At worst, the wordy Travistan borders on hectoring... At his danceable best, Morrison ingeniously manifests his big concepts and even bigger heart. [Nov 2004, p.138]

While straying from metal's path, they uphold its legacy of conservative politics. [Nov 2007, p.148]

Even the strongest songs... are hobbled by sickly vocals and Mick Jones's pallid, needle-thin production. [Mar 2006, p.109]

There's no great leap into maturity... They've kept their salient feature--scorching, adolescent tantrums--unchanged. [Jun 2007, p.109]

R.E.M.'s recent albums have increasingly resembled singer-songwriter records. Around The Sun is much the best of the last three... because the tunes are better. [Nov 2004, p.140]

Snoop sounds great without saying anything he hasn't already said many times... Which is a testament to his abilities, but it's a bit disappointing, too. [Sep 2004, p.132]

Seal remains one of the best half-dozen male pop singers drawing breath. [Sep 2003, p.129]

There's nothing here that you couldn't hear blaring out of a thousand suburban garages on any Saturday night. [#4, p.118]

[Deadsy's] interchangeable keyboard noodling and flat, faintly robotic vocals will excite only those desperate for labelmates Orgy to hurry up and knock out another album. [Jun/Jul 2002, p.104]

As likely to put you to sleep as influence your choice in cars. [#8, p.116]

Get past Roth’s pinched-sinus tone and penchant for overpronounced internal rhyme and he is a different animal [than Eminem].

In attempting to be energetic, the band merely sounds busy. [Jun/Jul 2001, p.105]

The Denver foursome is spectacularly anonymous: poignant enough to bring out the waterworks, but generic enough not to get in the way of someone else’s story--making them the perfect soundtrack for prime-time melodrama.

They sound like just another rock band. The thing is, they're a fine rock band. [May 2005, p.119]

The record feels uneven, as the oscillation between frivolous and serious makes both less convincing. [Nov 2003, p.108]

His flat baritone suggests he’s still new at this whole “getting angry” thing, but the dude’s got the damaged part down.

More tuneful and less experimental than their debut. [Aug 2005, p.113]

Unfortunately, the production smoothes down the band's sharp edges to an overly polished finish. [Jun/Jul 2001, p.116]

Aguilera cowrote most of the songs, and she sounds surer of her themes than [Britney] Spears did in a similar I'm-coming-out role last year. [#12, p.138]

New touches only further dilute P.O.D.'s already watered-down sound. [Jan/Feb 2006, p.96]

What's the point of a cheesy goth-pop record that isn't any fun? [May 2006, p.105]

It's quite a feat: crushing, weighty themes conveyed via music that floats in a netherworld a few steps off the ground. [Dec 2003, p.144]

Robinson establishes himself as a distinctive singer, his world-weary yet optimistic drawl no longer beholden to the rock larynxes of yore. [#11, p.140]

Its penitent but hopeful mood still suggests a Catholic equivalent of corporate Christian rock

He's labored, bombastic and pitch-challenged.... The lyrics are embarrassing. [Aug 2004, p.143]

Their new boss's hooks are often slicke rand less arresting than the minor-key grit they thrive on. [Jun 2006, p.142]

On their self-titled fourth album, one colon-blowing mid-tempo after another shows the strain.

Instead of the rumbling epics of their later records... we get patient but ultraconcise miniatures. [Jun/Jul 2001, p.113]