Outlets: The Publications Behind Every Breakdown

Outlets

Every B-Side Breakdown is built from these outlets’ reviews. We check 38 outlets for every new album. 32 more reach us through the ratings boxes on Wikipedia’s album pages, many of them print magazines and record guides from before the web. Together that’s 30,896 reviews from 69 outlets.

Outlet notes

Most generousRobert Christgau85average score across 646 reviews, the highest of any outlet.
Toughest graderSlant63average score across 977 reviews, the lowest of any outlet.
Easiest to win overEntertainment Weekly94.7%of its reviews score the album 75 or higher, the highest share of any outlet.
Hardest to win overSlant24.1%of its reviews score the album 75 or higher, the lowest share of any outlet.
Closest to the crowdPaste8.2points, on average, from the other critics’ average for the same album (142 albums).
Its own earsEntertainment Weekly16.2points, on average, from the other critics’ average for the same album, the widest gap of any outlet (1,884 albums).
Full rangeDrowned in Sound21.8points: how far a typical review lands from its own average score, the widest swing of any outlet.
Steadiest handEntertainment Weekly6.7points: how far a typical review lands from its own average score, the tightest of any outlet.
Quickest to give a 100The Telegraph25.3%of its reviews give the album a perfect score (75 albums), the highest rate of any outlet.
Deepest crateAllMusic1955is the release year of the oldest album it has a score on here.
Vintage earsMusicHound Rock88.4%of its reviews here are of albums released before 1990, more than any other outlet.
New music firstPaste23.2%of its reviews here are of albums from 2025 or 2026, more than any other outlet.
First on the sceneExclaim!94.4%of its dated reviews came out in the album’s release week (107 reviews with dates).
A-Side regularAllMusic203A-Sides reviewed, more than any other outlet. A-Sides are the albums the critics rate highest.
SpecialistThe Source95.4%of its reviews here are Hip-Hop & Rap, the most focused of any outlet.
Biggest benchPitchfork272different critics with a byline on its reviews here, more than any other outlet.
Most reviewsAllMusic4,498of its reviews count toward Breakdowns, more than any other outlet.