Reviews (page 2 of 7)
Let's see. Let's do a vocal gymnastics song....check! Talk over that horrible bass hum...check! Now be really dreary over boring drumbeat....check! What about talk/sing really quickly over combo hum and boring drumbeat....yeah! Let's try sexy. The secret is to make it so glaringly obvious that this song is "edgy." Fuck off, it's just crass. I've heard her do some good songs, but this is every bad pop cliche thrown in the blender. Hard pass.
This is either completely shit or it’s just not for me. I can usually see the appeal in pop music even if it’s not what I’m into, but this feels like it’s lacking. The beats are nothing special. The lyrics say almost nothing. She’s never been a particularly interesting vocalist and some of her choices on this album are nothing short of irritating— “No Angel” comes to mind. It leaves one desperately asking, “What was the fucking point of this last hour of my life because there was certainly no point to that album’s existence.”
For a pop album, I thought this one was painfully boring. I have nothing against Beyoncé but holy sh*t that was a chore to get through that one.
"1001 albums to hear before you die". This list will literally kill me.
i mean
amazeballs
Musically lush. Lyrically..... like catching up with a friend who's never had a lover before and she's talking like she discovered passion and dirty words, and she *really* needs to make sure other people know. Also........... Jay-Z better thank all of the stars and stardust in firmament that Beyonce loves him. Like, the way he rapped about women....and he ends up with her?
I been thinkin I been thinkin, that this album is very good. Probably one of the first really good album that was introduced to me at an age where I could have more opinions on it
What’s there to say? It’s Beyoncé by Beyoncé.
peak
Memories from highschool came flooding while listening to this lmao. I remember the day this dropped, it was like everyone's world shifted. And honestly? rightfully so. (Side note: I wish Beyoncé made more neo-soul music!! Superpower and Rocket are hidden gems!!!!)
257/1089 what is your aspiration in life? XO, Blue and Drunk in Love are some of the best songs ever made idc, i remember the rollout for this album and just falling in love with some of these songs. XO especially is the epitome of 2010s poptimism imo just a really great album, Beyonce is just *that* good XO and Blue are forever faves 91/100
So I listened to the album two times. Once by the standard streaming version and again watching the visual companion film. From what I can conclude, Beyoncé really likes sex. In all seriousness, some of y'all are just bugging calling it hair-dressing salon committee music. This might be showing my age (and my hometown, 🤟) but I thoroughly enjoyed this. Even in the tracks where I questioned the production choices, I still felt that there was something to get out of each track. It might be too mainstream and shit, but I mean, I think this album is here for a good reason. I'm no Beyoncé Stan and I know this record changed the industry. It was a surprise drop in the middle of December, a move no one had really thought of up to that point. She had the nerve to drop it on a random Friday with videos and all when the standard was Tuesdays. That's why all the albums drop on Friday now. From an industry impact perspective, this makes sense to have it on this list. There's also the fact that this album fully transitioned Beyoncé into a visual icon. She was already iconic before this (she did the fuckin' Super Bowl) but being able to pull this off cemented her as an artist by all means. Then, Lemonade pushed that further into more honest grounds (it should be on this list too). One last thing I will say is that I think it's really funny how Jay Z is all up on his wife and watching her get all sexy only for him to go and fuck that up. Alright, I like this album. I'm young, I'm from Houston, fuck off (8/10, 5/5 on this scale)
MY QUEEN!
Remember when we thought she was killing people along with Diddy? Good times. 5/5
This is a no-skip album. One of the greatest ever made.
Anyone who thinks Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter isn't one of the greatest Pop stars of all time is racist, anti-women, and just plain wrong. Subtract one half-star because of Drake.
I'd probably rate this somewhere between 4 and 5, it is certainly not her best work. But to counter some clearly biased reviews: 5 stars for this iconic album.
estaba obsesionada con este álbum cuando salió, incluso lo llegué a tener en una usb para escucharlo en mi carro cuando el bluetooth me fallara. revisitarlo completo fue grato, trayendo de vuelta los tracks icónicos que lo componen.
Flawless, indeed.
