Allmusic madonna discography full#

I don't think many reviewers would have given Madonna's first album five stars when it first came out (not even allmusic had it existed back then). My take is that Allmusic's reviewers understand that it takes a certain amount of time to pass for us to truly appreciate an album. Actually, it kind of smacks of hubris to do so, IMO.

Allmusic madonna discography full#

Plus, the full impact of an album isn't necessarily self-evident at the moment of release.ДЄs long as one is willing to be dynamic in such assessments (and being online exclusively tends to give sites like allmusic an extra boost in this regard), then I think that it's perfectly okay not to give an album five stars immediately upon release. Some of us think that you can only assess an album's merits in the context of what else is out there. Remember that this business of reviewing music is all relative for some of us. But once enough time has passed that we can fully recognize the impact that the album and artist had on the music that followed, then we can safely give it five stars. Put less faith in the number of stars and consider what is written, that would be my advice.Д¬lick to expand.My take is that Allmusic's reviewers understand that it takes a certain amount of time to pass for us to truly appreciate an album. Some five star albums have rather tepid reviews, while some three star albums get glowing assessments. Personally, I'd place a lot more confidence in what is written (a strength of allmusic is that they tell me what the album is about) than how many stars it gets. Keep in mind that the person who might praise one ELO album may not be the same individual who would trash another.ДЇinally, for some reason (maybe related to point two, but I'm not sure), the written review doesn't always match up to the starred review.

Not a knock just an observation from someone who has read Allmusic religiously for well over 10 years now.

Second, it's important to note that with so many reviewers, there isn't always consistency across the reviews of an artist's discography. Why? Let's say I want to know about a sub-genre like Chicago soul or Black metal then, such an approach helps me to zero in right on the best albums from the very beginning. Some people can balk at such compartmentalization I tend to think that it's a strength of the site. If going beyond that, to consider the best of genre, the review site is good enough to stick to the genre under consideration. First, is the fact that reviews are considered within the context of a particular artist's canon and not the whole of recorded music. A good case in point is OK Computer, which originally had a four star review and now has a five star review.ДЄ couple points are worth bearing in mind, though.

But, doesn't it generally take a little time for the proper perspective to sink in? Albums that may only get four or four-and-a-half stars at first may eventually wind up with five in a couple years time. Sure, new albums are rarely given five stars when they're first released. Ratings at aren't usually static, which means that the site often re-evaluates the reviews it gives. What do you think? Are they just waiting for the next big album that's both fresh and consistent, which honestly hasn't come for about 8 years now? I'll be the first to admit there's a drought in the current music scene, but I also wonder if the website should uphold its own standard in that an album doesn't have to blow minds from beginning to end in order to garner 5 Stars. Take for instance Weezer's latest album, praised by Allmusic, disregarded or knocked by most other critics. Is Eagles' 'Hotel California' a 5 Star album, or an album with quite a few 5 Star songs? How about U2's 'War' or The Police's 'Zenyatta Mondatta'? Roxy Music's 'Siren'?ДЇurthermore, Allmusic dishes out 4 1/2 star ratings with ease. Meanwhile, Portishead's latest is a novel, engaging listen from beginning to end. If the 5 Star ratings were used only for monster classics, I'd readily understand, but is Ween's 'Pure Guava' really 5 stars compared to Portishead's 'Third'? While the former was somewhat groundbreaking for its time, it hasn't necessarily endured as a classic, it's very long, and it's often overshadowed by Ween's own output. Has anyone noticed that in the past 2-3 years, hasn't issued 5 Stars to any new album as far as I can tell? In fact, I can barely count any 5 Star ratings since 2000 - Outkast's 'Stankonia' is one.