Metafile Legend

The following publications are scored (mostly obtained from Metacritic, using their rating system, 1 vote for 75+ except as noted; sources noted "no grades" are scored by Metacritic). In most cases I also check the original sources to find records missed by Metacritic, but I don't make the effort to subjectively evaluate ungraded reviews (what a hideous job that must be). Numbers in parens following the abbreviation specify size of year-end list. Count +1 for year-end list mentions (or +2 for monitored publications with no grade, on the theory that I may have missed the original grade -- although it's also possible that the original grade was low, and something else is going on):

A paren with a number following the abbreviation means that a year-end list was factored in. Cases where the number is followed by '#' mean that the top ten choices got double points.

  • AbP: Absolute Punk: 80%+ (author rating, staff reviews only, or from Metacritic; highest score if dupes) [12-01]
  • AC: Austin Chronicle: 3.5:78, 4:89, 4.5:95, 5:100 [12-01]
  • AM: All Music Guide: 4+, plus monthly editor picks
  • AP: Alternative Press: 4:80+ [11-08]
  • AS: American Songwriter: 4:80+ [11-09]
  • ATH:: Austin Town Hall: 4:80+ [11-09]
  • AV: Onion AV Club: B:75, B+:83, A-:91, A:100 [12-10]
  • BB: Billboard: 75+ [11-09]
  • BBC: BBC Music: 75+, no grades on website
  • BG: Boston Globe: 75+, no grades on website
  • Bl: Blurt: 8+ [01-12]
  • Blr: Blare: 4:80+ [11-09]
  • Bow: Bowlegs: 7.5+ [11-09]
  • BPM: Beats Per Minute (formerly One Thirty BPM): 75+ [11-10]
  • Buf: Buffalo News: 3.0:75, 3.5:88, 4:100 [05-19]: inaccessible as of 11-10 (temporary?)
  • Cl: Clash Music [11-10]
  • CMG: Cokemachineglow: 75+; I use "rating" from website; metacritic seems to average "rating" and "combined rating," resulting in discrepancies [11-10]; around 08-28 (maybe earlier) dropped ratings (although metacritic has some), nothing after 09-07
  • CMJ: CMJ [no grades]
  • CS: Consequence of Sound: 4:80+ [11-10]
  • CT: Chicago Tribute: no sources
  • CW: Country Weekly: 3.5:70, 4:80+ [11-10]
  • DA: Delusions of Adequacy [no grades]
  • DIY: This Is Fake DIY: 8+ [11-10]
  • DJB: DJ Booth: 4:80+, review only [11-11]
  • DS(100#): Drowned in Sound: 8+ [11-11]; 5-way tie for first (avg rank 3)
  • Du: Dusted Magazine: 70+, no grades on website
  • E145: Engine 145: 4:80 [11-12]
  • EW(10#): Entertainment Weekly: B:75, B+:83, A-:91, A:100 [11-12]
  • Ex: Exclaim; EOY: dance/electronic, folk/country (14), groove (14), metal/hardcore, pop/rock (30)
  • F: Filter: 80% (70+ in MC, which downrates 80% to 70; pct grades preferred) [11-12]
  • Fa: FACT: 4:80+ [11-14]: EOY + reissues (20)
  • Fix: The Digital Fix: Music: 8+, nothing before 05-03 [11-14]
  • Fly: The Fly: 4:80+ [11-14]
  • G(40#): The Guardian (UK): 4:80+, sometimes identified as The Observer (UK) [11-14]: EOY: jazz
  • Gw(50#): Gigwise: 4:80+ [05-17]; later no longer finding ratings [11-15]
  • HC: Hartford Courant: don't see any way to get these reliably.
  • HDX: HipHopDX: 4:80 [11-15]
  • I: The Independent (UK): 4:80+; look for Sunday date, broken out below (per Metacritic); limited internet access, very likely to miss things [04-23]
  • IS: The Independent on Sunday (UK): 4:80+, above website, look for Sunday date
  • K: Kerrang! (UK): no online reviews?
