Golden age hip hop ( cited as either just the late ' 80s or the late 80s to early 90s ) was the time period where hip-hop lyricism went through its most drastic transformation – writer William Jelani Cobb says " in these golden years, a critical mass of mic prodigies were literally creating themselves and their art form at the same time " and Allmusic writes, " rhymers like PE's Chuck D, Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, and Rakim basically invented the complex wordplay and lyrical kung-fu of later hip-hop ”.

Critical reaction to Brandy was generally positive, with Allmusic writer Eddie Huffman declaring Brandy " a lower-key Janet Jackson or a more stripped-down Mary J. Blige [...] with good songs and crisp production.

What's Going On would later be described by an Allmusic writer as an album that " not only redefined soul music as a creative force but also expanded its impact as an agent for social change ".

Allmusic critic John Dougan has written that " As the band's creative force, Lynott was a more insightful and intelligent writer than many of his ilk, preferring slice-of-life working-class dramas of love and hate influenced by Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, and virtually all of the Irish literary tradition.

Allmusic writer Thom Jurek said of the song, " The amazing thing is that both versions are definitive.

Allmusic writer John Bush, who declared it " the most consistent and flowing hip-hop album ever recorded ", summed up the record as " an unqualified success, the perfect marriage of intelligent, flowing raps to nuanced, groove-centered productions.

Thom Jurek, a staff writer for Allmusic, gave the album a rating of three out of five stars.

Allmusic gave Family four out of five stars and said that the album, " illustrates her range as a singer along with some true strength as a writer.

Allmusic staff writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album three out of five stars.

Allmusic staff writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album three out of five stars.

Allmusic writer Heather Phares noted the reduced role of Kim Deal, calling it " essentially Black Francis ' solo debut ".

Allmusic staff writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four and a half out of five stars.

Allmusic writer Greg Prato wrote, " For many, Borland was the only Limp Bizkit member who was taken seriously.

" David Fricke of Rolling Stone praised its resemblance to psychedelia while Allmusic writer Zac Johnson lauded its musical complexity.

A marketing campaign was started in early 1994 to promote Souvlaki in the United States, which Allmusic writer Andy Kellman stated would " undoubtedly go down in industry history as one of the laziest ever "; SBK sent fans a release flyer and were told if they copied and posted 50 flyers around town they would receive a free copy of Souvlaki.

Allmusic writer Stewart Mason later heralded it as one of the " masterpieces of American post-punk ".

The different approach in the sound resulted in comparisons to Blondie, which Allmusic writer William Ruhlmann suggested was a deliberate attempt by Columbia.

A third and final album was again helmed by David Kahne, which Allmusic writer Stewart Mason speculated was a " reaction against the more commercial sound of Benefactor.

" Allmusic writer Heather Phares has argued that Iyall's " teasing, existential musings [...] predated and predicted the aloof yet frank sexuality of early-and mid -' 90s artists such as Elastica and Liz Phair ".

Allmusic staff writer Greg Prato gave the EP two and a half out of five stars.

Allmusic staff writer Jason Birchmeier gave the album two and a half out of five stars, writing, " Of the many, many live albums Pearl Jam publicly released, their October 23, 2003, show at Benaroya Hall is one of the more novel ones ...

" Allmusic writer John Bush states that, " The Beach Boys ended the decade by releasing the worst album of their career ," describing the album as " yet another oddball attempt to push The Beach Boys into the contemporary mainstream despite their many songwriting and production flaws.

Allmusic staff writer William Ruhlmann gave the album three out of five stars, saying that " Mirror Ball is typically uneven.

" Extol wanted to expand their musical style beyond regular metal music — according to Allmusic writer Mike DaRonco, the band intended to show " more of a progressive side ; rather than a typical run of the mill group of burnouts who focused more on their image.

Bradley Torreano, of review website Allmusic, gave Diorama four stars, labeling it an AMG Album Pick.

Allmusic reviewer Bradley Torreano praised the EP, writing that " Despite the fact that few outside of the juggalo family will give this a chance, this might be one of the most accurate portrayals of the mood of most unhappy young people in 2002 ".

