Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 21
  2. Negative: 1 out of 21
  1. Disable your prejudgment button and you'll hear a work of art whose immense entertainment value in no way compromises its intimations of a pathology that's both personal and political, created by one of those charming rogues you encounter so much more often on the page...
  2. 100
    Eminem has crafted the best album of the year so far with The Marshall Mathers LP and it comes dangerously close to being a classic.
  3. 100
    A fairly brilliant expansion of his debut, turning his spare, menacing hip-hop into a hyper-surreal, wittily disturbing thrill ride.
  4. ''The Marshall Mathers LP'' is indefensible and critic-proof, hypocritical and heartbreaking, unlistenable and undeniable; it's a disposable shock-rap session, and the first great pop record of the 21st century.
  5. The ever increasing variety in Eminem's voice (drawled Southern-bounce cadences, impatiently curt throaty staccatos, flat Beck-like deadpans, crying and screaming) somehow feels completely conversational, and the musical backdrop (calypso/Caribbean, Gothic etherea, jiggy disco evolving into P.M. Dawn) is frequently, of all things, beautiful.
  6. Gruelling assault course of lyrical genius that pours itself into the 18 tracks on this album-
  7. 80
    An airtight masterpiece of rhyme-
  8. He is, simply, better than any other MC in hip-hop except for Jay-Z.... The Marshall Mathers LP is a car-crash record: loud, wild, dangerous, out of control, grotesque, unsettling. It's also impossible to pull your ears away from.
  9. It's smartly crafted black comedy from hip-hop's greatest white MC, a strong storyteller and a master of the metaphor, who produces staggeringly popular music that's mostly meant to be enjoyed with both a pained grimace and a smirk.
  10. 80
    The words are now injected with a new industrial strength venom that make the last album seem like Hanson's Christmas disc.
  11. 80
    What's most pure is Eminem's liberating fearlessness in taking hip-hop left turns and acting the fool. The best hip-hop stand-up comic since Biz Markie; all that and a bag o' chronic.
  12. Checkout.com
    70
    There are songs on Mathers that are very, very good; as a result, when Eminem misses the mark, it feels incredibly frustrating, because you know what he's capable of.
  13. Aside from the horrifyingly detailed stalker narrative of "Stan" and the homicidal fantasy of "Kim," nothing on Marshall Mathers rises above the level of locker-room insults -- nearly every song seems to feature Eminem's giving someone the finger.
  14. Mathers is frequently brilliant and unique, if extremely flawed.
  15. It just isn't as much fun this time around, no matter how fresh Dre's beats are or how many worthy targets get shot down along with the innocent.
  16. True, even misdirected, Eminem's disaffection sucks you in and the wholesale nihilism can still provoke shivers. But it all used to be more fun.
  17. 60
    Funny how so much controversy can spring up over an album that is, musically, not all that noteworthy.... what could have been a brilliant statement, instead elevates Eminem to the rarified air of true platinum rappers: ie, those that drop outstanding rhymes over frustratingly mediocre beats.
  18. The problem is, as the album drags on, young Master Mathers wastes his considerable wit and opts to grouse in the guise of a rampaging reactionary. Song after song finds Eminem viciously baiting real and imagined enemies, as if that's all he knows how to do.
  19. 40
    The problem is that he's just not that funny. For someone who takes such pleasure in spouting off on everything and everyone, from fans and critics to boy bands and label executives, Eminem really has nothing to say.
  20. The production, however, is first rate, Dre proving that he really is on fire at the moment. Eminem's microphone skills are similarly beyond question ' though a little too shouty on occasion. It's just that his self-indulgent and irritatingly stupid rants will prove too much for any audience that recognises irony in Beavis and Butthead.
  21. Feb 13, 2012
    30
    The collaborative efforts of tracks like "Bitch Please II" and "Under the Influence" make Eminem seem like an ornamental prop in Dr. Dre's ever-growing hip-hop dynasty.
User Score
9.0

Universal acclaim- based on 1964 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Oct 13, 2010
    10
    Practically Eminem at his best. While shock rap isnt really something difficult to do, Eminem mixes it with his lyrical cleverness. He throwsPractically Eminem at his best. While shock rap isnt really something difficult to do, Eminem mixes it with his lyrical cleverness. He throws out memorable punchlines bound to stick and he does it in a style which is clearly not simple and just thrown out with little effort. This album is quite a treasure, being that its one of the few pieces of work that are connected to the mainstream success of the heavilly underground infested horrorcore community. Full Review »
  2. Oct 25, 2010
    10
    Possibly the best thing about The Marshall Mathers LP is hearing Eminem verbally slap the world's moral guardians senseless. However, becausePossibly the best thing about The Marshall Mathers LP is hearing Eminem verbally slap the world's moral guardians senseless. However, because of its lyrical content (and also because he so frequently and ruthlessly disses 'N Sync) the pure catchy-pop of the record is often overlooked. Full Review »
  3. Jan 27, 2015
    10
    Slim Shady's best album ever!! Theres only one problem with this album. NOTHING!Slim Shady's best album ever!! Theres only one problem with this album. NOTHING! . Full Review »