User Score
5.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 136 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 79 out of 136
  2. Negative: 53 out of 136

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  1. Aug 30, 2013
    7
    More upbeat and loud than her debut, Carnival Ride boasts co-writes by Underwood in more personal tracks that attract more of a fondness for her internal thoughts. Almost like a diary-album, it plays at as the aspirations for Underwood, still young in her career at the time of the album's release. All-American Girl, Get Out of This Town, The More Boys I Meet, Crazy Dreams, all championingMore upbeat and loud than her debut, Carnival Ride boasts co-writes by Underwood in more personal tracks that attract more of a fondness for her internal thoughts. Almost like a diary-album, it plays at as the aspirations for Underwood, still young in her career at the time of the album's release. All-American Girl, Get Out of This Town, The More Boys I Meet, Crazy Dreams, all championing the dream to grow and become a woman with the love of her man. The album's only flaws are the obvious attempts to imitate the success of her near-signature classic, Before He Cheats, through Last Name and Flat on the Floor. A solid little country album, that does a little more with Underwood's personality to establish as above average listening material. Expand
  2. Sep 2, 2015
    10
    Carrie Underwood is a monster of singer and this album, as Some Hearts, is the proof. Carnival Ride is my second Carrie favourite album (behind Some Hearts). Every song is fantastic, every song has a deep meaning at it and every song has the classical catchy country sound!
  3. Aug 18, 2014
    9
    I think her first album is the best but then again they're all very good albums...never get tired of her voice...She can do anything with her voice whether it be soft..
    Deep...harder (like Miranda lambert's voice) she sounds good singing it all in my opinion
  4. Nov 24, 2016
    10
    The amazing vocalist and songwriter Carrie Underwood ,winner of season 4 of American Idol, comes back with another hit album (Carnival Ride). She does amazing on tracks like Wheel of the World, Just a Dream, So Small, and Last Name as well as her cover of the amazing song I Told you So ,originally written and performed by country legend Randy Travis,. Carrie Underwood never disappoints.
  5. Sep 17, 2018
    10
    This is my favorite album of 2007 and one of my favorite country albums of all time. Carnival Ride was a very nice improvement on her great debut album. She is my favorite singer of all time and the best country singer of all time and one of the best singers of all time. My favorite songs off the album are So Small, Last Name, Just a Dream, All-American Girl, Flat on the Floor, I Told YouThis is my favorite album of 2007 and one of my favorite country albums of all time. Carnival Ride was a very nice improvement on her great debut album. She is my favorite singer of all time and the best country singer of all time and one of the best singers of all time. My favorite songs off the album are So Small, Last Name, Just a Dream, All-American Girl, Flat on the Floor, I Told You So, Twisted, & Wheel of the World. The music videos for Just a Dream, So Small, and Last Name were beautifully done. This is also one of my favorite albums of all time. I also loved how bright and simple the album cover was. Expand
  6. May 16, 2018
    10
    Filled with beautiful and deep ballads that go to more lively music, Carrie follows the quality standard of her previous album.
  7. ShawnF
    Oct 27, 2007
    10
    Even better than the first. So many songs on this great CD could be singles. Good job Carrie!
  8. AndyT
    Oct 28, 2007
    8
    A really good album. Much stronger and better than her first. Carrie's shows vocally what she can do, and there's a lot more she does in this album. Unfortunately, as good a album as this is, it is unoriginal and not very adventurous, musically and songwise. It's almost as if this is an extension to her first album.
  9. Dustins.
    Nov 1, 2007
    10
    I love it Carrie and all of her cd's rocks i love all the songs especially: Just a dream
  10. MichaelN.
    Oct 25, 2007
    9
    This is an amazing album. It might even be better than the first. My favorites are I Know You Won't and Crazy Dreams. I like to listen to every song. They are all great.
  11. DT.
    Oct 25, 2007
    8
    Loses energy towards the end but some of the tracks stand out as great tunes. Personal favs to Just a Dream and Get Out Of This Town, and Crazy Dreams and Last Name are fun. The More Boys I Meet is actually pretty ridiculous and the last two songs fall flat into cliches. Well maybe most of them do, which hurts her lyrical credibility. But as a vocalist, the four fav songs mentioned above Loses energy towards the end but some of the tracks stand out as great tunes. Personal favs to Just a Dream and Get Out Of This Town, and Crazy Dreams and Last Name are fun. The More Boys I Meet is actually pretty ridiculous and the last two songs fall flat into cliches. Well maybe most of them do, which hurts her lyrical credibility. But as a vocalist, the four fav songs mentioned above are strong and beautiful, while the rest fall somewhere worse. Expand
  12. GaryS.
    Oct 26, 2007
    10
    Country album of the year 2007. This CD has something for everyone, from the traditional power ballad to the pop-country anthems. A great sophomore effort.