I think anyone who follows pop music and pop culture remembers exactly where they were on December 13, 2013, when the news broke that Beyoncé had just surprise-released a full visual album. Fourteen brand-new songs, each with its own music video, dropped without warning. On that scale, it felt unprecedented. It wasn’t just an album release, it was a cultural event. Beyoncé was born a legend. From the very beginning, it carried the weight of something disruptive and transgressive. It marked a clear shift in her artistry, darker, more intimate, more experimental, and far more self-defined than anything she had done before. It felt cohesive, intentional, almost like entering fourteen different rooms of the same house, each revealing a different facet of her identity. The album includes some of her most enduring hits, Drunk in Love, Blow, Yoncé, Partition, XO, and Flawless. They’re hit after hit, bold and instantly recognizable. But beyond the singles, there are deeper cuts that elevate the album even further. Rocket is lush and sensual. Superpower carries a subtle emotional weight. Heaven reveals vulnerability. And Jealous, which I personally adore, shows a raw emotional side that didn’t necessarily dominate the charts but adds so much depth to the project. This album feels like a statement. It’s one of those moments where Beyoncé fully demonstrated the extent of her creative power, not just as a vocalist, but as a curator, a visual thinker, a cultural force. It changed the way major artists approach releases. After this, surprise drops became a strategy. But at that moment, it felt revolutionary. For all of those reasons, I can’t give it anything other than five stars. It’s cohesive, bold, beautifully produced, and culturally significant. It’s a flawless work in its execution. That said, it’s not my personal favorite Beyoncé album. The three that followed, Renaissance, Lemonade, and The Gift, resonate with me even more. For me, Renaissance stands at the top, followed by Lemonade, then The Gift. But that’s a deeper conversation for another day. As for Beyoncé, five stars. Perfect in execution, immaculate in impact, and forever a landmark moment in pop history.
Very sultry
its beyonce. five stars.
What a bop
Enjoyed pretty much every song
Gotta give it 5 stars or the missus will have me. Also is my favourite of hers to be fair. Don't love when she goes a bit rocksteady but still slightly better than Lemonade. Irritates me slightly that despite my years of record collecting, this is the most valuable record in our shared collection.
Flawless. Neat that Caroline Polachek has production credits on No Angel. Tons of great producers here.
a gold standard for pop. Beyonce nails it. Not much else to say, you'll definitely find something you'll like here if you're a Queen Bey fan.
Damn, so Beyoncé and Jay Z are fucking huh
I think Renaissance is her best album but I love this too
Great album! I haven't historically been a Beyoncé fan, but this album rocked. My team at work was psyched as well when this came up
What can one say? Beyoncé can't be touched. I'm not a huge fan personally, but it's easy to see how she dominates the pop charts. Her voice is unique and powerful, and the jams are original and fresh every time.
The QUEEN
Bey fam all day everyday
Je connaissais quelques pistes, l'album entier est une très bonne découverte ! Je m'attendais pas à ce que ce soit aussi varié. Ça fait du bien de changer de registre. 5/5
she ate
No doubt that this is one of the greatest
Two things. This record has been out way longer than I thought and 2 I've played the hell out of this album and didn't even realize it. It's such a great point in her career. She still is conscious of a pop sensibility but the album is personal and her own. I think this album allowed her to do anything she wanted after this. It's storytelling and music at it's best. Blue ivy is a teenager??
I remember this coming out my senior year of college and it still hits. XO, Flawless, Partition!!!! Incredible album, a little long. There are a few that I could live without. It's not quite a perfect album for me but the highs are HIGH
It was so fun to listen to this in full again after so many years! Second guessed giving it a 5 because lemonade which followed is the better album but a 4 wasn't enough.
It's wild how Lemonade, Renaissance, and Cowboy Carter should also be on this list. Giving this a 5 because the rating on here is way too low.
Surfboardt! Surfboardt! I sneezed on the beat and the beat got sicker. No further explanation needed!
Great album - because of the production. If Beyonce can do 2 things, it's sing and choose incredible producers.
Dope
For me this is the very best of Beyonce. I had already forgotten, how i used to have most of these songs on repeat. Great album. 🩷
She changed the game with that digital drop.
Fire!
🔥🔥🔥🔥
One of the biggest surprises of this project for me is how much I liked this. This album is sexy as fuck, in every sense of the word.
5, very listenable and fun. Incomparable.
4,75
Beautiful - Impactful - Powerful
Honestly from other Bee, this or Lemonade is her best work.
A great record - was struggling to find why Beyoncé is so highly rated - and this album explains it. Good pop, hip hop and soul - stunning voice and a huge influence on a lot music that came after it. I would put it up there head to head with the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Loved it!
