I just listened to this again ... for maybe the 100th time. It just grows in depth and beauty. Steven's voice is haunting, delicate. The lyrics are touching, horrific, lifting. The arrangements are glorious, inspiring. Does it ever become unlistenable?

One of the best albums of all time. This is a work that will be treasured by many for decades and centuries to come. If you disagree with this statement, I recommend listening more closely.

Rich, expansive, deep, just a really really good record through and through.

The perfect record.. and it seemed to come out of nowhere. Michigan was fantastic and so was Seven Swans, but this just wasn't expected. I don't know. Sufjan can be a master at music and this is probably the best example of that.

Utterly bewitching. It's one of the most wonderful things to be heard this year.

Oh my goodness! The music on this disc is astoundingly beautiful and fun to listen to! I can't stop playing it. It really is the best thing to come out this year, and the best thing Sufjan Stevens has ever done. Bravo! A+

One of the most beautifully crafted albums I've ever heard. It can't top "Seven Swans" but that's completely off the chart. Sufjan creates pop symphonies and delicate folk songs. He speaks of serial killers, cancer, night zombies, predatory wasps, youthful ignorance and freedom, and God with such an honest and telling nature that hardly any one else possesses. Lord, it';s fantastic. Plus, Sufjan plays about a million instruments and even employs a string quartet this time around! You must hear it for yourself.… Expand

One of those rare cd's that is absolutely perfect and deserving of a ten. Everything on this album contributes to it's brilliance and grandeur-yes, even the little five or ten second "tracks" that detractors might refer to as uselss filler. Not a single misstep, but standouts include the title song, which makes me want to cry every time I listen to it, John Wayne Macy Jr., Jacksonville, etc. I can't listen them all, but please, get this album. Hands down the best album of the year so far.… Expand

Absolute best album of the year. Everybody, regardless of personal taste or interests, should be made to listen to this album at least once, but preferably until they love it -- which will probably only take one listen, anyway.

gorgeous and affecting

I think ratings of 10 should be reserved for truely great albums, those that merit the term 'classic' i.e. "Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" or "What's Goin' On", by Marvin Gaye for example. So I've given this album a 10. An album with tremendous social and historical awareness, forays into the musical inknown, and melodically gutwrenching, Illinois demands close listening and appreciation of this music as a real art form. Illinois is a painfully beautiful conception of an artist's vision.… Expand

stunning!

Album of the year, for sure. I would rarely give out a rating of 10, but this album is most deserving of it. Sufjan Stevens is the best singer/songwriter alive today. This album is so ambitious, beautiful, haunting, expansive... just wonderful. It is similar to Greetings from Michigan, which is not a bad thing. The arrangements have surely improved since that album. I can't stop playing this album.… Expand

Sufjan is one of the only musicians right now who takes music seriously. He takes everything so seriously, but without over earnest (ahem Bright Eyes) audacity. Rather, everything is connected and important from a wasp on his arm to a serial killer. This album is an amazing feat.

Sufjan has done it again!

What a stunning album. A beautiful tone poem to my homestate. One of the most ambitious albums to come out this year.

Wow wow wow. Nothing says it better. This is an amazing album from start to finish. Beautiful music, beautiful songwriting. Sufjan is a true wonder.

Album of the year.

The finest album of the year, clasped-hands down.

This is utterly beautiful, epic, and touching album. Strings, choir, horns, guitar, and banjo are included. But, not in a "Look!!! We have horns and strings!!!!" like the Polyphonic Spree (I still like the Spree). Enjoy. I sure hope we have 48 more of these.

Album of the year, hands down.

Too bad I can't give it an 11. This has just about everything:creative arrangements,diverse instrumentation,hooks hooks hooks and visually evocative lyrics. What's great is that the songs actually live up to their epic titles.

This album exceeds the already high expectations I had for it. Simply amazing, simply the best album of the year so far and could possibly, more like easily, hold that status through the year. If you don't have it, get it and give it a few listens and let it grow and grow on you...and grow.

Best album I've heard in forever. It is a masterpiece. Epic. Lovely. Poignant.

Sufjan Stevens has taken a huge risk and succeeded, going above and beyond anything he has ever done before musically.

I thought Michigan was amazing, and somehow he topped that. Even going back and listening to Michigan again, as much as I loved it throughout 2003 and 2004, Illinois completely defeats it. Illinois merely expands on his skills as a songwriter and ability to take almost any emotion and make it work for him.

