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...

100

All Music Guide

A fully realized masterpiece.

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100

Uncut

Almost every tune sounds like a hit. [Dec 2001, p.108]

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Trades the chilly, futuristic minimalism of S. Carter for a warmer, more organic sound rooted in the soul and funk of the '60s and '70s

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Pitchfork

The Blueprint is possibly the least sonically inventive hip-hop chart topper in years-- stunning and captivating for sure, but still loungily comfortable enough to sleep to.

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Sonicnet

The Blueprint is not a perfect album. Some of the material is undoubtedly filler. But this recording makes it clear that hip-hop is supposed to be fun -- and that Jay-Z is having a ball.

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PopMatters

While The Blueprint falls short of his debut's brilliance, it is easily the best Jay Z recording since that release.

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New Musical Express (NME)

By its close, 'The Blueprint' has eloquently mapped out life's foundations: laughter, tears, joy and pain, and has marked the Jigga as the complete rapper.

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L.A. Weekly

Blueprint is his best since debuting with Reasonable Doubt in 1996.

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CDNow

13 tracks of the kind of confident, effortless wordplay that made him a household name in the first place.

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E! Online

The Bed-Stuy boy musters up enough of his own charisma, charm and wit to build another solid release.

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Dot Music

It's not radically new - although the Timbaland and the Trackmasters contributions are genuinely exciting - but it's exactly what a lot of people want to hear from a hip-hop album right now.

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Entertainment Weekly

But for an MC claiming to represent ''for the seat where Rosa Parks sat,'' one expects a bit more.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 39 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Blind Painter gave it a9:
I must Awesome album of this Year.

Derek C gave it an8:
Great album, but I don't believe this is Jay-Z's greatest. Reasonable Doubt, The Black Album and American Gangster are before Blueprint in my opinion. However, I do rate it an 8 out of 10, so it is a great album!

Jeremy E gave it an8:
Overrated. One of the best produced albums ever, since every beat on this album is amazing. But the lyricism isn't quite there. Still a good album, but by no means worthy of a 10. Pick up The Black Album instead, it's better. Final Verdict: Worth a full listen if you're a Jay fan, but to anyone else, just hear these: Must Hear Songs: The Ruler's Back, Renegade, Breathe Easy (Lyrical Exercise) Also Great: Jigga That N*gga, Heart of the City (Ain't No Love), Song Cry, All I Need

Joey M gave it a5:
It's so hypocritical that Jay-Z first puts a track on the album, called D.O.A. (Death Of Autotune) and then records a song with Kanye West, who clearly used de voice altering software. Do as you say, not as you do, Jay!

Balky B gave it a2:
I don't see the appeal of Jay Z. Monotone robotic delivery of weak rhymes that often don't rhyme. I thought hiphop had graduated from "I'm the baddest dude" and "I've got the biggest d***" back in the 80's. Can't compare to Nas- Illimatic or Mos Def- Black on Both Sides. Both with relevant material about the real world. The Blue Print focuses on superficial materialism and club life. Why do hip hop heads believe Jay Z when he says is the best? I wish this was good.

Miguel A gave it a10:
The reason you cant always trust the user ratings on Metacritic (especially in the Rap genre) is because there are the "haters" who will not even listen to the album and rate it a 1 because that rapper has "beef" with his favorite rapper. Even though this album has an 8.5 rating, I'm disgusted. This is one of the greatest Hip Hop albums of ALL TIME. Jay's rapping is sick, and so are the beats. That's all you need to know. It's balanced.

jamie gave it a10:
Its a shame that this albums overall user rating is at 8.4 because 2 people decided to give it a zero. Even if you didn't like this album, its obviously worth more than a zero. An amazing album, and one of the reasons people continue to put jay-z in their top 5. If your a hip-hop head, you deserve to treat yourself to, in my opinion, the greatest mc to ever hold a mic. Im not a "dick rider" in any way....but once i heard the Black Album, i went back and listened to this dudes whole discography......Amazing artist, Amazing album, Amazing dude. G.O.A.T!

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