PopMatters' Scores
- TV
- Music
For 11,090 reviews, this publication has graded:
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43% higher than the average critic
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4% same as the average critic
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53% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 3.9 points lower than other critics.
(0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 69
Highest review score: | Funeral for Justice | |
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Lowest review score: | Travistan |
Score distribution:
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Positive: 7,433 out of 11090
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Mixed: 3,399 out of 11090
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Negative: 258 out of 11090
11090
music
reviews
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- Critic Score
At least half of the 30 songs in The Beatles stand among the best of their career. Now, with this carefully detailed and appreciative restoration of how they were developed (from the beginning to end), this boxed set is yet more proof that genius doesn't take time so much as concerted, focused effort, and there is no way to trace the roots of perfect sonic chemistry. You just know it when you hear it.- PopMatters
- Posted Nov 15, 2018
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The Ramones will remain a launching pad for artists and bands around the globe, as a sense of “Hey, I can do that, too!” is born upon your first listen. It either grabs you for life or scares the shit out of you. Either way, the simplicity is the genius.- PopMatters
- Posted Dec 12, 2016
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At the end of the day, few people will doubt Pinkerton's power, and whether you're hearing it for the first time or just for the first time in a few months, it remains as visceral a listen as ever.- PopMatters
- Posted Dec 8, 2010
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Easily one of the best classic re-releases yet.- PopMatters
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The remastered version on the reissued Sticky Fingers sounds better than ever, and it affirms that during their peak years, the Rolling Stones indeed were the world’s preeminent band.- PopMatters
- Posted Jun 15, 2015
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- Critic Score
The original album is unblemished, all the contemporary b-sides are accounted for, the Peel Sessions are a nice bonus, and as usual, the striking packaging by Vaughan Oliver is incomparable.- PopMatters
- Posted Dec 3, 2014
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The Basement Tapes Complete is more historical document than album, one more interested in being comprehensive than being moment-to-moment marvelous.- PopMatters
- Posted Nov 4, 2014
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In their short time together and in their subsequent careers as solo artists, Morrissey and Marr have yet to equal or surpass what they accomplished here. This one belongs to the ages.- PopMatters
- Posted Oct 27, 2017
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No matter how many releases we get from the Davis archives, no matter how familiar you are with his mid-'60s work, LIVE in Europe 1967 will surprise you and remind you that, even in lean times, even when the trends of the genre he championed were moving away from him, even when his country stopped caring, Miles Davis found a way to press forward, to reinvent, and to give us yet another classic sound, and perhaps the final thrilling word on Jazz as he knew it.- PopMatters
- Posted Oct 18, 2011
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In four and a half hours, Wadada Leo Smith writes one of America's defining events in sound, and the story is all of ours.- PopMatters
- Posted Nov 9, 2012
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Every song is an open-and-shut case, a tightly-sealed, end-of-story work of pop-rock perfection. Which means items like discs of live material and outtakes are superfluous at best.- PopMatters
- Posted Feb 14, 2013
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The Abbey Road Anniversary Super Deluxe proves they were a cohesive unit through to the end. Their work once again sounds fresh and experimental yet always in the pocket of the melody. We can hear that the Beatles were eager to work together one more time to pour more musical flavors into their magic elixir.- PopMatters
- Posted Oct 3, 2019
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he Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966 is more than just music--it’s cultural history of colossal significance. This collection is a resource that fans and students of Dylan’s work will reference again and again as the years and decades pass and these classic albums are introduced to new generations of music fans.- PopMatters
- Posted Nov 10, 2015
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These outtakes give a sort of new context for the album itself, which sounds brilliant in this remaster, but they don’t exactly give us a complete story. Even the huge booklet and documentary about the band here don’t exactly give us the clear picture of Spiderland.- PopMatters
- Posted Apr 18, 2014
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While it’s nice to have the original albums properly contextualized, the impact of a stand-alone live release would have been just that much more impactful. As it stands, these mammoth four-disc sets offer just about all the PiL you could ever hope for from two very different eras and incarnations of the band.- PopMatters
- Posted Jan 26, 2017
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The improvement over the seven previously released tracks is one thing, but the treasure here is the 11 unreleased performances.... Few bands ever had a year like the Velvet Underground did in 1969. Even fewer have a set that documents a year like that as beautifully as this one.- PopMatters
- Posted Nov 26, 2014
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This 2012 Remix/Remaster version of the album, with its rich mastering, is the one to own.... But it is not Massive Attack's masterpiece. Though some would disagree, that honor goes to 1994 follow-up Protection.- PopMatters
- Posted Nov 29, 2012
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This entire collection proves one thing: Paul Simon and Graceland will remain as one of the most relevant pop records of all time.- PopMatters
- Posted Jun 8, 2012
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It's bold, it's demanding, and it might very well go down as the finest full-length Fiona Apple has ever made.- PopMatters
- Posted Apr 27, 2020
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- Critic Score
Sound System errs firmly on the side of inclusion in virtually every way. This means, of course, inclusion of the albums Sony Legacy assumes we already own, so true fans might want to quickly Ebay their last purchase of the first five albums to afford the hefty price tag of Sound System.- PopMatters
- Posted Sep 20, 2013
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A top-notch set chronicling one of the most important phases of Coltrane's career.- PopMatters
- Posted Mar 29, 2019
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Released 40 years to the day since its initial release, this deluxe edition confirms what critics have long said about this, yes, “summative” recording: this is an album that gives a lot, and then keeps on giving.- PopMatters
- Posted Feb 27, 2015
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The most obvious aspect that takes away from Smile's luster however, is an uncomfortable sense that the album has morphed into a quaint piece of nostalgia rather than the masterwork it was expected to be.- PopMatters
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- Critic Score
The fact that a woman of Lynn's tenure can slide so easily into what is essentially an alt-country environment without losing any of her down-home authenticity simply underscores her versatility and timelessness.- PopMatters
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Each song is a story. And that’s greatness in this kind of music.- PopMatters
- Posted Jan 17, 2014
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- PopMatters
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It’s a rare record that gives us a call to action, something to act on after the beats drop out and we’re left in silence.- PopMatters
- Posted Mar 18, 2015
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The anguish a parent feels for losing their child is harrowing and Ghosteen masterfully captures Cave's grief and spiraling rumination on mortality.- PopMatters
- Posted Nov 12, 2019
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It wouldn’t be hyperbolic to declare Keep an Eye on the Sky an indispensable cornerstone of any serious music fan’s collection, and one of the greatest box sets ever assembled. Finally, Big Star get their due chance to shine.- PopMatters
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- Critic Score
[Disc Two is] a winning set that sounds surprisingly clear and crisp for a live recording. ... Disc Three is meant for Automatic diehards, but fans of all stripes will find plenty to enjoy. ... This is an album of elegant simplicity, full of grand, sweeping gestures.- PopMatters
- Posted Nov 10, 2017
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