" When reviewing Eazy-Duz-It, Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic said, " In terms of production, Dr. Dre and Yella meld together P-Funk, Def Jam-style hip-hop, and the leftover electro sounds of mid -' 80s Los Angeles, creating a dense, funky, and thoroughly unique style of their own.

The Allmusic review by Marc Gilman awarded the album 4½ stars noting that " While some compositions retain their original structure and sound, some are expanded and probed by Zorn's arrangements, and resemble avant-garde classical music more than jazz.

The trio's 2000 studio recording, entitled " Don't Be Scared Anymore ", received reviews of " This album is like the soundtrack to the world's coolest vacation " from All About Jazz and " Jazz-rock in the truest sense " from Allmusic.

Allmusic critic Greg Prato notes that the album demarcates the boundary between the band's early years and the next era of their music.

William Ruhlmann of Allmusic gave the album a star rating of five stars out of five and described it as the " definitive version of the Horror score.

Wire's debut album, Pink Flag ( 1977 ) – " perhaps the most original debut album to come out of the first wave of British punk ", according to Allmusic – contains songs which are diverse in mood and style, but most use a minimalist punk approach, unorthodox structures, " Field Day For The Sundays ", for example, is only 28 seconds long.

Allmusic has described the album as a favourite among the band's hardcore fans, and it is the first of three Queen albums to feature in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Allmusic gives the album a favorable review, calling it a " sweetly endearing country-tinged middle of the road pop record ".

" Steve Huey from Allmusic said that the album is " raw as Megadeth gets, and that can be both good and bad -- Megadeth's later precise, complex riffing and composition aren't completely developed, but the music is performed with a great deal of energy, while Mustaine's vocals ( never his strong point ) are amateurish at best.

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 ".

Stewart Mason in his Allmusic review of the album described it as a " terrific album " and a " fascinating, underrated release ", " every bit the equal of Safe as Milk and Trout Mask Replica ".

" Huey of Allmusic cited the Doc at the Radar Station as being " generally acclaimed as the strongest album of his comeback, and by some as his best since Trout Mask Replica ", " even if the Captain's voice isn't quite what it once was, Doc at the Radar Station is an excellent, focused consolidation of Beefheart's past and then-present ".

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 ".

Skyclad began as a thrash metal band but added violins from session musician Mike Evans on several tracks from their debut album, The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth, an effort described by Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic as " ambitious " and " groundbreaking.

This opening sequence set the sombre overall mood of the album, revisited in another Lennon tune, " I Don't Want to Spoil the Party ", which, " consistent in tone with ‘ No Reply ’, ‘ I'm a Loser ’, and ‘ Baby's in Black ’", according to Allmusic, " finds the singer showing up at a party only to find that the girl he expected to find isn't there ".

However, even in a somewhat weakened state The Beatles created an album some critics, such as Allmusic, found to be a stepping stone " from Merseybeat to the sophisticated pop / rock they developed in mid-career.

The album reached number 62 on the British charts and received poor reviews, with Allmusic calling it " pristine but dull.

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

Allmusic determined it to be " far and away the best selling album of his career.

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 ".

Pure Prairie League, formed in Ohio in 1969 by Craig Fuller, had both critical and commercial success with 5 straight Top 40 LP releases, including Bustin ' Out ( 1972 ), acclaimed by Allmusic critic Richard Foss as " an album that is unequaled in country-rock " and Two Lane Highway, described by Rolling Stone Magazine as " a worthy companion to the likes of The Byrds ' Sweetheart Of The Rodeo and other gems of the genre ".

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 ".

Allmusic described Minor Threat's music as " iconic ," and noted that their groundbreaking music " has held up better than of most of their contemporaries.

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 ”.

The new artists helped to counter what Allmusic derided as a " sonic palette to factory presets from their new Macintosh audio " of the CD-ROM era.

Andy Hinds of Allmusic laments the polka influence as undermining " the intended threat of a death metal band " while his colleague Alex Henderson praises the band for their " solid, consistently likable effort ," declaring that Finntroll has set themselves apart from their peers " because of their emphasis on Finnish humppa " and " the humor and irony they bring to the table.

Allmusic categorises electronica as a top-level genre on their main page, where they state that electronica includes danceable grooves to music for headphones and chillout areas.

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.

) With their 1994 album, Mars Audiac Quintet, Stereolab focused more on pop and less on rock, resulting in what Allmusic described as " what may be the group's most accessible, tightly-written album ".

Writing for Allmusic, critic Ned Raggett said " With their former band's generally gloomier shadows left behind, what Ash and Haskins draw from their time with Bauhaus is that group's melange of styles — their most underappreciated strength.

