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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    • 81 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Legacy: the Creedence Clearwater Revival years
    Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years (John's Version) is a potent reminder of how many great songs Fogerty wrote in his salad days with CCR, and shows he still has the energy and spark to give them life, but he might have done a better job of demonstrating the latter if he'd come up with a good batch of new tunes.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Airline Highway
    When Rodney Crowell feels like rocking a bit, Airline Highway gives him all the swagger he needs, and even when he doesn't, he confirms he's nobody's fool and remains one of the best songwriters in the Americana community.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    GUSH
    It seems like her songs have more repetitive hooks and direct lyrics than they did before. Her voice is still cloaked in effects which give it a supernatural tone, and she's evolved as a beatmaker, constructing tricky rhythms which guide the songs along, only stepping out in front on a few occasions.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Escape Room
    Choppy alternation between spoken and sung parts continues through much of the program's second half, as Taylor and her guests wrangle with the power dynamics of prospective new love and (with an especially apt Jill Scott appearance) delight in magnetic physical attraction. The erotic slow jams, led by the finely wrought "Bed of Roses," tend to fade out sooner than necessary as well.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Double Infinity
    While Double Infinity is an album more likely to wash over listeners than stick, its collaborative, impromptu spirit has infectious qualities of its own, and it's interesting to hear that the band expanded outward instead shrinking with the first departure of a member.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Last Missouri Exit
    Last Missouri Exit is a thoroughly entertaining debut from a band that knows how to make the most of that most uncommon of musical virtues, modesty.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    A Danger To Ourselves
    The arrangements, often filled with close-miked acoustic instruments and clanging percussion, feel as intimate as the lyrics, yet they're also disarmingly trippy, with electronic effects and processing twisting the sounds into unfamiliar and unconventional textures.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Play
    Sheeran knows how to please his fans and Play doesn't veer far from his usual formula, shaking things up just enough with the invigorating addition of a couple internationally spiced highlights.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Am I The Drama?
    So while this sophomore set is not as immediate as her star-making Invasion of Privacy, it delivers on high expectations with fine production, bars for days, and Cardi's persona itself.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Bleeds
    The back and forth between quiet and loud numbers softens the focus of this music, and Bleeds doesn't have quite the same cumulative impact as Rat Saw God. That said, Bleeds is a ferocious, sometimes deeply moving collection of songs, confirming the strength of the music and revealing Hartzman's continued growth as a songwriter.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Arctic Moon
    Arctic Moon is a solid comeback from a group whose sound is so influential that it feels like they never left.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Oh Snap
    While some of the songs on Oh Snap are as poetic and musically engaging as her best work, others -- including the vocoder-steeped, house-infused number "A Little Bit More" and her brief, off-the-cuff a cappella take on the Commodores' "Brick House" -- though intriguing, never fully transcend the feeling that she's just having some fun in the studio.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Here For It All
    Considering the extended album drought, Here for It All is surprisingly concise like Caution, though the number of directions it takes is reminiscent of the singer's hourlong statements.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    SISTER
    Frost Children take less risks with style and production on SISTER, but they turn in a well-oiled and high-potency set of songs that are more accessible than outlandish, designed for both dancefloor nostalgia and memories yet to be made.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Life Of A Showgirl
    There’s some of that familiar production magic [of Max Martin and Shellback] in the instantaneous disco-pop hooks of “Wood” or the classic Swiftie melodic sensibilities and sonic detailing of “Opalite,” but nothing comes close to the poreless candyshell immediacy of “Bad Blood” or the undeniable catchiness of “We Are Never Getting Back Together.” Instead, these songs choose a more refined approach that’s slower to take hold but makes an impact nonetheless.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Cutthroat
    While Cutthroat may be a bit disjointed, it's not because Shame are indecisive. They continue to push and invent, even when it might be safer not to. Sometimes the results are thrilling, sometimes they're frustrating, but they're never cowardly.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Blight
    The cascades of noise and occasional glowing chamber sounds almost serve as a wordless balancing element to lyrics that can feel fatalistic, even if they're just accurate assessments of where the world is at present.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Buddhist Hipsters
    With a couple of exceptions, basically just the reggae and hip-hop songs, Buddhist Hipsters comes closest to recapturing the vibe of the Orb's prime work from the '90s than anything they've done in a while, making it one of their best efforts since Thomas Fehlmann left the group in 2017.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Belong
    Belong is full of lyrics about being on the outside looking in, a perspective that gives context to its skillful mix of angsty and dreamy textures.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    SickElixir
    SickElixir is the most challenging listen in Blawan's catalog, which makes it all the more unexpected that it's his first album for such a high-profile label, but it still contains some fascinating material.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Liminal
    So far, Liminal is the strangest of the Wolfe/Eno collaborative efforts, playing around with sonics and textures while still retaining an air of familiarity.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Deadbeat
    His thoughtful pacing doles out thrilling moments worth waiting for, while the slower segments allow for the energy to build again.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    LOTTO
    LOTTO is disorienting and messy, but there's undoubtedly something real and honest about it.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    West End Girl
    For anyone expecting the cheeky fun of her 2000s gems, there's no mirth to be found here. It's purely righteous anger, biting sarcasm, and cutting barbs, all draped in pain and disappointment. The bloodletting is cathartic and unexpected, making this a surprising maturation that makes Allen as relatable as she's ever been.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    That Wasn't A Dream
    That Wasn't a Dream is an unexpected, welcome surprise. Its ambitious tonal, textural, and harmonic palettes are intricately tied in a series of sonically sophisticated compositions reflecting the endless possibilities for 21st century jazz in improvisation, aesthetic inclusion, and production.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Describe
    Describe contains some of Jadagu's most personal songwriting, while the arrangements show that she's constantly looking to push her sound forward.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Again
    Again's relatively more streamlined indie rock and reflective sensibility may set it apart from their previous work more than any studio varnish, although it all works together to take a more consistent step forward on their proper label debut.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Melt
    The resulting solo debut, Melt, shares some pillowy musical essence with the Marías but lands somewhere more intimate, introspective, and searching as well as even more dreamily atmospheric.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Night Light
    Although the group's early period still packs in the most memorable moments, Night Light is a fine addition to their reliable late-era catalog that keeps it engaging, impeccably produced, and emotionally earnest.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    All Washed Up
    The only song that seems to come from nowhere is the album ending "Wham Boom Bang," a jolly little knees up full of clarinets, cute guitar licks, and a saucy vocal from Zander. The rest of the album is Cheap Trick through and through, every song a reminder of how their past achievements were truly special, while at the same time letting everyone know they are still cranking out songs with all the manic energy, gleeful abandon, and pure pop songcraft they've embraced from the start.
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