Music
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best of 2009
Best of 2008
Best of 2007
Best of 2006
Best of 2005
Best of 2004
Best of 2003
Best of 2002
Best of 2001
Best of 2000
Best of the Decade
Upcoming &
Recent Releases
75
2562
54
30 Seconds to Mars
62
50 Cent
71
AC/DC
70
The Album Leaf
52
Kris Allen
68
Tori Amos
66
Animal Collective
84
Animal Collective![]()
77
Annie
57
Apse
63
Asobi Seksu
59
Bad Lieutenant
83
Julianna Barwick![]()
82
Beach House![]()
72
Beak>
72
Bibio
65
Justin Bieber
76
Biffy Clyro
74
Blakroc
75
Mary J. Blige
78
Blockhead
52
Bon Jovi
54
Susan Boyle
57
The Bravery
39
Chris Brown
64
V.V. Brown
70
Basia Bulat
79
Chew Lips
74
Citay
65
Clipse
66
Cold War Kids
75
The Cribs
58
Dashboard Confessional
81
Dave Rawlings Machine![]()
70
Delphic
78
The Doors
58
Echo & The Bunnymen
73
Edan
59
Editors
69
Eels
80
Felt
74
First Aid Kit
69
Flyleaf
83
Four Tet![]()
82
Ben Frost![]()
82
Fucked Up![]()
83
Charlotte Gainsbourg![]()
63
The Gilded Palace Of Sin
68
Githead
65
Joe Goddard
58
Good Shoes
72
Gucci Mane
75
Holopaw
82
Jesca Hoop![]()
79
Hot Chip
72
The Hot Rats
88
Ray Wylie Hubbard![]()
54
Hurricane Chris
66
Allison Iraheta
59
Jay Sean
82
Freedy Johnston![]()
57
Nick Jonas And The Administration
73
Norah Jones
49
Juvenile
58
Ke$ha
62
R. Kelly
66
Alicia Keys
68
Kid Sister
81
King Midas Sound![]()
63
Lady Antebellum
76
Lady GaGa
71
Adam Lambert
78
Lawrence Arabia
61
Leona Lewis
74
Lightspeed Champion
36
Lil Wayne
82
Lindstrom & Christabelle![]()
77
Lissie
78
Los Campesinos!
70
Lostprophets
73
Magnetic Fields
72
Massive Attack
64
John Mayer
71
Paul McCartney
58
Katherine McPhee
86
Memory Tapes![]()
72
Midlake
88
Motion City Soundtrack![]()
63
Mr. Hudson
53
Mudvayne
75
Oh No Ono
70
OK Go
72
Ola Podrida
61
OneRepublic
80
Owen Pallett
80
Pantha du Prince
90
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers![]()
80
Phantogram
60
Pit Er Pat
63
Priestess
70
Radian
79
Corinne Bailey Rae
54
Rakim
79
Real Estate
77
Retribution Gospel Choir
76
Rihanna
64
Rjd2
65
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
77
Sade
77
Gil Scott-Heron
72
Shakira
82
Shining![]()
61
Snoop Dogg
62
Snow Patrol
71
The Soft Pack
80
Spoon
64
Ringo Starr
59
Stereophonics
76
Angie Stone
79
Surfer Blood
74
Switchfoot
75
Them Crooked Vultures
74
Robin Thicke
50
Timbaland
79
tUnE-YaRDs
80
Vampire Weekend
79
Laura Veirs
79
Tom Waits
78
Wale
65
The Watson Twins
66
Kanye West
76
The Whitefield Brothers
64
Robbie Williams
80
Yeasayer
62
Young Money
75
Neil Young
61
Rob Zombie
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Anniemal

Universal acclaim
Based on 23 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 58 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Big Beat / 679
Release Date: 07 June 2005
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Electronic, Pop
Summary
This debut full-length by the Norwegian singer is preceded by quite a bit of critical buzz on both sides of the Atlantic.