Daniel Gioffre stated in the Allmusic review: " Unlike many of their contemporaries, Deftones are very controlled even in the midst of chaos.

Bruce Eder, writing for Allmusic, rates the band's 1967 album Groovin ' as their best, noting the record's soulful core and innovative use of jazz and Latin instrumental arrangements.

Allmusic showed a mixed reaction in their retrospective review, noting the overt similarity to the Eagles and deeming the rock opera of side two " a little too wide-eyed and doomsaying for most modern audiences ".

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the album a negative review, remarking that " If you do happen to enjoy their ridiculously stupid jokes, Oi to the World is nearly as fun as anything else in their catalog, even though you might admit their fast, goofy, and essentially tuneless songs are beginning to wear a bit thin.

Steve Huey of Allmusic notes that The Shirelles defined " the so-called girl group sound with their soft, sweet harmonies and yearning innocence ", with their songs predating Motown in their widespread crossing of racial demographics, both in the US and in Britain.

Allmusic gave an intensely positive retrospective review, praising the " blistering riffs " of " I Love You # 19 ", the " sardonic humor and wit " of "( Nearsighted Girl With Approaching ) Tidal Wave ", and the " spooky concept-album-type finish " of the title track, but concluding the entire release to be " A great album all around.

In a retrospective review of the album, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, senior editor for Allmusic, gave " Dare " a 5-star rating.

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.

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.

In a retrospective review, Allmusic editor John Bush gave the album four-and-a-half out of five stars and complimented its songs ' " freewheeling arrangements ".

In a retrospective review, Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album five out of five stars and stated, " remains the pinnacle of the Allmans and Southern rock at its most elastic, bluesy, and jazzy ".

Allmusic gave a positive retrospective review of the album, commenting that it achieved a strong balance between Dave Mason's simple and straightforward folk-rock songs and Steve Winwood's complex and often haunting rock jams.

In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic rated In Step five out of a possible five stars.

Allmusic called it " one of the most powerfully energetic live albums ever made " in their retrospective review.

A retrospective review by Allmusic was also resoundingly positive.

In their retrospective review, Allmusic contested that Genesis's renderings of songs from A Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering surpass the studio recordings, chiefly due to Chester Thompson's drumming, which they described as " at least a match for Collins ' best playing.

In a retrospective review of the album, Allmusic editor Steve Huey gave the album five out of five stars and viewed it as an improvement over Paid in Full, commending Rakim's " agile, up-tempo lyrical showcases ".

In their retrospective review, Allmusic criticized the album for lacking coherency, but found that a majority of the tracks are outstanding, " balancing such sleek, pulsating pop tunes as ' That's All ' with a newfound touch for aching ballads.

In a retrospective review, Allmusic similarly made note of " Your Own Special Way ", calling it " the first tune that could qualify as a love song ", dismissing earlier attempts such as " The Silent Sun " and " More Fool Me ".

In a retrospective review, Allmusic praised " Overkill " and " It's a Mistake " as " demonstrating more depth than anything on the debut ".

In a brief retrospective review, Allmusic called the album " a bland, synthesized variation on mainstream pop, featuring none of the melodic sensibilities or subtle humor of their first two albums.

In their retrospective review, Allmusic wrote that " the new members sound almost identical to the originals, and with a stellar set list composed almost entirely of classic material, it's nearly impossible to hear the difference between the Men at Work lineups of 1996 and 1983.

In their retrospective review, Allmusic criticized the album's " big drum sound and big rock arrangements ", which they said " threaten at times to overshadow Hay's songwriting and singing.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave Somery four and a half stars out of five, saying that although " a handful of great songs from their best albums are missing, Somery nevertheless selects the highlights from their occasionally uneven records, making it a useful and comprehensive retrospective.

In a retrospective review, Allmusic gave it 4. 5 stars out of 5, calling it a " fascinating collection ", and stating that " Zappa's anything-goes approach and the distance between his extremes are what make Weasels Ripped My Flesh ultimately invigorating " In his book Viva Zappa !, Dominique Chevalier wrote that the album is " one of Zappa's most aggressively bizarre works, full of cross-references to free jazz and modern classical musicians such as Luciano Berio.

In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic has written that " it plays as the most focused and accomplished set of songs Elton John and Bernie Taupin ever wrote ".

In their retrospective review, Allmusic applauded Kansas's dramatic change in direction, contending that the fact that this new direction was short-lived makes it no less appealing.

In their retrospective review, Allmusic deemed the album " one of the group's more consistent albums and easily a latter-day highlight.

In a retrospective review, Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine cited the album as " the beginning of David Bowie's classic period " and complimented its " tight, twisted heavy guitar rock that appears simple on the surface but sounds more gnarled upon each listen ".