I too get filthy when that liquor get into me. Superb. We be all night… Simpsons: Yes
Beyoncé’s fifth album Beyoncé is a remarkable piece of work in many ways. https://open.substack.com/pub/richcain/p/project-1001-beyonce-by-beyonce?r=4ztyq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
No notes!
Nice
A masterpiece.
Some fillers but many great songs.
I woke up like this! I was living in Japan when this album surprise dropped, so I got to watch it earlier than all of my friends in America. I remember being skeptical during "Pretty Hurts" but I was immediately sold by the next track, and video, "Ghost". I proceeded to watch this album regularly. I was in my first solo apartment and in a foreign country so I had a lot of time to just jam to Yoncé. If you have time to watch the visual album, I recommend it. It's beautifully done and adds a lot of context to the arc of the tracklist. Towards the end of my time abroad, a friend and her boyfriend (now husband) came to visit. We road tripped around and listened to a burned cd of this album. I have a distinct memory of us turning it up and belting "Rocket" more than once. How could you not want to sing that opening line?
This is one of those albums that brings back memories. I remember where I was in my life when this album came out. It was a staple in our house for a while. It’s still a classic — an ambitious, sprawling, sexy, genre-shifting album packed with great songs, surprising turns and cool details in the production. Here are some of my favorite parts: The skittering hip-hop drums on the moody “Haunted.” The silly Jay-Z verse on “Drunk in Love” I’ve heard so many times that it’s been etched into my brain forever. The bright neons and disco inflections on the sex jam “Blow.” The swagger of “Partition” and all its eyebrow-raising lyrics (“He Monica Lewinsky’d all on my gown,” “He like to call me peaches when we get this nasty”). The epic anthem “Flawless” (again with the swagger and those killer hip-hop snares). That slightly warped piano on “Blue,” which also almost sounds like “Over the Rainbow” in the beginning. I learned something new on this listen. The distorted backing vocals on “Rocket” that kind of sound like a guitar or a synth are Justin Timberlake! Great detail that adds a lot of style to the track. This is also one of those great albums where I bet everyone has their own favorite and least favorite songs. For me, I could pretty much always skip “Pretty Hurts” and just start the album at track 2. And the Drake-featuring “Mine” has some good bits but drags a little too. But whatever. Great albums don’t have to be perfect. This was a blast to revisit. Definitely one that I would include on my personal essential albums list.
**Album Review: _BEYONCÉ_ by Beyoncé – A Comprehensive Exploration** Beyoncé’s self-titled 2013 album, _BEYONCÉ_, was a landmark release, both in terms of its unexpected drop and the sonic and lyrical evolution it showcased. With no prior announcement, Beyoncé released the album as a "visual album" with 14 tracks and 17 accompanying music videos, revolutionizing the way music could be marketed and consumed. Beyond the shock value of its release, the album itself was a testament to Beyoncé’s maturation as an artist. In this in-depth review, we’ll examine the album’s lyrics, music, production, themes, and its cultural and musical influence while also discussing its pros and cons. ### 1. **Lyrics: A Deep Dive into Personal, Political, and Intimate Themes** The lyrics on _BEYONCÉ_ explore a range of personal, emotional, and occasionally political topics. Beyoncé dives into vulnerability, sexual empowerment, motherhood, self-doubt, and racial identity. The album is unflinchingly intimate in its revelations, reflective of a woman unafraid to present her multifaceted experiences. - **Vulnerability and Empowerment:** On "Pretty Hurts," the opening track, Beyoncé critiques society's obsession with beauty standards. The line “Perfection is a disease of a nation” explores the pressures women face to conform to societal beauty norms, while questioning the emotional toll this conformity takes. "No Angel" and "Mine" show a softer, more fragile side to Beyoncé, grappling with imperfection in love and the internal struggle of maintaining a relationship under constant scrutiny. "Haunted" portrays her search for something authentic amidst the pressures of fame and external expectations. - **Sexual Liberation:** Tracks like "Partition" and "Drunk in Love" present a confident and sensual Beyoncé. She revels in her sexual power, unapologetically embracing her role as both a wife and a sexually empowered woman. These songs flip traditional narratives around female sexuality, showing a woman who is in control of her desires and the narrative around her own body. The lyricism here is bold and provocative, especially in "Partition," where she teases with double entendres and evocative