Allmusic claims some have argued that Isaac Hayes and Barry White were playing what would be called disco music as early as 1971.

However, Allmusic has called Peart " one of rock's most accomplished lyricists ",

Richie Unterberger of Allmusic called the album " blues – rock gone slightly askew, with jagged, fractured rhythms, soulful, twisting vocals from Van Vliet, and more doo wop, soul, straight blues, and folk – rock influences than he would employ on his more avant garde outings ".

Raggett of Allmusic called the album a " last entertaining blast of wigginess from one of the few truly independent artists in late 20th century pop music, with humor, skill, and style all still intact "; with the Magic Band " turning out more choppy rhythms, unexpected guitar lines, and outré arrangements, Captain Beefheart lets everything run wild as always, with successful results ".

However, it received mixed reviews: Pitchfork Media called it " flat and dead ", while Allmusic called it " a refreshingly retro rock & roll album "

Reviewing American Psycho, Stephen Erlewine of Allmusic called the new incarnation " a kitschy goth-punk outfit that relies more on metal than hardcore ", while Rolling Stone remarked that the band's new style blended " some old-style punk, a little metal and an occasional all-out thrasher.

" Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine called Slash's contributions " quite amazing ", though criticised the song-writing, stating " it's too bad that nobody in the band bothered to write any songs.

Simon Le Bon described So Red the Rose as " the most pretentious album ever made ," while Allmusic called it " the best album Duran Duran never made ".

" Allmusic called the album " a tight and lean collection of brilliant, edgy pop music.

Allmusic called it " a noisy, reckless album that rocks and rolls with a vengeance " and cited it as " the definitive proto-punk album, even more than anything the Stooges released.

In his Allmusic review music critic David Cleary called Homecoming " America's finest album " and despite citing the lyrics as sometime banal, wrote that " each song here has something to recommend it.

Mixed by Dutkiewicz, the album received mostly positive reviews — Thom Jurek of Allmusic called it " a Top Five metal candidate for 2006 for sure ".

Allmusic called the song, " a return to her roots " and " a salute to one of her idols, Patsy Cline.

Allmusic called the album one of her " better " efforts, since they had disliked her previous releases.

Allmusic has called Rimes ' vocals " rich and powerful.

Rolling Stone proclaimed it as " closer to soul's source ... harking back past hip-hop songbirds like Mary J. Blige and adult-contemporary sirens like Toni Braxton ," while Allmusic called the album an " irresistible sounding immaculately crafted musical backdrop [...] as good as mainstream urban R & B gets in 1998.

" Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called it " a little scattershot " but " still a terrific record " which " finds a great band in top form.

Allmusic reviewer Johnny Loftus felt that the chorus of the backing voices shifted the song from hardcore punk to pop, and called the single " a car-radio singalong of pure genius ".

" Steve Huey of Allmusic called it Green River's " strongest individual release ... perfecting their sleazy, raucous fusion of ' 70s hard rock and post-hardcore punk.

Ned Raggett of Allmusic called it " a record that sounded caught somewhere between grunge mania and metal / corp rock folly.

Jason Ankeny of Allmusic called the series " the greatest children's show ever ," while IGN called it " One of the most well-written kids shows ever.

John Bush of Allmusic called him " the best rapper / producer in hip-hop history ," while editors of About. com placed him on their list of the Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers, as well as placing him on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time ( 1987 – 2007 ).

Solo Star had a mixed critical reception: William Ruhlmann of Allmusic called it a " state-of-the-art contemporary R & B album ", but deemed Knowles " lost somewhere in the mix ".

Producers Giorgio Moroder, whom Allmusic described as " one of the principal architects of the disco sound " with the Donna Summer hit " I Feel Love " ( 1977 ), and Jean-Marc Cerrone were involved with Eurodisco.

"' Forever Changes ' made only a minor dent on the charts when it was first released in 1967, but years later it became recognized as one of the finest and most haunting albums to come out of the Summer of Love, which doubtless has as much to do with the disc's themes and tone as the music, beautiful as it is ," wrote Mark Deming in an entry for the online Allmusic guide.

Old school rap ( 1979 – 1984 ) was " easily identified by its relatively simple raps " according to Allmusic, " the emphasis was not on lyrical technique, but simply on good times ", one notable exception being Melle Mel, who set the way for future rappers through his socio-political content and creative wordplay.

Steve Huey in Allmusic describes the band as " one of the most unusual cult bands of the 1990s ... driven by frontman Mike Doughty's stream-of-consciousness poetry, Soul Coughing's sound was a willfully idiosyncratic mix of improvisational jazz grooves, oddball samples, hip-hop, electronics, and noisy experimentalism ( described by Doughty as ' deep slacker jazz ').

Allmusic singled out " I'm a Loser " as " one of the very first Beatles compositions with lyrics addressing more serious points than young love.

Allmusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine noticed that the song is " a tongue-in-cheek, neo-house cover " and picked it as one of the best tracks on the album, alongside the title track and " Have You Ever Been in Love ".

The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle is the second album by Bruce Springsteen and the as-yet-unnamed E Street Band, and is described by Allmusic as " one of the greatest albums in the history of rock & roll.

Allmusic rated the album with 5 stars pointing to the second side of the album as a " flawless piece of music " and of the album as a whole as " one of the greatest albums in the history of rock & roll ".

Richie Unterberger of Allmusic hailed the song as " one of The Beatles ' peak achievements and one of the finest Lennon-McCartney songs ".

Allmusic gave Slave to the Grind a rating of four and a half out of five stars, and said the album was " one of the best — and heaviest — examples of mainstream hard rock / heavy metal ".

Steve Huey of Allmusic said that he was " one of the most controversial figures in gangsta rap.

John Bonham has been described by Allmusic as one of the most important, well-known and influential drummers in rock.

According to Richard S. Ginell at Allmusic: " was at once one of the most beloved and controversial singers of the mid-20th century-beloved to her fans, devotees, and fellow singers ; controversial to critics who still accuse her of selling out her art to commerce and bad taste.

Other reviewers were more impressed, such as Allmusic, who declared it " one of their best records, if not their best.

The Dwarves reformed in 1997, releasing The Dwarves Are Young and Good Looking ( described by Adam Bregman of Allmusic as " the beginning of a new Dwarves ... one that plays real songs, had a set list, and left the club unbloodied "), and its 2000 followup The Dwarves Come Clean.

The song was highly acclaimed in a retrospective review by Allmusic journalist Ned Raggett, who wrote that it " ranks as one of the best, most realistic portrayals of urban life recorded.

Their debut album, Beauty and the Beat, is considered one of the " cornerstone albums of ( US ) new wave " ( Allmusic ), breaking barriers and paving the way for a host of other new American acts.

William Cooper had a similar opinion in Allmusic: " Frida escapes the creative limitations of being a member of one of the world's most popular groups on this solid and often riveting album ".

World Machine gained positive reviews from critics, with Allmusic journalist William Cooper, in a retrospective review, describing it as " one of the finest pop albums of the mid -' 80s.

Allmusic calls Mandel's album " one of the best jazz-inspired soundtracks around " and notes that Mulligan's album " features six themes from the movie ( all composed by Johnny Mandel ) performed by the same musicians, who this time around get an opportunity to really stretch out.

" Allmusic editor Mark Deming dubbed the album " superb material brilliantly executed " and cited it as Newman's " first great album, and ... still one of his finest moments on record.

Allmusic deemed the record " one of the finest albums of the 1990s.