  • LAT: Los Angeles Times: {3.0=75, 3.5=88, 4=100} [06-11]; dropped category in June, only limited posts available when checked [11-15]
  • LBF: The Line of Best Fit: 7.5+ (only since 05-21), before that: recommended albums [11-15]
  • M: Mojo (UK): no online reviews
  • Mg: Magnet: no online reviews, "hidden treasures" noted w/o grades
  • MH: Metal Hammer: 80+
  • Mi: Mishka NYC: B:75, B+:83, A-:91, A[+]:100 [01-01]
  • MiF: The Milk Factory: 4.0+ [11-17]; nothing after 9-27
  • Mix: Mixmag
  • MO: MusicOMH.com: 4.0+, reissue specials are often ungraded, just counted [11-17]
  • NME: New Musical Express (NME): 8+ [11-17]
  • Now: Now Magazine: NNNN:80 [11-17]; incomplete due to archive gaps
  • NR(50#): No Ripchord: 8+ [01-08]
  • NYT: New York Times: 70+, no grades on website
  • Ob: The Observer (UK): per Metacritic; looks like The Guardian to me
  • Ok: Okayplayer: 75+ [01-01]
  • P: Paste: 7.5+ [11-21]
  • Pf: Pitchfork: 7.5+ [01-01]
  • Ph: The Phoenix (3.0:75, 3.5:88, 4.0:100) [11-22] [01-08]
  • PM: PopMatters: 8+ [11-22]
  • PMA: Pretty Much Amazing: B:75, B+:83, A-:91, A:100 [11-23]
  • Pot: Potholes in My Blog: 4.0:80+ [11-23] [01-08]
  • Px: Prefix: 7.5+ [11-26]
  • Q: Q: nothing online
  • Qs: The Quietus: no ratings
  • R: Roughstock (4:80, 5:100) [11-26]
  • RA: Resident Advisor [11-26]
  • Rev: Revolver: 4:80+ [11-28]
  • RkS: Rock Sound: 8+ [11-28]
  • RR: RapReviews.com: 7.5+, only keeps two weeks up, so [0117-0131,0508-0515,1120-1127]; rechecked 2012 wrap-up 02-12/12
  • RS: Rolling Stone: 70+ [11-28]; EOY: country
  • S: Spin: 70+; website changed c. Feb. to make life more difficult, and switched from stars to numbers; the tweet-sized reviews seem to have disappeared around August [11-29]; EOY + avant, country, dance, hip-hop, metal, pop, reissues
  • Sg: Stereogum: album of the week [11-26]
  • Sk: The Skinny: 4:80 [11-28]
  • Sl: Slant: 3.5:70, 4:80+ [11-28]
  • Spk: Sputnik Music: staff reviews, 4:80+ [11-28], gap from 02-02 to 05-24
  • St: State (Ireland): orange:80, red:100 [11-29]
  • T: The Telegraph (UK): 4:80+, viewing limited to 20 articles per month [11-29]
  • TMT: Tiny Mix Tapes: 4:80+ [08-08]
  • Tu: The Tune: album reviews, weekly albums [07-28]; no access as of [11-28]
  • U: Uncut: nothing online
  • UR: Under the Radar: 8+ (7.5+ after 06-20) [11-28]
  • Urb: Urb [05-16], nothing since 04-19 [11-28]
  • UT: USA Today: 3.0=75, 3.5=88, 4=100 [11-28]: EOY: Sean McCarthy
  • VV: Village Voice: 70+, no grades online
  • W: The Wire: 70+, no grades online; EOY + avant rock, critical beats, electronica, hip-hop, outer limits
  • WB Word Is Bond: 3.5:70, 4:80, 4.5:90, 5:100 [12-01]
  • XL: XLR8r: 7.5+ [12-01]: some EPs/most singles omitted
  • XXL: XXL: XL:80, XXL:100 [12-01]

Second section notes individual critics for reference purposes:

  • CM: Christopher Monsen: year-end list [08-08] [10-03]