imagery. - **Motherhood and Feminism:** "Blue," dedicated to her daughter Blue Ivy, offers a heartfelt exploration of motherhood, reflecting Beyoncé’s fears and joys as a mother. The album overall carries an undercurrent of feminist themes. Beyoncé’s inclusion of a snippet from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED Talk on feminism in the song "***Flawless***" explicitly declares the album’s stance on gender equality, though not all tracks engage feminism in an overt way. **Pros of the Lyrics:** - Beyoncé’s lyrical exploration of various themes—love, desire, identity, power—is multidimensional and raw. - She balances emotional vulnerability with confidence, offering a refreshing take on womanhood, sexuality, and self-expression. - The inclusion of feminist commentary adds a layer of depth, contributing to ongoing conversations about gender equality. **Cons of the Lyrics:** - Some critics argue that while the lyrics are thematically rich, they sometimes lack the poetic intricacy of artists like Solange or Frank Ocean. The messages are clear, but they can be somewhat direct or simplistic. ### 2. **Music: A Bold Fusion of Genres and Styles** Musically, _BEYONCÉ_ is an eclectic album that showcases Beyoncé’s ability to experiment with different genres while maintaining cohesiveness. It’s a significant departure from her earlier works, marking a shift towards darker, moodier, and more experimental sounds. - **Genres:** The album traverses a wide spectrum of genres, including R&B, hip-hop, pop, soul, and trap. Tracks like "Haunted" and "Ghost" delve into electronic and minimalist beats, blending atmospheric soundscapes with Beyoncé's ethereal vocals. "Flawless" and "Drunk in Love" bring a trap-influenced edge, while "Superpower" leans into a smooth, nostalgic soul sound. - **Production Choices:** The album’s production is top-notch, with major contributions from a star-studded roster of producers, including Timbaland, Pharrell Williams, Detail, and Boots. _BEYONCÉ_ plays with sonic texture, utilizing layers of intricate beats, bass-heavy rhythms, and stripped-down instrumentals. Songs like "Partition" have a minimalist feel, where production is used sparingly to create space for Beyoncé’s voice and the sensual narrative to breathe. Conversely, tracks like "***Flawless***" and "Haunted" showcase dense, multi-layered production, with distorted beats, syncopated rhythms, and background harmonies. - **Vocal Performance:** Vocally, Beyoncé is at the peak of her powers on this album. Her delivery is versatile: from the aggressive, self-assured vocal performance on "***Flawless***" to the breathy sensuality on "Partition," she demonstrates range and control. In tracks like "Heaven" and "Blue," she dials back the technicalities, allowing emotion to take precedence over vocal acrobatics. **Pros of the Music and Production:** - The album’s ability to seamlessly blend diverse genres showcases Beyoncé's range as an artist and willingness to experiment. - The production is rich, textured, and impeccably crafted, lending depth to the thematic content. - Beyoncé’s vocal performances are captivating, emotionally resonant, and powerful throughout. **Cons of the Music and Production:** - For some listeners, the album’s genre-blending may feel disjointed, as it jumps between styles without much transition. - The minimalist and dark production may not appeal to fans of Beyoncé’s earlier, more radio-friendly pop sound. ### 3. **Themes: Intimacy, Empowerment, and Control** _BEYONCÉ_ is thematically ambitious, tackling issues of personal identity, female empowerment, and the intersections of intimacy and power. - **Empowerment:** One of the album's central themes is empowerment, both personal and sexual. Beyoncé presents herself as a woman fully in control of her desires, her body, and her image. The exploration of sexuality, particularly on tracks like "Partition" and "Blow," is a bold statement on female agency, flipping traditional gender dynamics that often portray men as dominant in sexual relationships. - **Control:** Beyond sexual empowerment, _BEYONCÉ_ touches on control in other facets of life. Beyoncé exerts creative control over the project itself, releasing it in a manner that eschewed traditional marketing strategies. She presents herself as the sole architect of her career, emphasizing the importance of self-determination. Songs like "Flawless" and "Pretty Hurts" illustrate her critique of societal expectations, especially regarding beauty standards, while simultaneously celebrating self-acceptance and confidence. - **Motherhood:** The theme of motherhood plays an important role in this album. "Blue" is a tender ode to her daughter, reflecting Beyoncé’s vulnerability and love in this new phase of her life. The track offers a softer, more maternal side of Beyoncé, contrasting with the edgier, more explicit themes in other songs. **Pros