  13. MicheleD
    Oct 27, 2007
    8
    I have loved Carrie since her AI debut. Voted her to the top every week, she was that impressive. I love her first CD, Some Hearts, and couldn't imagine her making another CD that topped it. I think she's done well with Carnival Ride, her second CD. Many have one good CD and then make a second mediocre one; not our Carrie. While I do think some of the songs and lyrics are a bit I have loved Carrie since her AI debut. Voted her to the top every week, she was that impressive. I love her first CD, Some Hearts, and couldn't imagine her making another CD that topped it. I think she's done well with Carnival Ride, her second CD. Many have one good CD and then make a second mediocre one; not our Carrie. While I do think some of the songs and lyrics are a bit young for my taste, I do love her voice and somehow, she makes those young lyrics seem so grown-up. Like she said, she's a 25 year old girl singing about 25 year old things. I can relate to that. While So Small may be the top playing song of hers at the moment, I think the album has potential. There are some great strings and mandolin playing on this new CD that are unbelievable. Expand
  14. WilliamR.
    Oct 30, 2007
    8
    It's great but I just wish she could've made it more personal, and different. Not like everything else you hear.
  15. TrentW.
    Oct 25, 2007
    9
    No more pop sounding crap for carrie soley country
  16. HaileyR.
    Oct 26, 2007
    10
    I give it a perfect 10. She has so many different kinds of songs on this album and I'm proud of her. So many artist's just make what you might call "mono-tone" kind of music. Her lyrics are awesome and she has an amazing voice. There are many things that we can learn from listening to her music, from love being the only thing that matters to just having fun. Two thumbs up!!
  17. anay.
    Oct 26, 2007
    9
    A lot edgier and louder than her first cd, but very entertaining with several catchy (..."here's to the longshots, hairbrush singers, dashboard drummers...") and some funny ("...the more boys i meet, the more i love my dog?!?) lyrics. AWESOME voice range and quality!!! my favorites? all the songs EXCEPT "i know you won't" (too slow) and "i told you so." (too melodramatic).
  18. NoelL.
    Oct 27, 2007
    10
    I think this album is as great as the first one. Some Hearts was perfect 'from cover to cover'. And this one is also.
  19. KM
    Oct 27, 2007
    10
    I didn't think it was possible for her to top SH, but she did. This album is amazing!
  20. CherylB.
    Oct 27, 2007
    9
    My favorites are :Just a Dream" and "Last Name." The album makes you feel a variety of emotion. Tears one minute and laughter the next. Its not "Some Hearts" but they could not do that again if they tried. But is a good sophomore CD.
  21. PeggyF.
    Oct 29, 2007
    10
    I love it ! Go Carrie! I love country music!
  22. ChrisN
    Oct 31, 2007
    9
    Carnival Ride is another great album by Carrie. Her big voice lends a helping hand to some of the weaker songs on the album. Overall she did a wonderful job.
  23. RobK
    Nov 2, 2007
    10
    There is not another singer out there who can belt out a song like Carrie!!!!
  24. Victor
    Nov 4, 2007
    10
    Great songs from the most beautiful woman...very powerful voice
  25. MattD.
    Oct 26, 2007
    8
    A slight improvement over Some Hearts; I would recommend Carnival Ride to all Carrie fans - and even those who like traditional stuff should give it a listen. It is definitely a countrier effort, and her voice is versatile enough to suit the different styles here. A couple ballads remain overproduced, and Carrie still doesn't always capture nuances, but those are somewhat minor A slight improvement over Some Hearts; I would recommend Carnival Ride to all Carrie fans - and even those who like traditional stuff should give it a listen. It is definitely a countrier effort, and her voice is versatile enough to suit the different styles here. A couple ballads remain overproduced, and Carrie still doesn't always capture nuances, but those are somewhat minor complaints. I just enjoyed the ride. Expand
  26. theresas.
    Oct 27, 2007
    10
    It is an amazing cd! She is a wonderful singer, and she takes it to the next level on this album! Great job Carrie!
  27. muffy
    Oct 27, 2007
    10
    Love it! Best country album this year!!
  28. SharonF
    Oct 27, 2007
    9
    I love Some Hearts, but I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Carnival Ride. Thank you Carrie for giving your fans what they want to hear!
  29. JustinF.
    Oct 28, 2007
    10
    'Some Hearts' went triple multi platinum and 'Carnival Ride' is going down the same path. It's country-rock anthems such as 'Flat on the Floor' to her incredibly sad songs like, 'Just a Dream' and 'I Know you Won't' are amazing on this album. Her already #1 song 'So Small' is already a million dollar success and i 'Some Hearts' went triple multi platinum and 'Carnival Ride' is going down the same path. It's country-rock anthems such as 'Flat on the Floor' to her incredibly sad songs like, 'Just a Dream' and 'I Know you Won't' are amazing on this album. Her already #1 song 'So Small' is already a million dollar success and i guarantee that Underwood will keep the hits pouring out! Expand
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 10
  2. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Sound and feel do mean a lot, but country records really survive on the strength of their songs, and the remarkable thing about Carnival Ride is that it's stronger song for song than Some Hearts, some of this due to Carrie herself, who bears four songwriting credits here, often in conjunction with some permutation of Steve McEwan and Hillary Lindsey, who pen a bunch of other tunes here.
  2. It's a straight-up Carrie Underwood album, and a very good one, with a handful of romps and laments that exist mainly to set the stage for the big-voiced, '80s-influenced, Southern-accented power ballads she sings so well.
  3. Carnival Ride simply doesn't offer anything for the unconverted in terms of Underwood's growth either as a vocalist or as an artist.