Amnesiac
by Radiohead
  • Record Label: Capitol
  • Release Date: Jun 5, 2001
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 559 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 528 out of 559
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 559
  3. Negative: 8 out of 559

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  1. Nick
    Apr 22, 2007
    10
    You and Whose Army is one of the best songs written (not to mention my personal favourite I Might Be Wrong). The flow of this album also contributes to its overall brilliance.
  2. SethA
    Apr 4, 2007
    10
    This will always be my favorite Radiohead album. I know it's very easy to misunderstand, but I also think it's some of the most beautiful and haunting music I've ever heard, even the tracks that everyone seems to think should have been left out (Revolving Door, Spinning Plates, Hunting Bears). I think they all add to the mania that the band was attempting to display. This will always be my favorite Radiohead album. I know it's very easy to misunderstand, but I also think it's some of the most beautiful and haunting music I've ever heard, even the tracks that everyone seems to think should have been left out (Revolving Door, Spinning Plates, Hunting Bears). I think they all add to the mania that the band was attempting to display. It's a little crazy...but it's also Radiohead, so that should be expected.… Expand
  3. Boosemo12
    Jun 4, 2011
    7
    The back half of the album is so-so by Radiohead standards, but Pyramid Song is the best thing they have ever done as a band.
  4. kman5473
    Jun 2, 2011
    9
    An incredibly great sequel to Kid A; it should not at all be considered the "after thought" of Kid A. Some of my favorite Radiohead songs are on the album. Knives Out is my favorite from the record, but realize that the rest of the album is just a hair behind it. Definitely a buy.
  5. mrjohno
    Jun 3, 2013
    10
    It amazes me how low the scores are for Radiohead albums. Radiohead have some of the most amazing, mind opening music in the world, just listen to pyramid song on this album when you need to think out of the box, and you will see why. It's seven eight timing is unusual and unpredictable which takes the casual listener out of it's comfort zone.

    As with all Radiohead albums, the whole is    It amazes me how low the scores are for Radiohead albums. Radiohead have some of the most amazing, mind opening music in the world, just listen to pyramid song on this album when you need to think out of the box, and you will see why. It's seven eight timing is unusual and unpredictable which takes the casual listener out of it's comfort zone.