  • DB: Downbeat: editor's picks {1-01/13}, 4+ star magazine reviews {}
  • FJ: Free Jazz (not just Stef Gijssels any more): **** [01-08]
  • JG: Jason Gubbels: Decanting (Cerebral): picks and near-picks [04-21]
  • JM: Jazz Mann: **** and above [01-08]
  • #JT(40): JazzTimes: year-end poll only
  • TN: Tim Niland (Music and More): no ratings, so just count it all [01-08]
  • RC: Robert Christgau: counts * and above
  • MT: Michael Tatum: counts * and above
  • TH: Tom Hull: counts * and above

Also count year-end list mentions from the following sources (* indicates ignored albums not already on list):

  • 3voor12 [Netherlands]: 12
  • 405, The: 25
  • 411 Mania: 25
  • 1000 Times Yes [Christopher R Weingarten]: 100
  • 1146 Miles: 15
  • ABC News [Allan Raible]: 50
  • About.com: alternative music (50), r&b/soul
  • Afrobeat Blog, The: 15
  • Age, The [Australia]: 20
  • Agit Reader, The: 20
  • Alarm: 50
  • Album of the Year: 25
  • All About Jazz: C Michael Bailey, Dan Bilawsky, Troy Collins, Mark Corroto, RJ DeLuke, Eyal Hareuveni, John Kelman, Bruce Lindsay, Chris May, Dan McClenaghan, Ian Patterson, John Sharpe
  • All Music Guide {AM}: 50#; americana, blues, compilations, country, electronic, folk, hip-hop/rap, indie pop and rock, jazz, latin and world, metal, pop, r&b, reggae, reissues, rock, singer-songwriter, staff lists
  • All the Young Punks: 10
  • All Things Go: 20
  • Alternate Root
  • Alternative Press {AP}: 10#
  • Amazon: 100: + "outstanding albums you may have missed"
  • American Songwriter {AS}: 50#
  • Amoeba Music: 50 + missed
  • Antiquiet: 25
  • Arizona Republic: Ed Masley
  • Art of Fiction, The: 9
  • Associated Press/Huffington Post: Mesfin Fekadu, Nekesa Numbi, Chris Talbott
  • Austin Chronicle: Greg Beets, Jim Caligiuri, Thomas Fawcett, Doug Freeman, Chase Hoffberger, Abby Johnson, Margaret Moser, Michael Toland, Jay Trachtenberg
  • Austin Town Hall {ATH}: 100#
  • AV Club {AV}: 25#
  • AwkwardSound: 25
  • Awl, The [Seth Colter Walls]: 50*
  • Baltimore City Paper: 10 + country and folk, experimental/avant-garde, heavy, hip-hop, indie rock, jazz and blues
  • BBC {BBC}: 25#
  • Beat: 10
  • Beats Per Minute {BPM}: 50#
  • The Beggar Blade: 25
  • Benzine [France]: 10
  • Big City, The [George Grella]: jazz
  • Billboard {BB}: 10#
  • The Bleader [Peter Margasak]: 11-40 + jazz
  • Bleep: 10: + comps/reissues
  • Blitz [Portugal]: 50
  • Blow Up [Italy]: 10
  • Blurt {Bl}: 75# + AD Amorosi, Fred Mills
  • Boomkat: 100
  • Born Under Punches: 15
  • Boston Globe {BG}: Michael Andor Brodeur, Martin Caballero, Siddhartha Mitter, James Reed, Sarah Rodman
  • Bowlegs {Bow}: 30#
  • Bozelka, Kevin John: 10
  • Brain Pickings: Maria Popova
  • Break on a Cloud: 25
  • BroBible [hip-hop]: 10
  • Buzzsugar: 10
