Boston Globe's Scores

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For 2,093 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 66% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 31% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0.6 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 72
Highest review score: 100 City of Refuge
Lowest review score: 10 Lulu
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,670 out of 2093
  2. Mixed: 412 out of 2093
  3. Negative: 11 out of 2093
2093 music reviews
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    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Hungry Saw
    The years away may have recharged Staples's batteries, but the music itself sounds much the same, which is a good thing.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Untitled
    The new album, immersed in a soul-funk sound with guest spots from the Stylistics and the Last Poets, is contradictory at times, but the idea of building hope through about an hour's worth of music supersedes any effort to brew controversy.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Something For All Of Us...
    Canning's effort, however, is a bit of a departure, as he assumes the mostly unfamiliar lead-vocalist role. It suits him well.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Changing Light
    With a voice so capable of effecting pathos as the veteran K Records artist’s, the canvas on which it colors is almost beside the point, but while the tone remains largely lachrymose here, there’s extraordinary variety in its musical accompaniment.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Americana
    Young reignites melodies and lyrics sadly frozen through years of rote recitation.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    New
    While there are a few silly love songs in the batch, some of us still haven’t had enough.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Grinderman 2
    Profane, lecherous, loaded with head-trip tape loops and guitars that sound like power tools melting in the sun, this is late-night, howl-at-the-moon-outside-the-punk-club stuff.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Low Country Blues
    When he sings surrounded by a straight-up, horn-fueled electric blues sound ("Tears, Tears, Tears," "My Love Is Your Love"), the results are interesting enough, but when he's accompanied by Burnett's rootsy signatures--ghostly reverbed guitar, gauzy brushed snare, thunking acoustic bass--the effect is mesmerizing.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Platinum
    Platinum is a worthy follow-up; Lambert wrote or co-wrote half of the album’s 16 tracks, which bounce from humid honky tonk to glossy arena stage to rustic front porch with sass and ease.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Lightning Bolt
    Pearl Jam’s not just still alive, it’s kicki
    • 63 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Lonely Avenue
    Lonely Avenue is musical nirvana for lovers of the deft balance of sassy snark and sincere sentiment.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Shine
    For a taste of the power of positivity, look no further than Martina McBride's splendid new album, Shine.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Four MF's Playin Tunes
    A tight set of well-slung tunes that show the elements of a classic quartet outing in nice balance.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Static
    It’s the love-struck youth of their typical songs striking out against the disappointment, and, like the album itself, coming out on top.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Bury Me in My Boots
    There’s plenty here--the sinuous “Drunk Like You,” anthemic “Graffiti,” sly “Ship Faced,” and crunchy “Peace Love & Dixie”--to prove the Cadillac Three’s figurative truck has plenty of gas in the tank, its dog still hunts.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Years Of Refusal
    Years of Refusal is Morrissey's third album this decade, and it is easily his most vital and engaging and maybe even heartbreaking since 1992's "Your Arsenal."
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    District Line
    This album is an extremely provocative effort.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Seeing Things
    Dylan, as a songwriter, may have lost interest in grand rock-band arrangements but not his sense of melody or storytelling.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    At Mount Zoomer
    Upping the studio gloss, turning the amps up--way up--and reining in their more twee impulses, the Montreal bloggers' heroes unleash their inner beast, growing by taking a page out of their colleagues' playbooks.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Junior
    With fewer instrumental tracks than previous efforts, the band's lovelorn and off-kilter view of the universe finally gets a starring role.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Stories Don't End
    The stories may have familiar contours (love affairs, self-reflection, observation) but the details pack the joy of surprise.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Lover
    The result is a dreamy record that makes good use of its stylistic freedom. It effectively subs the chaos of loving and growing for the more one-dimensional foils of Swift’s past, squashing any fears brought on by the first pair of singles that she’d tell this as a one-sided story.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Eve
    Zedek’s voice, neither conventional nor wholly tamed, serves her ends potently, its warp and grain enhancing unvarnished solidity.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Mayhem
    On Mayhem, her third album, May proves bygone eras are merely sources of inspiration for her spirited take on American music.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Watch the Throne
    They still sound like two solo rappers. But there's an undeniable synergy that they embraced for this project.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Human
    The former "Moesha" star has never made a bad album, and she's not starting now with the appropriately rich and varied Human.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Jason Castro
    Instead of rushing out a record, he has defined his sound, developed his vocals, and written some strong love songs. The breezy, acoustic-based set, produced by Eric Rosse, is uncluttered and extremely melodic.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Little Bird
    Little Bird is a gem, and easily Chambers's most accomplished work to date.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Wilco (The Album)
    Like with many good rock records, bits of whimsy, melancholy, confusion, and joy swirl around the songs of Wilco (the album). So while it may not feel as groundbreaking as previous releases, it’s just as human.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Both
    The duo’s self-titled debut’s greatest strength is the pair’s hand-in-glove harmonies. Coupled with Mann’s gift for a pop melody and Leo’s penchant for spiky, urgent guitars, the end result is a best-of-both-worlds situation.
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