Bradley Torreano of Allmusic called it " another quality album that still leaves the listener hungry overall for some better songs.

Bradley Torreano of Allmusic called it " a worthwhile listen but not something that points towards the bright futures that its band members would enjoy.

Allmusic reviewer Bradley Torreano gave the album 3 out of 5 stars and praised the songs " To Kill a Stranger " and " Happenstance ".

"' 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.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic paid attention to the attempts of Simon in embracing his classic folk sound with Eno's electronic textures, and wrote that " Simon doesn't achieve his comeback by reconnecting with the sound and spirit of his classic work ; he has achieved it by being as restless and ambitious as he was at his popular and creative peak, which makes Surprise all the more remarkable.

" In a review of the band's 2003 greatest hits collection Thank You, Allmusic critic Stephen Erlewine wrote that " STP made music that sounded great at the time and even better now ," and that " this music has stood the test of the time ," calling Thank You " nearly perfect.

Certain critics argue that Christian rock music and its subjects seldom appeal to non-believers: Allmusic wrote that " unless a Christian rocker plans to perform for Christian audiences exclusively, he or she needs to provide music that secular audiences will find relevant -- music that listeners can relate to on some level even if they aren't practicing Christians.

The band's early material was rock and guitar-oriented ; of Super-Electric, Jason Ankeny wrote in Allmusic that " Droning guitars, skeletal rhythms, and pop hooks — not vintage synths and pointillist melodies — were their calling cards ..." In 1992, Stereolab's first full-length album, Peng !, and first compilation, Switched On, were released on independent label Too Pure.

" Thom Jurek from Allmusic wrote: " part of an emotional journey as complete as can be.

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.

Critical reaction was extremely positive ; Pitchfork awarded the album a 9. 7 out of 10, and Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that it was " arguably Yo La Tengo's finest and most coherent album to date.

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.

Writing for Allmusic, critic William Ruhlman wrote the album was " Al Kooper's finest work, an album on which he moves the folk-blues-rock amalgamation of the Blues Project into even wider pastures, taking in classical and jazz elements ( including strings and horns ), all without losing the pop essence that makes the hybrid work.

" Alex Henderson of Allmusic described the record as " disturbing and powerful ," while Joe Matera of Ultimate Guitar deemed the album a slight departure ; he wrote that while the pace was slowed down, it " didn't sacrifice any of the heaviness inherent in Slayer's music.

Not only was Christian metal criticized by non-Christian metal fans, but soon the movement was also criticized by fundamentalists ; Allmusic wrote that " when church leaders were accusing heavy metal of encouraging Satanism, Stryper set out to prove that metal and hard rock could be used to promote Christianity.

Allmusic wrote about Believer's Sanity Obscure album: " Before 1990, the Christian heavy metal genre rarely strayed from generic riffing and poor lyrics.

Allmusic editor Leo Stanley wrote that by the release of Tony!

In his review of the album in Allmusic, William Ruhlmann wrote:

Steve Huey, for example, wrote for Allmusic that " Sabbath's slowed-down, murky guitar rock bludgeons the listener in an almost hallucinatory fashion, reveling in its own dazed, druggy state of consciousness ", commenting that the album featured " plenty of metal classics ".

In Soft Machine's Allmusic biography, authors Dave Lynch and Richie Unterberger wrote:

Dean Carlson of Allmusic wrote " Incubus ' independent debut is an unremarkable take on suburban MTV funk.

Allmusic wrote that the album " sounds even more pissed-off, paranoid and stunning than its predecessor ... darker and more difficult than White Blood Cells.

Jason Ankeny wrote in Allmusic that:

" Probably the best Roxette album since Joyride ", wrote Leslie Mathew of Allmusic.

" The Allmusic review by Jesse Jarnow awarded the album three stars out of five and wrote that " The music isn't nearly as edgy or angular as his work with Primus, but that's ultimately okay.

Heather Phares of Allmusic wrote " Fabulous Muscles might be the best expression of Xiu Xiu's unrepentantly original music ; even if the world that the band creates isn't necessarily one you'd want to visit all the time, it remains fascinating.