AllMusic's Scores

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For 18,299 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: 15,348 out of 18299
  2. Mixed: 2,925 out of 18299
  3. Negative: 26 out of 18299
18299 music reviews
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    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Wake UP!
    Steered by the singer's winsome, breathy vocals, even that message goes down easy, with an implied fluttered lash extension, on an album that aims to please and largely succeeds.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Dear Life
    It's exciting to hear Benson take some new risks with these songs, but also a relief that he never gets too far away from the deft songwriting and pop sensibilities that he's been refining for all these years.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Floatr
    The album's diverse arrangements but consistent, sighing mood give Floatr a low-key cinematic quality on top of its meditative one. Though it may not be Happyness' most playlist-friendly set, it still lingers.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Rock Bottom Rhapsody
    Pokey LaFarge is still working out the math on how to exist in more than one decade at a time, but Rock Bottom Rhapsody has more than enough good things in it that he's probably going to be just fine wherever he finally settles down.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    What's New, Tomboy?
    What's New, Tomboy? is another moving collection of American snapshots from the troubadour, if likely less memorable than his higher-contrast outings.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Outland
    Outland is a bit more rhythmic and bass-heavy than his previous two albums. There's a much sharper bite to the way he uses distortion here, and the tracks with beats sound monstrous.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Songs for Pierre Chuvin
    Songs for Pierre Chuvin is a rough-hewn gem that's a splendid throwback to the wild early days of the Mountain Goats, and it only took a pandemic to make it happen. It may not be that much of an upside, but that makes it no less welcome.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Weight of the Sun
    From the outset, Weight of the Sun feels less immediately accessible than Modern Studies' two previous albums and suffers a bit from its mid-tempo lull and more contemporary palette. Given some time to decant, however, it reveals hidden depths and more interesting layers than are at first apparent.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between
    Even with the more tuneful tracks, the album has enough bizarre lyrical imagery, unexpected outbursts, and general freakiness to keep Man Man from losing the weirdness they built their sound on.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    how i'm feeling now
    While it may not be the proper sequel to the ambitious Charli, how i'm feeling now's rawness and immediacy give it an appeal all its own. More than just an interesting social media experiment or a way to fend off quarantine boredom, it's an artistic challenge that's true to the very best parts of XCX's music.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Quickies
    The album reinforces the unstoppable brilliance of Merritt's writing. At any length, instrumentation or investigating whatever ridiculous subject matter, he somehow manages to be effortlessly charming, funny, odd and above all catchy.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Flight
    At times the songwriting just doesn't hold up to the inventive production, but there's plenty of ear candy to fill the gaps on this extremely fun LP.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Sorceress
    Sorceress doesn't feel like a slam dunk triumph for Williamson, in part because it seems like she's still working out the balance between the various sides of her creative personality. But she sounds solid and assured even when she's swimming through the darkness, and her consistent strength as a writer and vocalist makes Sorceress well worth investigating.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Lovers Rock
    At their best, the Dears make music so beautiful that you can sometimes forget how bitter and resigned they seem to be, and Lovers Rock works the "pretty music about ugly emotions" angle as effectively as anything they or their peers have done in ages.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    High Off Life
    With so many tracks, there's something for every mood and listener, a lengthy collection of familiar sounds punctuated with just enough choice cuts to keep it interesting.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Human. :||: Nature.
    Though the work seems part and parcel of the Nightwish aesthetic, on its own it may not appeal to all fans. That said, it does add depth and dimension to Human. :II: Nature. which is, with one exception, a consistently and deeply satisfying outing that was worth waiting for.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Mosaic of Transformation
    Appearing after the release of an album Smith composed for the purposes of yoga, Mosaic has a similarly meditative flow, but with much more expansive arrangements.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Temple
    While the bulk of the album may be less infectious than that tune ["How Could I"] or the record's defiant predecessor, Temple's wonky mix of pop, rock, and hip-hop hooks remains engaging and recognizably theirs.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Cover Two
    While the hypnotic cover of Talk Talk's "Life's What You Make It" may be the only moment here that doesn't distinguish itself enough from the original. Much more frequently, however, Cover Two brings out the best in Joan as Police Woman's music as she revisits some of her favorite songs.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    I Love the New Sky
    The essential generosity of Burgess' spirit helps keep I Love the New Sky buoyant during the rare moment it drifts a bit too far into cheerful trippiness. And those moments are so rare, they're hardly noticed.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Don't Let the Ink Dry
    It's an album anchored in unsettled rumination, with compellingly grainy surfaces that reveal either the expertise of its accomplished collaborators or a sophistication beyond Owen's years -- likely both.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Chunky Shrapnel [Live]
    Chunky Shrapnel is a testament to the band's powers as a live act and is sure to make their fans happy.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Hollywood Park
    Hollywood Park dials back the trashy glam rock of its predecessor in favor of big earnest indie rock with the occasional flourish of gothic folk and Americana-laced post-punk.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Beyond Bulletproof
    Lyrical themes orbit around topics he often returns to: crime, struggle, and street vengeance. With Beyond Bulletproof, however, the delivery is shades more relaxed and even introspective, allowing for a clearer view of Mozzy's pain as well as his personality.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Domesticated
    Domesticated is a low-key album by Tellier's standards, but it captures the feeling that settling down is something to be savored, and it's got to be the most glamorous-sounding album about home sweet home.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Heartbreaker Please
    Thompson was a capable performer from the start, and Heartbreaker Please demonstrates he's improved with the passage of time, while his songwriting has also gained a depth that comes from a lived life.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Continuous Portrait
    There's a charming looseness to the album; while never abrasive, the samples sometimes clash with each other a bit, and it all has the feeling of a cut-and-paste collage, sounding far less refined than Eluvium or Explosions' dramatic, labored-over epics. ... The album is a poignant, playful collection of future memories.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Muzz
    There's an organic, painted desert beauty to the album, and its drifting moods have an unhurried feel that may be due to its lengthy creation (the trio carved out time to record it over the course of nearly five years).
    • 82 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Head Above the Water
    Two years later, Head Above the Water reveals a calmer, more self-assured version of Power, one that has come out the other side, if with battle scars.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Self-Surgery
    Self-Surgery's greatest flaw is that there are too many ideas with too little time to work them out, and this may have worked better with four somewhat longer tracks instead of eight short ones. Regardless, this is a bold, brave effort from two artists willing to push the boundaries of their music, and Mrs. Piss is a side project that has more than earned its reason to exist.
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