of the Themes:** - The album’s focus on empowerment, both in personal and public realms, is timely and necessary, contributing to broader cultural conversations. - Beyoncé’s willingness to be vulnerable about motherhood, marriage, and her insecurities is refreshing, humanizing her larger-than-life persona. - The album's exploration of power dynamics in relationships, particularly through the lens of sexuality and desire, is subversive and challenges traditional narratives. **Cons of the Themes:** - The feminist message is sometimes inconsistent; while certain tracks strongly promote female empowerment, others (like "Drunk in Love") have been critiqued for normalizing unhealthy relationship dynamics, leading to a lack of thematic cohesion. ### 4. **Cultural and Musical Influence** _BEYONCÉ_ left an indelible mark on the music industry and pop culture. It altered how artists release music and engage with their audiences. By dropping a surprise visual album without prior promotion, Beyoncé defied industry norms, inspiring other major artists (like Drake and Rihanna) to adopt similar surprise releases. - **Impact on Music Marketing:** The album’s release strategy was revolutionary, leveraging digital platforms and social media to bypass traditional promotion. This approach changed how albums are rolled out, marking a shift in the music industry’s focus towards digital-first marketing. - **Feminist Influence:** The album also became a cultural touchstone for feminism, particularly in pop music. Beyoncé’s incorporation of feminist ideas into mainstream music, especially with songs like "***Flawless***," helped push feminist discourse further into the public consciousness. - **Genre Evolution:** Musically, _BEYONCÉ_ helped to further blur the lines between genres, incorporating influences from trap, electronic, and alternative R&B. This helped solidify the trend of genre-fluid albums that would come to dominate the 2010s. **Pros of the Album’s Influence:** - The release strategy set a new industry standard, influencing how albums are marketed in the streaming age. - The album contributed to greater representation of feminist themes in mainstream music, fostering a more inclusive cultural dialogue. - It pushed musical boundaries, encouraging other artists to embrace genre-blending and more experimental sounds. **Cons of the Album’s Influence:** - The album's experimental nature might alienate listeners who prefer more structured, traditional pop music. - While the visual elements were groundbreaking, they arguably overshadowed the music itself at times, leading some to question whether the visuals were necessary for the album's impact. ### Conclusion _BEYONCÉ_ is a defining moment in Beyoncé’s career, a bold statement of personal, sexual, and creative freedom. Its strengths lie in its experimental production, fearless exploration of themes like empowerment and vulnerability, and its significant cultural impact. However, its risks don’t always pay off for all listeners— some may find its genre-blending jarring, and its feminist messaging occasionally inconsistent. Ultimately, _BEYONCÉ_ is a triumph of both artistry and marketing, marking Beyoncé as a visionary in both realms. The album stands as a testament to her evolution as an artist, solidifying her status as one of the most influential figures in modern music.
Love it!
i got this album ON Beyoncé’s birthday??? what an amazing coincidence. anyways, there is me before i listened to this album as a teen and there’s after. it truly opened my eyes to feminism, female sexuality and more. my friends and i used to quote the opening skit of Haunted all the time, and we used to have dance parties listening to Drunk In Love and Partition. i think that Lemonade or Renaissance might be better albums, but self-titled will always have a special place in my heart. 4.5
Nice
Highly enjoyable electro funk and R&B masterwork that is a passionate expression of female sexuality and feminist ideas. Drunk in Love, Blow, Partition, XO are all classics now, but also love the D’Angelo-esque Rocket and falsetto No Angel. The production is flawless, the guests are all stars, and Yonce is at the height of her superpowers.
Third self titled album in a row. Queen Bee slays as usual.
Not as good as lemonade, which isn't on this list.
The hype for this album following its' surprise release was legendary. As for the music, yeah, it lives up to the hype. Beyonce's voice is always a treat to listen to, plus the fact that some of these beats are stellar makes a very easy 5 for me.
este álbum no es mejor que el sexo este álbum ES el sexo. really strong 9/10.
Beyonce She makes great cohesive albums that tell stories. I like how she has interesting forms and transitions. Drunk in love is so great. Other favorites are Blow, Haunted, superpower, rocket. Great album but least favorite is the Drake song- I think it’d be better without it.