    As with all Radiohead albums, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Its clear its not for everyone though, just by some of these reviews. Try hard and you wont be disappointed.    … Expand
  6. Joe
    Aug 11, 2001
    9
    More beautiful artwork. They actually challange current pop thought regarding the direction of music.
  7. RyanT.
    Jul 24, 2002
    9
    While this album could be called Kid B. It has amazing experimental music that may not be a new concept for the band but they pull it off. Highlights include Pyramid Song, I Might Be Wrong, and Life In A Glasshouse.
  8. Oligami
    May 20, 2007
    9
    Mostly derivative, overlong, exceedingly strange and, well, perfect. Listening to this is... like nothing else. How do they do it?
  9. Vampire25
    Apr 3, 2012
    7
    I've always thought Amnesiac was a bit of a hit and miss album by Radiohead. Some tracks really stand out and show just how brilliant Radiohead is, and other tracks lack that brilliance. It's nevertheless a solid album but it's no where near Radiohead's best work. B
  10. Rob1986
    Jul 20, 2017
    9
    Just sitting & listening to this again...if this is the worst album Radiohead made since Pablo Honey then they must be the greatest band ever. 3 so-so tracks, 8 brilliant tracks. The scraps falling off the Radiohead table are amazing.
  11. MBond1810
    Apr 12, 2013
    8
    'Amnesiac' is by far the best Radiohead album: more cohesive and various than its twin 'Kid A'. 'Life in a Glasshouse' is probably the greatest song they ever recorded.
  12. crazilon
    May 12, 2013
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This was a great album. Some of the songs were weird gibberish but most of it was melodic heaven. "You And Whose Army?" was most likely my favorite... at the beginning it was mostly gibberish but it got better and better.… Expand
  13. Xagent86X
    Nov 17, 2014
    10
    How could they follow up the brilliance and experimentation of Kid A? With more. But this album is far from a B-side collection from Kid A. Amnesiac has it's own feel, it's own place in the discography of the greatest band ever formed.
  14. TimeToRoam
    Jun 7, 2013
    10
    I am not much of a music expert in general, but I've heard Amnesiac enough to know it's an example of quality music. Especially, the breathtaking, mind-blowing I Might Be Wrong proves that Radiohead could never make a bad album. I would choose it over Pablo Honey and its hit-track Creep any time (not that i don't like it, I love pablo honey), just for I Might Be Wrong...
  15. normankant
    Aug 5, 2014
    10
    Amnesiac is my favorite record from Radiohead.
    It is not made of b-sides of Kid A. I repeat, to all of you that didn't get it yet, it is not made of b-sides of Kid A. To be true, it is a unique album, in the discography of Radiohead, but also in the history of music.
    Melodies are melancholic, sad, elegant, or inexistent. The voice of Yorke is at its edge. Amnesiac is amazing because it    Amnesiac is my favorite record from Radiohead.
    It is not made of b-sides of Kid A. I repeat, to all of you that didn't get it yet, it is not made of b-sides of Kid A. To be true, it is a unique album, in the discography of Radiohead, but also in the history of music.
    Melodies are melancholic, sad, elegant, or inexistent. The voice of Yorke is at its edge.
    Amnesiac is amazing because it alternates absurd experimental tracks to more easy, guitar-driven ones.
    It's a masterpiece.    … Expand
  16. jamesw
    May 20, 2007
    10
    brilliant
  17. GarethS
    Apr 17, 2006
    10
    It is obvious that reviewers listening to "a record of B sides" have little comprehension of what is truely interesting and intuitive music. I've never heard of a B side anywhere near as listenable to as radioheads work on amnesiac. A genuinly true form of contemporary music whence a pop/rock form, populally listenable to by the general public has been twisted into much more complex It is obvious that reviewers listening to "a record of B sides" have little comprehension of what is truely interesting and intuitive music. I've never heard of a B side anywhere near as listenable to as radioheads work on amnesiac. A genuinly true form of contemporary music whence a pop/rock form, populally listenable to by the general public has been twisted into much more complex architectures drawing on techniques from many influences classical and rock. Sufices to say that this music has not been writen purely to make money off of a niche market of people looking for wacky-wierdness like some so called classically experimental artists. Radiohead transverse the development of pink-folyd in reverse, releasing their "dark side of the moon" in "ok computer" and moving into experimentation and electronics. This album shows a true love of music for music's sake.… Expand
  18. ErikH
    Sep 9, 2007
    7
    Kid A was brilliant, but Amnesiac is simply above-average. There are very few songs to fall in love with (if any) and it gets old after a certain number of listens rather than steadily growing on you. Easily the band's worst album (other than the rock-by-numbers Pablo Honey).
  19. PaulW
    Jun 7, 2005
    9
    It could be their worst album but no-one cares when its so damn amazing!
  20. HeathJ.
    Feb 27, 2002
    9
    Mark K almost got it right - get rid of a few crap songs from Kid A and Amnesiac, put the good ones together and you not only have Radioheads best album but the best album by any band....ever!!!
  21. RonG
    Aug 17, 2006
    8
    A lot of the songs are stunning, in particular Pyramid Song, Knives Out and Life in a Glasshouse, but once again I feel that a few of the songs(as with Kid A), you probably had to be there when the band made it to get them properly, and I guess very few people were (Like Spinning Plates, Revolving Doors)
  22. cadet
    Jul 31, 2017
    8
    this is probably Radioheads most weird record to this date and it shows in song like this version of morning bell is haunting in this version and the beautiful and two of the most dramatic in the Radiohead discography being pyramid song and you and whose army which are two of the best songs on the album, There's the intro Packt like sardines in a crushd tin box which is a good openingthis is probably Radioheads most weird record to this date and it shows in song like this version of morning bell is haunting in this version and the beautiful and two of the most dramatic in the Radiohead discography being pyramid song and you and whose army which are two of the best songs on the album, There's the intro Packt like sardines in a crushd tin box which is a good opening track and there's the closing track which is life in glass house which is a great way to close this album but the problem with this album is that it can get really dodgy and obscure with the track pulk/pull revolving doors and hunting bears which are nothing but interlude detours that are really boring, and track listing is really not the best with pyramid song being before Pulk/revolving which i think that pyramid song and you and whose army should of been in the second half of the record because the first half show more electronic elements and the tracks should of slowly start getting more and more organic with the instrumentation thats what i thought this album should of done but overall its a great album… Expand
  23. KellyW
    Apr 30, 2005
    10
    Don't know what all this criticism is about. I really love this record. Only flaw is the poor tracklisting that doesn't flow from song to song.
  24. jwha
    Oct 16, 2006
    10
    radiohead rules.
  25. ArthurL
    Jan 26, 2006
    10
    I'm not interested in what critics have to say. I used to be a radiohead listener years ago and had long forgottn about them. I were prejudiced against their later creations but this album is too good to say anything negative about. I'm blown.
  26. StacyH
    Oct 13, 2007
    10
    By far the most deep and dark record of Radiohead's. The album's opening tracks are just great, Kives Out is beautiful, and Hunting Bears is surreal.
  27. NE
    Jun 17, 2007
    9
    Radiohead's worst album was Pablo Honey. This, as Kid A's little brother, is only weaker because it has filler (Pull/Pulk Revolving Doors, Hunting Bears). The rest is incredibly amazing.
  28. RyanJ
    Jun 18, 2007
    10
    One of the most amazing albums ever made. Pyramid Song will continue to haunt for decades.
  29. BobR
    Jul 18, 2007
    10
    don't overlook this album! And yes, You and Whose Army is awesome.
  30. MarkK.
    Nov 30, 2001
    9
    Take the best tracks from Kid A and Amnsesiac and you have Radiohead's best album.
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Awards & Rankings

89
#89 Best Album of 2001
8
#8 Most Discussed Album of 2001
9
#9 Most Shared Album of 2001

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
  1. Spin Cycle
    75
    "Amnesiac" deepens the mystery that Radiohead began with its curious, largely electronic 2000 release, "Kid A," and certainly won't satiate those awaiting the lauded band's supposed return to guitar-heavy epics.
    Read full review
  2. Q Magazine
    80
    Either Yorke’s lyrics are better this time, or the comparative voluptuousness of the vocal performances make it easier to tune in, or we’ve finally grasped what he’s been getting at since abandoning OK Computer’s more straightforward man-vs-society musings.
    Read full review
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    58
    By the sound of it, Radiohead have strayed off into the same territory Yes did over a quarter century ago -- and two pieces of marginalia in a row don't bode well for the outcome. [8 June 2001, p.72]
See all critic reviews »