This is utterly huge and reminds me of nothing because I haven't heard anything like e.g. "Chicago" before. Just give it a listen to "Casimir Pulaski Day" and have a good time.

unbeleiveable.

Amazing music that just keeps going and going. Best I've hear this year.

perfect

Reich rythyms run thru this beauty. Glorious.

So far, no album released this year is even in the same class as "Illinois." Both heartbreaking and exciting, this is perhaps the best album since "The Creek That Drank The Cradle," only it may be better than even that. "John Wayne Gacy" is truly haunting, and the best song I've heard this year.

gorgeous lush instrumentation with simultaneously rousing and tender lyrics, all supplemented by stevens' evocative vocals, conspire to send tingles up your spine every few seconds or so of the record.

This album is astounding. It's the musical equivalent of movies like Magnolia, Short Cuts and Crash -- it's all over the place, but makes sense when taken in context of the entire work. Highlights include Casimir Pulaski Day; John Wayne Gacy, Jr.; Chicago; and everything else. Well worth whatever you pay for it.

Brilliant. While similar in tone to his Michigan album, Illinois represents a leap forward in both songwriting and arrangement. This year's best.

Brilliant. Just brilliant.

I was first exposed to Sufjan's music about two years ago when the shockingly good Michigan disc was released. Who else out there was self-mixing and composing banjo, acoustic guitar, Trumpet, xylophone, vibraphone, drums and god knows what other instruments into lush, vibrant tone poems? Michigan was a breath of fresh air and unlike anything else I had ever heard. It told a story as big as the Great Lakes but with all the personal detail that tied everything together and drew the listener into the state and into a state of mind. Could anyone possibly listen to Romulus and not empathize with Stevens as a child or feel the intimacy of "For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti?" These stripped down compositions contrasted fantastically with the orchestral "All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!" and "Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)" which gave the listener a sense of the mighty industrial power of the great mid-west. Next came last year's deeply spiritual Seven Swans release. I haven't been to church in at least 10 years (not counting weddings and funerals) but this collection of musings on the Bible (in particular Revelations) led me to contemplate my place in this world and the possiblity of an almighty creator (anyone want to discuss the Big Bang Theory or the theory of Evolution with Sufjan?). Oh yeah, and the music was out of this world as well. See "The Transfiguration" and "Seven Swans" for examples of that. So it was with great expections (No, I haven't been reading Dickens for the past seven months) I awaited the release of Illinois. Would it match the splendor and personal emotion of Michigan? Would it capture the religious themes of Seven Swans and translate it into palpable everyman's music? Where to begin? I'll begin simply and state that this is hands down the release of the year so far. No it doesn't have the catchiness of Spoon's "I Turn My Camera On" off the very good "Gimme Fiction" disc or the splendid imagery of the Decemberists on "Picaresque," but is both more intimate and more grand than either of these fine records. Illinois keeps me rapt throughout its 77-minute-plus running time, each time I pick up some new instrument or sound that only adds to the disc's grandeur. You may be a skeptic like I was when I first heard about Steven's plan to do an albumn on all 50 states. How could you possibly capture the essence of a whole state ( and more than 200 years of history) in one release? Without question Steven's only skirts the surface of the entirety of the state of Illinois but through songs such as unweildy titled, ""The Black Hawk War, or, How to Demolish an Entire Civilization and Still Feel Good About Yourself in the Morning, or, We Apologize for the Inconvenience But You're Going to Have to Leave Now, or, 'I have fought the Big Knives and will continue to fight them until they are off our lands!,' "Jacksonville" and "John Wayne Gacey" he manages to cover quite a bit of ground. Highlights of the disc include what may prove to be Sufjan's breakout hit on Indie radio, the eminately singable, "Chicago," a song that is more about our need to travel to try and escape our problems and lethargy than about the broad shouldered city it is named after. Don't fret, The City of Chicago more than gets its due in the third track on the disc, "Come on, feel the Illinoise, Part II"" and "The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts." two mind-blowing compositions that weave Steven's hushed vocals with numerous brass instruments, electric and acoustic gutars, strings, percusion instruments and choirs to convey the gravity of the great city. Perhaps it is in the use of these strings and choirs that this release differs the most "Michigan" and "Seven Swans." Steven's ability to draw us into his personal experiences can be found on this release as well, as the deeply moving "Casimir Pulaski Day," "Decatur" and "The Predatory Wasp of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!" draw heavily on his formative years in both imagery and content. Time to wrap this review up as I've rambled on enough and frankly I'm at work and desparate to get in my car and listen to this for the 30th time in less than a week. Buy it now!! This man is a musical genius and needs to be heard by those in the know! P.S. I strongly encourage everyone to check out Pitchfork Record's glowing review of this masterpiece for further confirmation that this disc is well worth the purchase price and is one of the best of 2005.… Expand

It is difficult to imagine a better record.