кайф вкусна вкусна алкоальбом: мексиканский коктейль с мескалем
Я раньше всегда думал (ну, примерно с возраста 12-14 лет), что вот подобная музыка это кринжатина попсовая, чисто для масс и тд. Что я мол такой любитель эксклюзивов и умной музыки, а попсовики все ничего не понимают. Но написать крутой альбом, чтобы вот так вот без анонсов его жёстко нараспродавать и вписать себя в историю - это круто же, и требует огромного количества усилий. Поэтому да, попсу ненавижу чуть меньше. Бейонсе надо послушать... Особенно трек Blow, епта, это что ващеееее
B was horny asl in 2014. All bangers.
Genius move by the list owner if he's fed me this in line with the release of Cowgirl Carter last week, cause I fucken loved that and was very happy to dive into this. Wishing I paid any attention at all to this in 2014. Interestingly triple j have evolved to playing Beyonce now but weren't at that point in 2014 (at that time triple j was my primary source of new music so this never came across my radar). To be fair 2014 me would've spat the dummy at jjj playing Beyonce anyway. Glad I (or at least my music taste) has got to a point where I can appreciate this without the "I hate all pop without exception" shtick because there honestly isn't a bad song on here. Partition holds up to any heavy hitters of its time (Rocky, Clipping etc), Blow is sexy af, the work on Rocket is perfection. I instinctively want to hate the Drake verse on Mine but even that's pretty good (especially the juxtaposition it brings). XO has got 2014 Kevin Parker/Tame written all over it too - based on this and Cowboy Carter she's a master at capturing the sound of the time and making it absolutely her own.
Easy 5.
Don't come at me but I'd only really heard Beyoncé's radio hits before this, but I still knew she is queen. Even so, I was very surprised how much I enjoyed this album, it was way more atmospheric than I expected (again, after only hearing her radio hits). Her voice is obviously killer. Like Lauryn Hill, I enjoy the storytelling intros to some songs. I liked the backing tracks, they were often grandiose without overshadowing the vocals. Disk 2 has some fun bonus additions but I will be mainly rating the album as Disk 1 from start to finish, as I feel it really wraps up into a perfect little package. Top songs: Pretty hurts Haunted** Partition XO Heaven Blue Ring off
It’s so fitting that we’re listening to this right as Cowboy Carter is released, as this album solidified for many, myself included, that Beyoncé can simply do whatever she wants to and it will end up as magnificent work. That is a testament to Beyoncé’s very apparent insistence and obsession with forming each detail of each track to be exactly how she envisions it alongside her co-conspirators. This album is a fabulous exploration of women’s sexuality, love, insecurity, and confidence. Due credit must be given to Beyoncé for centering and celebrating black female sexuality in particular in mainstream music and hip hop, where the male gaze has historically dominated how we see black women and their bodies. Musically, the album is beautiful, powerful, sensual, electric, and commanding. Bey’s vocals are, as usual, stunning and magnificent. Despite all of the experimentation this album contains and straying a bit away from her previous music, Beyoncé succeeds once again is creating art that can be described as nothing less than iconic. Faves: Pretty Hurts Drunk in Love Blow Partition Rocket XO Flawless (and the remix, of course) Superpower
This is perhaps Beyonce’s horniest album. Surfbord. 🏄♀️🏄♀️🏄♀️🏄♀️🏄♀️ Drunk in Love Blow Partition Rocket ***Flawless 7/11
This album is iconic. Every song slides into the next like butter and it’s even better when paired with the visual album. Bey sings about womanhood, motherhood, sex, and infidelity?? This album shocked the world in many ways but most notably the way she dropped it at midnight on iTunes with no prior announcements…and it still went number 1. Beyoncé not only inspired dozens of trends from this album but also dropped bangers that I still listen to frequently. 9.8/10 Faves: Pretty Hurts, Haunted, Partition, XO, FLAWLESS REMIX!!
A masterclass of production. I'm indifferent to Beyonce as an artist, but this album is a marvel of hip hop and R&B, with swooping pans, background synths and vocals fading into the background, each track doing unexpected things. Truly a marvel of modern pop production. While I only listened through fully once, this is an album that warrants multiple play throughs to digest.
Really great. Beyoncé has the kind of vocal agility I dream of — I feel like she can do anything with her voice, strong like Adele or floaty and dreamy. And it was fun to have a modern one. Side note, for some reason I thought Beyoncé made wholesome family music, but I guess not. 9/10
I see what all the hype is about.
So. Many. Bangers.