  • CBC Music: aboriginal, blues, country, electronic, jazz, pop, r&b, rock, singer-songwriter
  • Cerebral Decanting {JG}: 75#
  • Chicago Reader: Peter Margasak [international], Miles Raymer, Kevin Warwick
  • Chicago Sun-Times: Thomas Conner
  • Chicago Tribune {CT}: Greg Kot (10#)
  • Chronic'Art [France]: 10
  • Citypages: Alan Scherstuhl [country]
  • Clash Music {Cl}: 40#
  • Classic Rock [UK]: 50
  • Cleveland Plain Dealer: Emmet Smith
  • Club Fonograma [Mexico]: 25 + *local
  • CokeMachineGlow {CMG}: 50#
  • Columbia Daily Herald: 10
  • Columbian, The: Alan Sculley
  • Complex: 50
  • Consequence of Sound {CS}: 50#
  • Conway Report, The: 10
  • Coolsville: 15
  • Cooper, Dennis: 20
  • Country Weekly {CW}: 10#
  • Crack: 25
  • Crave Online: 30
  • Creative Intersection, The: 25
  • Critical Sam: 25
  • Dadrock: Jeff Friesen [jazz]
  • Dagbladet [Norway]: 20 + Sven Oe Bakke, Sigrid Hvidsten, Morten Rydland Hoyning, Jan Omdahl, Jonas Pettersen, Julia Pettersen, Oyvind Ronning, Fredrik Wandrup, Togrim Oyre
  • Dagsavisen: 40
  • Daily Beast, The: Marlow Stern (12)
  • Daily Record, The [Joel Francis]: 10
  • Daniewicz, Joey: 25
  • DatPiff: 50
  • DC9 at Night [Dallas Observer]: rap
  • Death and Taxes: 25
  • Decibel: 40
  • Denver Post: Ricardo Baca, Brett Saunders
  • DeRogatis, Jim: 40
  • Descarga
  • DFW.com: Preston Jones
  • Diffuser.fm: 10
  • Digital Spy [UK]: 20
  • Disco Naivete: 30
  • Dots and Dashes: 25
  • Drift Record Shop [UK]: 100
  • Drowned in Sound {DS}: 100#
  • The Dumbing of America: Amy, Sania, Todd
  • Dummy: 10
  • Dusted {Du}: Daniel Levin Becker, Andrew Beckerman*, Joseph Burnett, Brandon Bussolini, Talya Cooper*, Ethan Covey, Ben Donnelly, Otis Hart, Jennifer Kelly, Brad LaBonte, Patrick Masterson, Nate Knaebel, Michael Rosenstein, Derek Taylor, Jon Treneff
  • Each Note Secure: Joe Long
  • Ear to the Ground: Greg, Jake
  • Earmilk: 50
  • East Bay Express: Lenika Cruz, Ellen Cushing, Azeen Ghorayshi, Whitey Phaneuf, Kathleen Richards
  • Eclectic Grooves
  • Efe Eme [Spain]: 30
  • Elastic Witch [Ireland]
  • Elektrik Soul: 40
  • Emusic: 100
  • Engine 145 {E145}: 25#
  • Entertainment Weekly {EW}: Melissa Maerz (10#)
  • Epitonic: 10
  • Everything Ecstatic: 15
  • Examiner.com: 25
  • Exclaim! {Ex}: 50# + dance/electronic, folk/country (14), groove (14), metal/hardcore, pop/rock
  • Fact {Fa}: 50# + reissues (20)
  • Fast 'n' Bulbous: 100 + genre lists
  • FasterLouder [Australia]: 50
  • Filter {F}: 20#
  • Finest Kiss, The: 30 + reissues
  • Fluctuat [France]: 10
  • Fly, The {Fly}: 50#
  • Folkways
  • Forbes: Michele Catalano, Leor Galil
  • Foxy Digitalis
  • Free Jazz Collective, The {FJ}: 10# + happy new ears
  • Frere-Jones, Sasha {SFJ}: 40 + 1 for *
  • Frontier Psychiatrist: 50 + debut, hip-hop, metal, psychedelic, reissues
  • FRoots [UK]: 20 + HM, reissues/compilations
  • Fuse: 40