At the moment there are only 2 names that matter in music: Rufus Wainwright and Sufjan Stevens. With this albums Sufjan is a notch more genius than Rufus. What a perfect album, what gracious music, what splendour! 48 more "States" albums to go...if he keeps this up, the future is bright indeed....

This album is recycled and boring. You hear one track and you've heard them all.

Sufjan's best album so far.

Sufjan is a genius, period... I cannot get enough of this album

I LOVE THIS ALBUM. I cannot stop playing it. Sufjan is one of my favorite artists.

Bump. World hunger would end if we all listened to Sufjan's music more. No Transfiguration on this album, but a few very nice songs indeed.

One of the most affecting albums that I've heard in the last few years. Tends to grab on to you and not let go. Gorgeous album, pick it up.

It's hard for me to say that I like this album more than Michigan, but, OK I'll say it: I Do. God. Every song is an epiphany. ESPECIALLY 12-16!!!! Oh yeah....and also 1-11and 17-22!!! !

Beautiful album, getting better and better with each listen (almost a hundred now!). Such a seemingly effortlessly crafted album, so subtle...not a microsecond of oversentimentalty, still one of the most passionate, emotionally charged albums I've ever heard.

This is the first time I vote in here. And this is because of this perfectly beautiful album. It just blows me away, I can't tell the last time in recent years I ever feel so sure to give a 10 on an album. The music and the lyrics are just extraordinary.

Great CD, a little out there but overall a great album

The Gacy song is super creepy. Creepy enough that while I can respect the artistry, I don't want to hear it anymore. Other than that, there are about 6 amazing songs. "Jacksonville," "Chicago" and "Casmir Pulaski Day" are staggering achievements of melody, lyric and instrumentation. Onward to Wisconsin Sufjan!

Sufjan creates a multi-layered musical gem in his 2nd state-devoted cd. Truly amazing, we can only hope for such greatness for the next 48 states. Frontrunner for album of the year.

he is now my favorite musician of all time

By far the best album I have heard all year! Cannot wait for his live show to see how it pulls it off.

Best album of the year, by a mile.

Just magical. Hard to believe that 'Michigan' could be matched or bettered but this album would seem to do that. The arrangements are staggering, the harmonies are heart-breaking and the lyrics are inspired. Stunning.

This album will be remembered for many years to come. Sufjan Stevens will no longer go unnoticed in the music industry. His genius is profiled in this album. Simply beautiful in all respects!

Michigan in my mind is untouchable. A classic album...pronounced Soof-Jan...now a household name. Can't wait to see him in Portland...I heard The New Lows will be supporting

Do yourself a favor and listen to "Illinois" on good headphones all the way through; the details will amaze you. This is a remarkable achievement - homespun and epic at the same time. It will take many focused listenings to take it all in. A near perfect example of the power of great pop craft.

This album is amazing.

I need to be honest. I have followed this web site for the last two years and agree with 75% of their scores. I have been somewhat apprehensive to go out and buy their top rated albums without listening to them (I usually agree but sometimes they let me down). I really love indie rock music but never heard of Sufjan. I noticed all of the acclaim it got and was convinced to buy it (took me 5 stores to find the album in NYC). I have to admit that this is one of the best albums I have ever listend to. He is simply amazing. Everything about his music and supporting cast is golden to ears. It has convinced me that I have a lot to learn about the indie rock movement and that I need to check out more Sufjan albums. Anyone who enjoys music needs to pick up this album! Enjoy it and have a good one.… Expand

I hate to say it, but this guy is a genius. Keep the tunes coming.

If you don't love this album, you have no taste and you have no soul.

Incredible CD focusing on the 21st state. Stevens seems to improve on every release, making his 50 states project even more awesome.

I'm going to listen to this album in late autumn and feel an overwhelming sense nostalgia for the summer. It's an opus worthy of EVERYONE'S ear. I feel like it's the world's responsibility to buy this record so Sufjan can fund his undoubtedly great next outing.

