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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    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Outrun
    The main reasons to drop a quarter into this video game on wax (or digital download) are the sexy robot song "Nightcall" (which was featured prominently in the film Drive), the dubsteppy victory theme "Protovision," and the assurance that no matter what cool bits of the present are employed, the fetishizing of that 16-bit swagger will remain solid and inspired.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    100 Records, Vol. 3
    This is the final group of recordings Smith plans to release from the 100 Records project, and it's just as strong as any of the others.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Sudden Elevation
    Sometimes, as is the case on the lovely yet slight "Bright and Still," the simplistic lyrics transcend naiveté and venture dangerously close to obtuse, but for the most part, Arnalds shows a pretty decent command of the language.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Chain Letters
    Chain Letters is an evolutionary step. Idiosyncratic, revelatory, raucous, it's a nasty, beautiful rock & roll baptism in pleasure, both carnal and spiritual.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Mowgli
    Even if Mowgli is not completely engaging, Mister Lies is on the verge of something innovative, and most electronic fans will find these crisp, controlled soundscapes easy to absorb and enjoy.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Woman
    In the main, the purpose is bedroom listening, though the tone is so bright that daytime play seems most suitable. The lyrics are packed with metaphors, yet they are expressed in a heartrending and inviting manner.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Girl Talk
    Thankfully, while Nash has moved to a more extroverted, aggressive sound, she hasn't sacrificed any of the personal, intimate lyrics that marked the best of her early songs.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Stand-In
    Rose isn't trying to be all traditional country here, or even all straight pop either, but somehow she effortlessly melts the two together, and this set is definitely a winner, full of solid playing and, of course, Rose's easy and comfortingly wise vocals.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Like a Rose
    This blend of contemporary attitudes and classic sounds is insinuating and addictive, particularly because at nine songs, it's too brief--once it's through, the album practically begs you to start all over again.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Nanobots
    At times, Nanobots feels like Join Us' more melancholy flip side, and even if this album isn't quite as immediate as the one before it, it shows how They Might Be Giants can continue in the vein they've excelled at for decades and build on it, too.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Love from London
    Hitchcock is clearly having fun here, and while that sense of joyful, mad abandon may not always result in quality, it's hard not root for a guy who, at 60, isn’t afraid to stand behind his "honey naked and uncooked."
    • 67 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Hi Beams
    Added up, it's a departure for sure, but it's a swerve that's easy to follow.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Hymnal
    Hymnal's serene beauty may make it his most sublime music yet.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Honky Tonk
    Honky Tonk is country facing forward informed by the past.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Images du Futur
    Somehow managing to sound minimal and controlled even when claustrophobically arranged with ever-shifting sounds, Images du Futur improves on Suuns debut and goes even deeper into the dark sounds they've been developing and perfecting as they go.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    New Moon
    Fortunately for fans of their punishing past, New Moon smoothes out the edges without getting rid of them completely, leaving just enough rough patches here and there to remind listeners that there's still plenty of muscle hiding just below their languid façade.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Exai
    The album could have been pared down a bit, yet it's a drop in a bucket for Booth and Brown. Prior to this, their discography clocked in at 18 hours or so. What's another two hours?
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Early Fragments
    In the same way as records like the Buzzcocks' Singles Going Steady, the Smiths' Hatful of Hollow, or even Weirdo Rippers by No Age, the incremental blasts of brilliance collected in one place as Early Fragments fit together perfectly, capturing a remarkably intriguing band at various peaks.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Welcome Oblivion
    Welcome Oblivion is not an album that comes on forcefully, and by many measures, it's the most measured record of Reznor's career, yet it's also his most melodic, showing that this former angry young man has a design to grow old gracefully.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Between Places
    The album sometimes amazingly sounds as if the Zombies had reunited in 1980 for an album produced by the Buggles' Trevor Horn, resulting in a joyful, 50-minute orgasm of chamber pop jubilation.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Naomi
    The band hasn't strayed too far from what made it successful in its beginnings, but with Naomi, they've shifted their energy into producing the aural equivalent of a cloudless summer day.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Beast in Its Tracks
    Less expansive than 2010's So Runs the World Away, yet still rich enough in atmosphere to make for a relatively seamless transition, Ritter doesn't just sit at the end of his bed with a guitar and emote into a tape recorder.
    • AllMusic
      • Posted Mar 4, 2013
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Wondrous Bughouse
    Wondrous Bughouse is an undeniably impressive-sounding album that will please fans who loved The Year of Hibernation for its intricate sonics, but those who empathized with its emotions might feel a tad disconnected.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    People, Hell and Angels
    People, Hell and Angels certainly isn't the place to start your Hendrix collection, but collectors will surely want to hear this and it provides an interesting perspective on where Jimi's music was headed post-Experience.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Black Sun
    Black Sun is an infectious, dance-oriented release that summons the new romantic spirit, if not the moussed hair and neon blush, of such '80s bands as Duran Duran, ABC, and Spandau Ballet.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Chelsea Light Moving
    The album is fun, huge, and pleasantly confused (as evidenced in part by the out-of-place Germs cover that closes the album) but ultimately just another chapter in Moore's lifelong exploration of sound, poetry, and the darkest corners of American subcultures he helped build, and continues to add to.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Old Yellow Moon
    While this doesn't carry the weight of an "historic" recording, it is thoroughly enjoyable. Harris is in better voice than she's been in years and Crowell is a natural as a duet partner.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Raven That Refused to Sing and Other Stories
    The Raven That Refused to Sing and Other Stories is the best of Wilson's three solo projects; let's hope this particular group stays together awhile.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Late Great Whatever
    No matter how you feel about Pixies worship or Star Wars references, if you have an affinity for loud, fast, but brainy, punky pop that is fun and full of hooky jams that'll have you bobbing your head like a maniac, The Late Great Whatever is just what you need to make you happy.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Deathfix
    While somewhat brief with just seven songs, there's more than enough diversity on Deathfix to keep things interesting throughout.
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