  • Gaffa [Sweden]: 30
  • Gigwise {Gw}: 50#
  • Gioia, Ted: 100 (ex classical): + HM (ex ul)
  • Glide: 20 + HM
  • Goldmine: 20
  • Go-Mag [Spain]: 21-40
  • Gorilla v. Bear: 50
  • Graffa [Denmark]: 30
  • Groove Notes: 10 jazz + other notables
  • Guardian, The [UK] {G}: 40# + jazz
  • Guitar World: 50
  • Heaven [Netherlands]: 30
  • Hidden Track: 25
  • Higher Ed Music Critics: 50
  • Hip-Hop DX {HDX}: 25 (unranked)
  • HitFix: The Beat Goes On [Melinda Newman] (10+), Immaculate Noise [Katie Hasty] (30)
  • Hollywood: 12
  • Hop-Blog.fr [France]: 50
  • Hottracks [S Korea]: 10
  • Humanizing the Vacuum: 12
  • Humo: 26
  • I Listen, So You Don't Have To: 15 + metal
  • Idolator: 10
  • Ilxor: fanute me, xhukx [Chuck Eddy]
  • Impact: 10
  • Indie for Bunnies [Italy]: 50
  • Indie Shuffle: hip-hop, indie rock
  • Indiepoprock [France]: 20
  • International Pop Overthrow: 125* [*102 not in 5733]
  • Intro [Germany]: 50
  • Jamcritic: 10
  • Jazz Beyond Jazz [Howard Mandel]: JJA + "also"
  • Jazz Journalists Association (JJA): Karl Ackermann, Nicholas Bewsey, Larry Blumenfeld, Philip Booth, Shaun Brady, Marcella Breton, John Chacona, Sharonne Cohen, Francis Davis, Laurence Donohue-Greene, Alain Drouot, Steve Feeney, Andrew Gilbert, Geoffrey Himes, Rob Johnson, Fred Kaplan, Kiyoshi Koyama, Rudy Lu, Kevin Lynch, Howard Mandel, Matt Marshall, Ralph Miriello, Jennifer Odell, Gene Seymour, Hank Shteamer, W Royal Stokes, John Szwed
  • Jazzwise [UK]: JW(20): + reissues, all mentions
  • Jazzwrap
  • Jenesaispop [Spain]: 50
  • Joy of Speed: 19
  • Juno: 20
  • Just Another Crappy Opinionated Music Blog: 20
  • Kalporz [Italy]: 20
  • KCRW: Jason Bentley
  • Kerrang {K}: 101#
  • Knack [Belgium]: 10
  • Knox Rd: individual lists
  • L: 20
  • LA Music Blog: 50 + hip-hop, outside the US, psychedelic
  • Lane, Tom: 30
  • Laut [Germany]: 50
  • Les Inrock[uptible]s [France]: 100
  • Liberation [France]
  • Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics (Todd Eric Lovato): 20
  • Liminal, The: 50
  • Line of Best Fit, The {LBF}: 50#
  • Listen to the Lion: 50
  • Little White Earbuds: 10
  • Load and Quiet [UK]: 20
  • Loft965: 100
  • Los Angeles Times {LAT}: 10#; Chris Barton, Randall Roberts
  • Loudwire: 10 rock, 10 metal
  • Lucid Culture: jazz
  • Luddite Stereo: 20
  • Magicrpm [France]: 30
  • Magnet {Mg}: 25# + "hidden treasures" noted w/o grades; EOY: electronic, hip hop, hard rock, indie roots, jazz/improv, metal, noise, punk/hardcore, reissues, singer-songwriter, world
  • Melbourne Age [Australia]: 20
  • Mess + Noise [Australia]: 50*
  • Metal Injection: Sol
  • Metalpaths: 20
  • Metro Weekly: 10
  • Mishka NYC {Mi}: 50#
  • Mixmag {Mix}: 50#
  • Mojo {M}: 50# + urban, electronica, jazz, underground, reissues
  • Mondosonoro [Spain]: 40
  • Moonproject: 12
  • Mostern, Kenny: 47