This album is great. It makes me feel good to listen to it and it does not make me think that I am being sucked into a cult..... sort of. The only reason I gave it a 6 was to add a little color to the "Rate this album" board... Green can get old and that red looked alone. Can't wait for Whyoming on my mind.

This is my first exposure to Sufjan's music, and all I have to say is that this is probably the most immersive album I've ever listened to.

Incredible. Album of the year? Quite probably. Album of the still young 21st century? Very possible.

stevens deserves nothing less than a 10 of 10 and anyone out there who gives him less is a fool. Stevens one awards for prose and poetry in college and it shows the man is a lyrical genius...i dont even have the words to describe the instrumental arrangements...stevens really does make you "feel the illinoise"...feel the room chill as a serial killer walks in (John Wayne Gacy, Jr.)...feel insignificant in the grand scheme of things...feel a greater creator...the man is simply a genius...… Expand

This album restores my faith in the music industry. If Thom Yorke were to buy a copy of this album, he might, just might get back to challenging himself with making another really good album, instead of some existential junk.

Sufjan spent his money from SEVEN SWANS and MICHIGAN on orchestration. The result is similar to the aforementioned albums except more lush and ultimately more beautiful. Wow.

Epic recording . . . An impressive expansion of the sounds on "Seven Swans" . . . Calling him "folk" seems a little, I don't know, insulting, because his musical vision is so grand . . . By comparison, I've always loved The Clash's "London Calling" because of the numerous musical genres represented on one album. Here, Stevens has similarly employed any number of instruments, time signatures, and music styles to create a beautiful album.… Expand

not only album of the year but easily one of the 10 best albums of the decade so far

Mr.Stevens has, with this CD, proved himself to be one of the most talented, innovative, and simply enjoyable musicians alive today. These 22 tracks span more territory and display more talent than 99% of artists can hope to achieve collectively throughout their entire career. Definitely one of the best albums to be released this decade, snapping respectfully at the heals of Kid A, Agaetis Byrjun, and the Moon and Antarctica.… Expand

Superb

It's that good. Wow.

As of July 29th, Sufjan Steven's Illinois is my choice for album of the year, with Andrew Bird's Mysterious Production of Eggs inches behind. This album is a masterpiece. The music is thick and intense, and filled with haunting and interesting historical references.

Plenty of people have given Sufjan Stevens favorable reviews I totally agree with. He is very talented and even if you agree with what I have to say you should still listen to his albums if you haven’t heard them. Usually I have no problem with his music, but when I am not feeling tolerant, Sufjan Stevens’ music reminds me of rare occasions when I forget my MP3 player & I have to scan through radio stations to see if there is anything that catches my attention. Every once in a while I’ll find something that sounds oddly naïve & nostalgic of the indie music I love, so I listen to it until the singing kicks in. Then it is painfully obvious it is Christian rock and I shut it off immediately. I resent being duped into a medium for the Christian agenda. While most of Sufjan Stevens’ music is nothing like Christian rock, it does walk a thin line by sentimentalizing a Christian message. He is a religious person. I don’t respect that, but I certainly accept it. I listen to plenty of contemporary music inspired by religious faith (Talk Talk, Steve Reich, Arvo Part, to name a few), but for some reason they never bothered me. So I have to ask myself, why does Sufjan Stevens’ singing about Abraham or bible school bother me? Are the vocals so clear I cannot opt not to just listen to the music? Maybe I always thought of Indie music as a refuge from irrationality. Maybe it feels a little slipped into the mix. Maybe I find it hard to accept that the person how wrote something this good believes in something I find absurd. Most likely the problem is just me. Previously I was more tolerant because I wasn’t feeling as sickened by the current religious trend that is captivating our nation. I don’t know if I can reconcile this problem I have with some of his music in the current socio-political environment I live in. But something tells me even in different times, really delicate/intimate songs about a love for big foot or UFOs would irritate me too.… Expand

I'm blown away by the emotion of this album. The lyrics, the arrangements, the melodies, absolutely f'n brilliant. I know there are some songs that cover taboo topics, but I've never been so moved by an album since ... since never. Bravo. Bravo Stevens. Crap. Shite;s unbelievable.

Great album, almost no complaints, but I think it could have been tighter. Also, too much flute. Still one of the best albums this year though.

This record justifies metacritic's existence. I doubt very much that I would have even heard of, let alone bought this phenomenal record if I hadn't seen it at the top of metacritic's lists for this year. In fact it's the first record I've bought on the basis of a metacritic rating. And so should you. Wow.