Also By This Artist: Don't Stop
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Uncut
It excels at that classic pop trick of combining the euphoric with the melancholy. [Apr 2005, p.108]
Stylus Magazine
If you come expecting a great album full of hit singles, you won’t get it. If you come with an open mind, what will greet you is the opening chapter of a tale about a girl living through music, remembering through music, exploring her art and herself, starting out to create something special and different.
Read Full Review >Amazon.com
Not since the days of The Tom Tom Club, Bananarama, and "Lucky Star"-era Madonna, has dance-pop been this fun, this bouncy, this unabashedly optimistic.
Read Full Review >Filter
Annie is to Kylie Minogue as Kasabian is to Primal Scream: same song, different packaging. [#16, p.97]
Pitchfork
This all-star team of Northern European electro-house producers infuses the record with often low, rumbling bass, twitchy synths, and an oddly high-altitude light-headedness-- like floating, high on oxygen, just above a dancefloor.
Read Full Review >Drowned In Sound
If you have even the teensiest taste for the guilty charms of Kylie, the ‘Babes or Girls Aloud, this album is a must.
Read Full Review >Slant Magazine
Annie the songwriter is breathless and unsure of herself, her voice barely registering above a church-wafer-thin whisper for most of the record.
Read Full Review >Blender
[Annie] masterfully fus[es] synth-pop rhythms with her own feline coos. [Jun 2005, p.108]
The New York Times
Annie has a breathy wisp of a voice, and her vocal range is limited; but there is charm in her deadpan delivery, and her songwriting is full of the flair for melody for which Scandinavian pop is famous. [2 May 2005]
Urb
Annie explodes with a white-hot teen spirit that shames 99% of what passes for pop in America today. [Jun 2005, p.76]
Prefix Magazine
As much as the album may be a breath of fresh air, it still resembles what the Britney’s on our side of the Atlantic are putting out, closer than many would like to admit.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
This sugar rush of an album proves Mom right yet again: Candy is best consumed in moderation. [10 Jun 2005, p.107]
cokemachineglow
What makes Anniemal such a strong pop effort is its refusal to drop its high standards for production, melody, and hooks.
Read Full Review >Village Voice
If much of Anniemal isn't vibrant enough to move physically or resonant enough to move emotionally, its peaks suggest a worthy midway state.
Read Full Review >Planet
Kylie Minogue for hipsters. [#10, p.70]
Rolling Stone
Sounding mainstream but thinking indie, Anniemal comes packed with both instant surface fizz and quirky finesse that sustains repeated listenings.
Read Full Review >Splendid
Annie has delivered a solid pop record that does a lot of things well, but -- and this is the important thing -- that's what we should expect from all of our pop records.... Anniemal isn't a high-water mark; it's a benchmark.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times
And though a few of the tracks are downright painful... the end product is certainly something to chew on. [24 Jul 2005]
Dot Music
“Anniemal” is a textbook pop album – with all the passion that entails (i.e. none).
Read Full Review >PopMatters
Anniemal is pleasant enough to listen to; when I played it in my car while I was stuck in traffic, it helped take the edge off. It reminded me of music heard in malls, peppy and buoying, but not so compelling as to distract you from the clothes.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 58 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Ricardo C gave it an8:
Though is not excellent its great, and the best pop album in the last years. It is not full of hits, but its smooth and solid (Unlike trashy-easy-katyperry-pop).
Josh gave it a4:
Quite possibly the most overrated album I've ever heard. It's the same sugar infused pop Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue and Madonna have been putting out for years, except the hooks aren't as catchy and the vocals are poor. Avoid.
Drake gave it a10:
The best album of it's kind since Madonna's classic "Like a Virgin" album came out back in the 80's. The Tiny Mix Tapes review says it best "Perfect pop bliss".
Logan gave it a10:
Solid all the way through. Sensational debut by the lovely, Annie.
Paco E gave it a10:
A fun, unique pop album with some of the catchiest songs I've heard in ages. Simply perfect!
Lucky gave it a10:
Pop hasn't been this good in ages. A stunning album! You will definitely fall in love with Annie!
Cat gave it a10:
A solid pop album
