Billboard.com's Scores

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For 825 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 81% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 16% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 3.5 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 76
Highest review score: 100 The Complete Matrix Tapes [Box Set]
Lowest review score: 40 Jackie
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 750 out of 825
  2. Mixed: 75 out of 825
  3. Negative: 0 out of 825
825 music reviews
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    • 64 Metascore
    • 79 Critic Score
    Demi
    The singer has a strong grip on her skills as a performer, but is still chiseling away at the formula that works best for her as an artist, and is unwittingly putting that self-discovery on display here.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 79 Critic Score
    Goodnight Unknown
    Goodnight Unknown is layered with subtle distortion and commanding percussion, combined with Barlow's confident, sometimes contemplative vocals.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 79 Critic Score
    Haih...Or Amortecedor
    Even with the hiatus, the effort is remarkable for its maverick spirit and pop unorthodoxy.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 79 Critic Score
    Crazy Love
    Crazy Love is another step in Buble's creation of his own kind of songbook, and there's nothing necessarily crazy about that
    • 63 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    As I Call You Down
    Fistful of Mercy's sound shouldn't surprise fans of any of those acts; nor, for that matter, should the appealingly casual quality of the nine songs on "As I Call You Down," which the musicians wrote in three days.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Nothing's Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now
    Rich organ swells and muscular horn charts mark many of the 10 tracks, with a live, off-the-floor groove that levitates.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Boys & Girls
    Those who have witnessed the group's floor-shaking live shows might be a bit disarmed by the deliberately dense and lo-fi production of "Boys & Girls."
    • 68 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Li(f)e
    Although Francis has described himself as a "low-confidence engine" since early in his career, the rapper has produced a strong and instantly relatable album with Li(f)e.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    What Matters Most
    As always, though, Streisand sings the material like it was written expressly for her, elongating phrases at will and slowing most of the tempos to a luxurious Old Hollywood crawl. What matters most? Babs' bliss.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Jessie James
    With a voice that seems to work with many genres, James' set is reminiscent of hits from late-'90s pop acts, but with a more mature, sexually charged attitude and influence from country and hip-hop.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Born Villain
    "Born Villain" finds a seemingly refreshed and clear-minded Manson and his band poring through a diverse set of moods and styles in songs that cut a little deeper than the deliberate provocation of many of his previous works.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Hillbilly Bone [EP]
    Blake Shelton's new six-song album, Hillbilly Bone, may be a marketing and sales experiment by Warner Bros. Records, but fans of the Oklahoman artist won't be disappointed.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Omni
    With erotic themes, smooth production and the use of a Japanese Omnichord synthesizer, the band's fourth album, OMNI, proves that there's still plenty to explore.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Blood From Stars
    The new album is a testament to Henry's singular sonic vision and a masterful mix of history and mystery by an industry veteran who sounds like he's just getting started.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Monsters Of Folk
    At times, it's difficult to differentiate who is singing, thanks to masterful producing by Bright Eyes' Mogis. When viewed less as a hipster supergroup and more as an old-fashioned song swap, Monsters of Folk live up to their hype and then some.
    • Billboard.com
    • 78 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Devil's Halo
    Though not as sprawlingly ambitious or experimental as the 2007 "The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams," Meshell Ndegeocello's eighth release, "Devil's Halo," neatly straddles a line between challenging and accessible, with some of the tightest and catchiest compositions she's yet brought forth.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Popular Songs
    Yo La Tengo has little to prove at this point in its 20-year career, but its dedication to expanding its sound without obscuring its songwriting formula remains impressive.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    A Different Kind of Truth
    As comeback albums go, though, this one feels unusually natural.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    A.K.A.
    With some hits and misses, A.K.A. journeys through some predictable refrains with a handful of prospective triumphs.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    The MF Life
    It's indeed better the second time around, no matter who's running her down.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    A Strange Arrangement
    His regretful croon in the debut single, 'Just Ain't Gonna Work Out,' will have the ladies swooning, while 'Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin'' will have listeners jazzed up and aching to cut a rug.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Southern Voice
    Southern Voices is done well overall, but listeners may want to keep close a copy of McGraw's upbeat hit 'I Like It, I Love It' to lighten the mood.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Acolyte
    Delphic is at its best on the pop-leaning cut "Doubt" and the captivating "Halcyon," which features a cold vocal delivery and scattershot synths.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Get Lucky
    Listening to Get Lucky feels like a journey, where great care has been taken to ensure that you'll come back a little better.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Stars Dance
    What's left, then, is a collection of 11 shinily produced pop songs that find Gomez trying on a series of different personalities with her slight-yet-capable vocals.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Say Anything
    The chaos is nothing new for Say Anything, but the band's newest release is tightly executed and gives fans a deeper look into Bemis' clever mind.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Praise & Blame
    On Praise & Blame, that gusty Northern soul voice sounds as righteous and true as it does when he's operating in the more carnal regions of his catalog.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Streets Of Gold
    Following the release of its much buzzed-about 2008 breakout album, electro-rap duo 3OH!3 returns with more fast-paced, catchy digital-pop beats on its latest set, Streets of Gold.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Nightmare
    Nightmare is the group's best work yet. It's a sweeping, quasi-thematic epic whose nearly 67 minutes mixes punky abandon with prog-rock ambition and muscle with musicality.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 78 Critic Score
    Forgiveness Rock Record
    The track "Water in Hell" is an anthemic rocker with a catchy, shout-along chorus ("From what I can tell/There's water in hell!"), and "Forced to Love" combines the band's usual grit and a hook that unexpectedly sticks, similar to "Cause = Time" from its 2002 breakthrough release, "You Forgot It in People." Strangely enough, the new album's less pop-driven songs are hit or miss.
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