Instant classic that gives musical independence hope.

Very nice, but the more expansive it gets, the more I miss the quiet intimacy of Seven Swans, which I still consider his most personal, and best, work.

This is one of those albums from which I have to step back and critique separate from my personal affection (or lack thereof) for the cd. Mr. Stevens is clearly a gifted musician, ridiculously so. This album, all of it, every note sung, played, and written is wonderfully original. He is an artist of the first rank in a musical climate that is downwright depressing for its lack of artistic vision and risk. I admire that he crafts songs so lyrically and musically intricate. And to say that his influences are ecclectically drawn is a vast understatement. And I look forward to listening to the album repeatedly. As with most singer-songwriters, the more I listen, the more I will come to like it, I'm sure, as his genuinely touching and intelligent songs come alive. I must confess that, while comparisons to Radiohead and Sigur Ros and other "art rock" musicians seem appropriate, I don't find his music as palatable as I do these others--but I suspect this is just a question of taste. I do find his musical style, while utterly accomplished, to be a little too cloying and precious. Tenderness and delicacy is no fault, even in a male singer, but here I find it, particularly when the volume of horns and strings and vocals are turned up, a little tiresome, almost syrupy, particularly some 15 songs in. What at first is completely transfixing and beuatiful, becomes almost, creepy? To me, Stevens is best when he keeps it simple. I kept wanting a bit more of an edge, just a bit, in the orchestral arrangements. But, these are I suppose minor complaints, and I admit to feeling guilty for having any against an album so intelligent and sensitive and unique. And even with my misgivings, I can't help but give the album a 9. It is an impressive achievement.… Expand

Only a notorious jerk could dislike this record. An amazing achievement. Insanely good.

magical!

so far (and barring any unforseeable events) this is the best album of 2005, perhaps the best of this young millenium. stevens somehow writes music that is both immensly universal and intensely personal at the same time. this album is simply unbelievable.

It's simple Philip Buchan must die.

this guy has God given creativity and he uses it more than any other musical artist in history

Among the best of 2005 so far (August 13th) with Bright Eyes, The White Stripes, System of a Down and The Game. Let's see what Idlewild, Kanye West, OutKast, Elbow, BRMC, the Dandy Warhols, and Broken Social Scene have to offer in the last 4.5 months.

Wonderful! Future generations will be looking at it as the first classic neo-folk album.

This album is amazing. Brilliant.

I simply cannot believe that an album written as an art project covering (eventually) all 50 states could be this good. I moved to Illinois 10 years ago and, as a native Californian, I must say that Sufjan got it right. This is a state rife with contradictions, variety, and ultimately, amazing people and things. With 22 songs, you would expect a few duds, but there aren't any. I share the other reviewers preference of the quieter songs, while the big horns and guitars seem a little overdone. The lyrics seem both specific to Illinois but he cleverly ties them to his personal life to add meaning and context. This is certainly a case of the artist finding himself by writing about things outside his experience. This is a WONDERFUL album and should not be missed. A candidate for 2005 album of the year.… Expand

Not as good as THE WOODS, BLACK SHEEP BOY, or GET BEHIND ME SATAN, but damn close. It's more critic proof sound is what has it atop the metacritic poll over these other titles. That said, praise must be given...at times this album attains a near ASTRAL WEEKS level of timeless transcendence. Like Morrison, Stevens seems an absolute master at maintaining emotional intensity and musical interest over an extended play length. I give it a nine for one reason only, Stevens doesn't know how to quit when he's ahead, suffers from major BIlly Corgan syndrome, where artist choses to include everything, rather than just the great stuff, on each release...by song 16 or 17, the sound loses all sense of variety and wears out it's welcome big time, and THE SEER TOWER is absolute dead weight in light of what comes before. Flawed, but great, though I have to admit feeling a little weird heaping such praise on an artist who seems to have taken his principal inspiration, at least sonically, from Shroeder of Peanuts fame.… Expand

This album gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. The Phillip Glass inspired bridges are amazing. I can't wait for the next 48 albums!

Best album of 2005 so far by a mile, would recommend this to anyone who knows what music is and should be all about.Well done Sufjan on an excellent recording!!

A home run, if not a grand-slam, if not a pinch-hit grand-slam onto Waveland Ave. in the bottom of the ninth.

I've never heard more masterful music. Blew me away on first listen.

This album is simply brilliant