  • Mother Jones: Alyssa Battistoni, Sydney Brownstone, Jon Young
  • Mowno [France]
  • MSN Music: 12
  • MTV [James Montgomery]: 20
  • Music City Post: 20
  • Music Network, The [Australia]: 20
  • Music Story [France]: 44
  • Music That Isn't Bad: hip-hop
  • Music Under Fire: staff picks
  • MusicOHM {MO}: 100#
  • Musikexpress [Germany]: 50
  • Muso's Guide [UK]: 20
  • Muumuse: 20
  • Muzikalia [Spain]: 25
  • My Kind of Country: Occasional Hope, Jonathan Pappalardo
  • National Post
  • Needle Drop, The: 50
  • Never Mind, I'm the Bollocks: 12
  • New Noise [France]: 50
  • New Republic: David Hajdu (10+)
  • New World Buzz: 30
  • New York Magazine: Nitsuh Abebe [Vulture] (10)
  • New York Times: Jon Caramanica, Nate Chinen, Jon Pareles, Ben Ratliff
  • Newark Star-Ledger: Tris McCall
  • News.com.au: Cameron Adams (20)
  • Newsday: Glenn Gamboa (20)
  • Nialler9: 40
  • Nightlife [Canada]: 40
  • NME {NME}: 50#
  • No Depression: Tony Brown, Mando Lines, Jay Minkin
  • No Ripchord {NR}: 50#
  • Noisecritic's Blog: Expert Witness {ExW}: 50#
  • Nöjesguiden [Sweden]: 50 international, *national
  • NOW {Now}: 10# + Benjamin Boles, Carla Gillis, Sarah Greene, Michael Hollett, Joanne Huffa, Kevin Ritchie, Richard Trapunski
  • NPR: 50 (skipped classical): + Bob Boilen, Robin Hilton, Ann Powers, Stephen Thompson, Ken Tucker; folk & americana (Kim Ruehl, Linda Fahey), jazz (Patrick Jarenwattananon), latin alternative (Jasmine Garsd)
  • Numerocero [Spain]: 20
  • Obscure Sound: 10
  • Observer, The [UK] {Ob}: Kitty Empire (10#)
  • Oceans Never Listen: 50
  • Ocean of Noise: 25
  • Oh So Fresh: 50
  • Okayafrica: 12
  • Okayplayer {Ok}: 12#
  • Oklahoma Daily: 10
  • . . . ology: 21-40
  • Omaha World-Herald: Kevin Coffey [Rock Candy] (25)
  • On That Note: 10
  • Ondarock [Italy]: 50
  • OOR [Netherlands]: 25
  • Orange County Register: Ben Wener (20)
  • Other Music: 30 + reissues
  • Owl Mag, The: 50
  • P3 [Norway]: 20
  • The Paradigm for Beauty: Lyn Horton
  • Passion of the Weiss: 50
  • Paste {P}: 50#
  • Patriot Ledger: jazz
  • Pedestrian.tv [Australia]: 10
  • Philadelphia Inquirer: Dan DeLuca [In the Mix] (10+)
  • Phonica: 100
  • Piccadilly Records [UK]: 100 + compilations, reissues
  • Pigeons and Planes: 25
  • Pinkushion [France]: 15
  • Pinpoint Music: 25
  • Pitchfork {Pf}: 50# + honorable mention, metal
  • Planned Obsolescence: 20
  • Playground [Spain]: 75
  • Plattentests [Germany]: 20
  • Plastic Sax: 10
  • Pontone: 50 + reissues
  • Pop-Break: lots of short lists
  • Pop Headwound: 30
  • Pop News [France]: 15
  • PopBlerd: 20 [master list]
  • PopBytes: 10
  • PopDose: 20 + Michael Fortes, Ken Shane, Rob Smith
  • PopMatters {PM}: 75# + Americana, bluegrass, Canadian albums, country, electronic, hip-hop, indie pop, indie rock, jazz, metal, noise-rock, overlooked, pleasant surprise, pop-punk, progressive rock (and metal), r&b, reissues, world
