Based on 11 reviews from outlets we track. Scores run 41 to 95.
By the numbers: The best-reviewed album of Kid Cudi's career on B-Side Breakdowns, ahead of Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager (73). Scores ran from 41 (Pitchfork) to 95 (RapReviews).
| The gist | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RapReviews | Unscored | 95 | 2009 | |
| Entertainment Weekly via Wikipediaby Simon Vozick-Levinson | A- | 91 | ||
| Chicago Tribune via Wikipediaby Greg Kot | 3.5/4 | 88 | ||
| The A.V. Club via Wikipediaby David Bevan | B | 85 | ||
| Q via Wikipedia | 4/5 | 80 | ||
| AllMusic via Wikipediaby David Jeffries | 4/5 | 80 | ||
| Los Angeles Times via Wikipediaby Ann Powers | 3/4 | 75 | ||
| PopMatters via Wikipediaby Dave Heaton | 7/10 | 70 | ||
| Slant via Wikipediaby Paul Schrodt | 3/5 | 60 | ||
| Rolling Stone via Wikipediaby Jody Rosen | 3/5 | 60 | ||
| Pitchfork via Wikipediaby Ian Cohen | 4.1/10 | 41 | 2009 | “After co-writing several tracks with Kanye West and hits with Crookers, Kid Cudi releases his long-awaited debut album.” |
Every Sunday: the week's new albums, scored by the critics. Plus our own reviews when we post them. Free, and one click to leave.
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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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