie rock groups like Modest Mouse and Spoon should be able to get behind the angular pop of "Shameless" or the backwater bluegrass-rock of "Life Fantastic."
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Goblin
    While the album is a revolutionary object in that such fantastic filth was born and flourished outside the corporate--and even indie--music industry, production is about the only thing to be objective about, as everything else is polarizing and preaching to the converted.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Celebration, Florida
    Celebration, Florida is a brave step forward for the Felice Brothers, but one taken with care and confidence, and it's a powerful achievement from a talented and genuinely important band.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Burst Apart
    Hospice may have been organic and fragile, but Burst Apart is sleek and self-assured, and the new image suits Silberman and the Antlers well.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Matthew Morrison
    Though it has plenty of appealing moments, it just doesn't capitalize on Morrison's vocal and star power.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Simple Math
    Conceptual conceits aside, Simple Math is a fairly passionate and rocking affair filled with sprawling, if still tightly wound anthemic pop.
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