  • Potholes in My Blog {Pot}: 50#
  • Pretty Much Amazing {PMA}: 60#
  • Progarchy: 60
  • Punknews: 20
  • Q {Q}: 50 [unranked]
  • QRO: 60
  • Quart [Hungary]: 25
  • Quick Before It Melts: 10
  • Quietus, The {Qs}: 75# + reissues
  • Raging Against the Dying Light: 10 + hip hop/r&b, metal
  • Ranker: 50 + country
  • Rawkblog: 50
  • Readings: pop
  • Recorder [Hungary]: 50
  • Red Moon Cafe: jazz
  • Relevant: 10+
  • ResidentAdvisor {RA}: 20#
  • Resident Music Shop [UK]: 10
  • Reverbnation: staff picks*
  • Revolver {Rev}: 10#
  • Rhapsody: 50 + country, electronic, hip-hop, indie, jazz, latin, metal, pop, r&b, rock, rock reissues, world, "albums that fell through the cracks"
  • Right Hear: 5
  • Rip It Up [Australia]: 10
  • Rocco's Modern Life: 11
  • Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Jeff Spevak, Jack Garner (jazz)
  • Rock Sound {RkS}: 50#
  • Rock NYC: 78
  • Rock-A-Rolla: 50
  • Rockdelux [Spain]: 50
  • Rockerilla [Italy]: 20
  • Rolling Out: 10
  • Rolling Stone {RS}: 50# + country, Rob Sheffield
  • Rolling Stone [Brazil]: 25
  • Rolling Stone [Germany]: 25
  • Rolling Stone [Mexico]: 25
  • Rolling Stone [Spain]: 10+
  • Rollo & Grady: 40
  • Rough Trade Shop [UK]: 10
  • Roughstock {R}: 40#
  • Ruckus, The: 5
  • Rumore [Italy]: 20
  • Running the Voodoo Down: Phil Freeman
  • Ruptured: *
  • Sabotage Times: staff + hip-hop
  • Salt Lake City Weekly: 12
  • Salt Lake Tribune: David Burger
  • San Diego City Beat: 5
  • San Francisco Examiner: pop
  • Secretly-Important: 10
  • Sentient Developments: 75
  • Sentire Ascoltare [Italy]: 40
  • SF Critic: Angela Bacca, Darryl, Patrick Kelly, Leti, Fabian Molina, Carlos Olin Montalvo
  • Shrem: 20
  • Side One Track One: 25 + hip-hop (Leah), metal (Chuck)
  • Silver Tongue, The: 35
  • Skinny, The: 10#
  • Skirl: Dan Dickinson
  • Slant: 25#
  • Slate: Jody Rosen, Lindsay Zoladz
  • Slate.fr [France]: 20
  • Slicing Up Eyeballs: 10
  • Smells Like Infinite Sadness: 10
  • Snob's Music: 100
  • Soft Signal: 30
  • Something Daily: 45-112
  • Something Else: S Victor Aaron (1-4), Nick DeRiso (2), Fred Phillips
  • Sonic [Sweden]: 25
  • Soul Bounce: 16
  • Soundi [Finland]: 5 + heavy
  • Sounds XP [UK]: 20
  • Source, The: 20
  • Spex [Germany]: 20
  • Spin {S}: 50# + avant, country, dance, hip-hop, metal, pop, reissues
  • Spinner: 50
  • SputnikMusic {Spk}: 50#
  • SSG: Allen Huang, Robert Catherall
  • St Louis Post-Dispatch: Kevin C Johnson
  • Stack Magazine [Australia]: 50
  • Stars Are Underground [France]: 50 + [*]
  • State [Ireland] {St}: 75#
  • Stereo Lounge, The: 7
  • Stereogum {Sg}: 50# + rap
  • Sterreplaten [Belgium]: 10
  • Stockton Record: Tony Sauro
  • Stool Pigeon, The [UK]: 50
  • Storia della Musica [Italy]: 20
  • Sunset in the Rearview: 20
