Critics give Done by the Forces of Nature a B-Side Breakdown of 88 (B+), from 10 reviews at outlets we track. Scores run 70 to 100.
The verdict on Done by the Forces of Nature
9 of 10 critics liked it, with some disagreement on how much.
- Highest 100 Mojo, NME and Chicago Tribune
- Lowest 70 Spin Alternative Record Guide
- By the numbers The fifth best-reviewed album of 1989 we've tracked.
| The gist | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mojo via Wikipediaby Andy Cowan | 5/5 | 100 | 2003 | |
| NME via Wikipediaby Ian McCann | 10/10 | 100 | 2003 | |
| Chicago Tribune via Wikipediaby Robert Tanzilo | 4/4 | 100 | 2003 | |
| Robert Christgau via Wikipediaby Robert Christgau | A | 95 | 1990 | |
| AllMusic via Wikipediaby Steve Huey | 4.5/5 | 90 | ||
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide via Wikipedia | 4/5 | 80 | “Previously published as: Rolling Stone album guide” | |
| Rolling Stone via Wikipediaby Michael Azerrad | 4/5 | 80 | 1990 | |
| Q via Wikipediaby Ian Cranna | 4/5 | 80 | 2003 | |
| Los Angeles Times via Wikipediaby Duff Marlowe | 4/5 | 80 | 1990 | “The second album from the New York rappers transcends the old boundaries of rap and moves into a largely unexplored realm of pop music, where energy comes not from louder…” |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide via Wikipedia | 7/10 | 70 | 2003 |
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More Electronic from around 1989
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How the Breakdown works
Every outlet’s score is converted to 0–100 (2/5 is 40, 5.9/10 is 59, a B+ is 88) and averaged. Grades follow the B-Side scale: A is 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69, F below 60. Approval is the share of critics who scored it 75 or higher; the Breakdown shows green at 75 and up, red below. Divisiveness asks a different question: not how many critics liked it, but how close their scores are to each other. Five critics who all give it 50 are Unanimous, even though none of them liked it. The labels run Unanimous, Broad agreement, Some debate, Divided, and Contentious. Replay rate comes from listeners, not critics: yes counts fully, a few tracks counts half, no counts zero. The gist quotes each outlet’s own summary of its review. Published is the date on the review itself, read from the outlet’s page, so you can see whether an album’s reputation came at release or years later. Scores marked est. come from reviews that publish no number. Scores marked via Wikipedia are archive ratings, mostly for older albums, taken from the “Professional ratings” box on the album’s Wikipedia page (published openly through Wikidata); each links to the original review when we can find it online, and to that Wikipedia entry when we can’t. When an outlet reviewed an album twice, years apart (often for a reissue), both scores count, each labeled with its year.
A-Side marks the critics’ top tier. An album earns it automatically, from its numbers alone: a Breakdown of 90 or higher, from at least 5 reviews, with at least 75% approval. Nobody hands it out and nobody can buy it; if new reviews pull an album below the line, it loses the badge.
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