AllMusic's Scores

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For 18,295 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: 15,344 out of 18295
  2. Mixed: 2,925 out of 18295
  3. Negative: 26 out of 18295
18295 music reviews
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    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Teargarden By Kaleidyscope: Vol. 1 [EP]
    None of these songs have the concise punch of a single, but that's surely intentional: they're not designed as hooky statements of intent, they're dreamy teasers for what promises to be Corgan's most varied set of music since the days of Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness, whose title is quite deliberately echoed in the very name of Teargarden by Kaleidyscope.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Saint Bartlett
    Blasts of feedback and other dissonant elements crop up at points, but otherwise this is an album of focused calm in both singing and playing, a vision of concern and empathy amid unease.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    At Night We Live
    Fans of Far will be able to appreciate At Night We Live as a further evolution of Water & Solutions, but new listeners will have a hard time finding a fresh experience.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Melted
    It's not as if any of this breaks new stylistic ground (in fact, it bears no small resemblance to his pals and sometimes collaborators Thee Oh Sees), but it sure sounds like Segall is having fun, and it brings some additional heat and spice to his rich brew of sound.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Ghost Who Walks
    While The Ghost Who Walks occasionally feels a little long and scattered, it's still a beautifully made album that earns Elson a place among moody songstresses such as Neko Case, Amanda Palmer, Hope Sandoval, and Paula Frazer.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    This Is Happening
    This Is Happening doesn’t quite reach the monumental heights of Sound of Silver, but it serves as a almost-there companion and further proof that LCD Soundsystem is one of the most exciting and interesting bands around in the 2000s.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Infinite Arms
    For those who let it sink in, Infinite Arms could be a contender for the year’s best summer album, not to mention the band’s most cohesive album to date.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Brothers
    That’s the great thing about the Black Keys in general and Brothers in particular: the past and present intermingle so thoroughly that they blur, yet there’s no affect, just three hundred pounds of joy.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Distant Relatives
    Distant Relatives is this African contradiction explored further with hip-hop, dancehall, and by way of samples, jazz, and African music showing the way. It's a royal and a striking reminder of why these two artists have reached legendary status.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Compass
    As on any good Beck record, Compass finds time for everything from R&B to hard rock to the type of gut-bucket experimental rock that Tom Waits would be proud of. The big difference is in the vocal performances. It's clear that Lidell is wearing his heart on his sleeve here, and we see a portrait of a person, not a personality.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The ArchAndroid
    Understanding all this stuff enhances the enjoyment of the album, but it is not required. A few tracks merely push the album along, and a gaudy Of Montreal collaboration is disruptive, but there are numerous highlights that are vastly dissimilar from one another.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Love And Its Opposite
    It feels utterly natural, a continuation of the emotional navigations she's spent her career documenting with characteristic insight and sensitivity.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Royal Toast
    It's another extraordinary musical experience from the Claudia Quintet, who deserve all the high marks they receive as an innovative, thought-provoking, singularly unique contemporary ensemble.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    A Small Turn Of Human Kindness
    A Small Turn of Human Kindness, finds the band returning to the top of their game with an album that is as heartbreaking as it is crushing.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Higher Than The Eiffel
    Higher Than the Eiffel is most reminiscent of the work that Freestylers and Lo-Fidelity Allstars were doing eight to ten years ago. Both of them aged into their classic full-length statement with surprising grace, and made intriguing music long after most punters had deserted them.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The People's Record
    The uptempo songs are full of life and happiness, the few slow songs have a subdued grace that is trademark Club 8, and when taken together, they add up to the band’s best record to date.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Spirit Youth
    Pretty much every track on Spirit Youth sports a bewitching melody that makes perfect use of the hypnotic swirl of guitars and electronics, moving in an elegant arc as it unfolds. You can hear it in the delivery, too, with nuanced vocals that seem to say "Hey, after all the trouble we went to in writing these tunes, we're damn well gonna give ‘em their due."
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Revolutions Per Minute
    Revolutions Per Minute is an album that’s been a long time coming, and Kweli and Hi-Tek prove once again that there’s more to rap than club bangers, delivering another dose of socially and politically conscious music that’s more about opening people’s eyes to what’s happening in the world than telling them how to feel about it.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    The Foundling
    There is no album in her catalog like The Foundling; it's a terrible beauty whose jewels gleam darkly, endlessly. Its songs hold truth for anyone who has either shared this experience or merely has the willingness to ask difficult questions with an open heart.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Keep Calm And Carry On
    The relatively stripped-down setting winds up letting the rockers of the album’s first half latch in, particularly the rather propulsive “Trouble,” the nimble “She’s Alright,” and rolling “I Got Your Number,” and does keep the succession of anthems and ballads on the second half from seeming too languid.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Sea Of Cowards
    White and company make almost no concessions to their audience, and fewer songs stand out here than they did on Horehound. And yet, this is a more satisfying album overall. Fortunately, Sea of Cowards' mysteries are more intriguing than frustrating.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    High Violet
    scular, miserable, mighty, and meandering, High Violet aims for the seats, but only hits about half of them.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Night Train [EP]
    It’s all very eclectic and a bit unexpected -- two qualities that seem to be Keane’s modus operandi as of late -- but what’s missing is a pop anthem along the lines of “Again and Again” or “Bend and Break,” both of which allowed Tom Chaplin to flex his vocal chops on past albums.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Latin
    For Holy Fuck, Latin is a monumental step forward. By trimming back the choppy art-house disjointedness and quirky Casio tones, the band has successfully evolved their sound into something much more provocative, heavy duty, and rewarding.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Where Did The Night Fall
    It’s an explicit leap into new territory for the band, and though the second half may drag a bit, songs like “Natural Selection,” “Joy Factory,” "The Answer," and “On a Wire” make for some of UNKLE’s all-time best singles, ones that rank right up there with “Rabbit in Your Headlights” and “Lonely Soul.”
    • 64 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Hang Cool Teddy Bear
    Not that dignity was ever that important to Meat Loaf, but the shallow spectacle of Hang Cool Teddy Bear lacks the absurd joy of his best: you can hear everybody involved working far too hard to achieve next to nothing.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Tear The World Down
    [Moody has] created a record that could have been released in 2005 instead of one that sounded just a bit like 2010.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Powerless Rise
    As a band, AILD has grown most is in their songwriting and production skills (the latter of which are now off the charts in terms of precision). The Powerless Rise, delivers on what their previous outings have handsomely promised.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Here's To Taking It Easy
    The only downfall is that Here's to Taking It Easy is so easy to take that at only nine songs, it flies by in no time at all.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Grey Oceans
    While they have many good ideas, sometimes they have too many good ideas at once and end up gilding the lily (or putting a blue fake fur mustache on it, as the case may be).
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