  • Super 45 [Chile]: 45
  • Surfing on Steam: 20
  • Swan Fungus: 100
  • Swarthmore College Daily Gazette: 10
  • SWQW [France]: experimental, techno, hip-hop, post-rock, rock
  • Sydney Morning Herald [smh.com.au]: 20
  • Taco Press: 12
  • Tap Milwaukee: country
  • Tatum, Michael {MT}: 10#
  • Technicart [France]: 10
  • Telegraph, The {T} [UK]: roots
  • Télérama [France]: pop-rock, chanson, jazz, world
  • Terrorizer: 50
  • Textura [Canada]: 40
  • Their Bated Breath: 12
  • Think Muzik: 12
  • This Is Fake DIY {DIY}: 40#
  • This Thing Called Music: 35
  • Thrash Hits [UK]: 20
  • Time: Doug Wolk
  • Time Out London: 50
  • Tiny Mix Tapes {TMT}: 50#
  • Tome to the Weather Machine: 10
  • Treble[zine]: 50
  • Troubled Diva [Mike Atkinson]: 100
  • Tube Magazine: 10
  • Turntable Kitchen: 30
  • Twang Nation: 20
  • Ultimate Classic Rock: 10
  • Uncut: {U}: 75#
  • Under the Radar: 100#
  • Underground Bee: 10+*
  • Vancouver Sun: 10
  • Versatile [France]: 10
  • Versed, The: 10 + mixtapes, DJ Premier
  • VG [Norway]: 10
  • VH1: staff*
  • Vibrations [Switzerland]: 3+
  • Village Voice {VV}: Linda Leseman [metal], Phillip Mlynar [NYC rap], Tony Rettman [reissues], Alan Scherstuhl [country], Dan Weiss [best albums Pitchfork hated this year]
  • Village Voice Pazz 'n' Jop {V}: + David Adler, Ken Capobianco, J.D. Considine, Carol Cooper, Del Cowie, Steve Dollar, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Jim Fouratt, Rob Harvilla, Will Hermes, Chris Herrington, Eugene Holley Jr, Steve Horowitz, Mark Jenkins, Maura Johnston, Frank Kogan, Jim Macnie, Andy Kellman, Ryan Maffei, Michaelangelo Matos, Glenn McDonald, Brian McManus, Kevin O'Donnell, J Poet, Derk Richardson, Matt Rice, Elliott Sharp, Philip Sherburne, Steve Simels, Alfred Soto, Franklin Soults, Jeff Tamarkin, Rob Tannenbaum, Roy Traykin, Barry Walters, Dan Weiss, Mikael Wood
  • Visions [Germany]: 50
  • Wall Street Journal: Jim Fusilli
  • Washington City Paper*
  • Washington Post: Chris Richards
  • Waterloo Records: 45 + reissues, compilations
  • We All Want Someone to Shout For: 40+
  • We Listen for You: Erik, Hank, Ryan, Zach
  • Well Versed, The: 10
  • Why Are There So Many Records in My Life?: 10
  • Wild Honey Pie, The: 25
  • Wild Mercury Sound [John Mulvey]: 112*
  • Wire, The [UK] {W}: 50# + avant rock, critical beats, electronica, hip-hop, outer limits
  • Word, The [Belgium]: 10
  • Wounded Jukebox, The: 10
  • Write to the Beat: 25
  • WUOG: 50
  • XLR8r {XL}: 40#
  • Ye Wei Blog aka Wild Taste {YW}: Jason Gross
  • Yers, The [France]: 10
  • You Ain't No Picasso: 17
  • Zündfunk [Germany]: 60

Aggregator lists:

Some other sites I might consider but don't find real useful right now:

Some places that publish reviews but don't provide usable ratings:

Metacritic file results follow: new music, and old music.