Surfbword This album is full of bangers, don’t try and fight it. Not sure there’s a miss on here. Fave Tracks: Pretty Hurts, Drunk in Love, Blow, Jealous, XO, Blue 4.8/5
cool
I'm not sure if there is any single song that stands above the rest, but really truly very quite rather solid as a whole.
I mean...its beyonce
🎤let me hear you say heyy ms. carter 🗣️ hey ms. carter🗣️ 🎤say heyyyy ms. carter 🗣️heyy ms. carter🗣️
This transcends generations. A great album.
Each album of Destiny's Child / Beyoncé solo always contained a couple of killer songs but I always struggled to listen to their albums in one go. This album is different - it is great from start to finish.
Rating: 10/10
Don't think this is perfect, but the highs are so good and it's such an ambitious piece of work that it's hard to justify any less than the full 5
The amount of 1 star reviews with ignorant as fuck comments this album got is appalling to me. People calling it 'Department Store' or 'Hair Salon' music.... are you for real? This was the first album where Beyonce stopped caring about number 1 hits and just did what she wanted to do creatively. She has continued this trend in her career ever since. Also folks saying other people do all the work and she just shows up to sing.... literally watch 5 minutes of any documentary about her and you will see she is one of the most hardworking women in the industry. She's a perfectionist. She has final say on everything and is an incredibly savvy businesswoman. This isn't even my favorite album of hers and it's fine if this isn't everyone's cup of tea....but to completely dismiss it as 'top 40 pop' is absolutely ridiculous. Drunk in Love and Partition are two of the most iconic songs of the last 2 years without a doubt. Where are all my girls and gays at ffs
Iconic, love her and it’s awesome to hear a song like Haunted turn into Renaissance 10 years later. Crazy crazy
A defining and landmark album both for the artist and for how albums are released.
Smokin' hot. 5 stars.
utter perfection.
Great lively record
Pretty Hurts is a lackluster tracks because of the hook, but I am digging the sonic landscape queen B is putting out. Haunted and Drunk In Love are killer, though I think Jay-Zs verse in it is weak. Blow rocks, No Angel is an impressive vocal line but I'm not taken with the song. Partition is fine but Jealous is so good. Rocket is so good! She is so masterful in her control of rythmic dissonance. Heaven is minamilist lyrics wrought to devasting effectiveness. what a killer record.
Beyoncé fans don’t play bruh. This wiki page is FAT. Loving this so far. XO is the first track that’s meh to me. Not bad just seemed a little flat especially compared to the rest of the album. God damn the remixes and bonus tracks are heat, I feel like it’s rare for the deluxe tracks to ever be good. The kanye feature 😍😭 First time I wish I could give half stars. Easy 4.5 A couple misfires but besides that it was really great. Imma give beyonce her flowers cause I get it now
Great at every turn. I was expecting this an album to feel a bit dated (it is already ten years old). But it doesn’t at all. “Rocket” is now far and away my favorite Beyoncé song.
yeah this is one of my favorite beyonce albums for a reason. just hit after hit, and some really great producers doing some of their best work. also, it alone is the reason why albums release on fridays now instead of tuesdays, which is a fun fact.
Marvellous
Just more evidence that she's one of the greatest of all time.
One of my favourite albums ever.
Wonderful
Oh goodness I hope I like this. I feel like Pretty Hurts is trying to making a grand statement and I'm missing it. Okay, HAUNTED I get. Powerful. Geeze. I don't know if I've ever listened to a more danceable album. I expected vapid pop. The time changes! The key changes! The production value! wow. Haunted, Flawless, XO, Jealous, Blow, what a a great album!
A game changer
Yeah this album slaps.
Epic. This was Beyoncé becoming a queen. This was the transformation.
I love Beyoncé
very good obvi
Amazing, as expected
About as sexy as pop music gets.
five stars
duh
El punto de inflexión en la carrera de Beyoncé. El álbum “Beyoncé” caminó para que “Lemonade”, su mangnus opus, y mi álbum favorito, corriera.
on yer mouth like likker. Houston shit, 3rd ward shit. I knew drunk in love of course, a monster song somehow both elevated and stunted by the JayZ (he and kendrick still mystify me as to their popularity/acclaim) verse. It's dumb and wimpy as hell but I still end up singing it all the time - I'm Niceee... Hol' up. The rest of the album is both distinct and of a piece like all great albums are, and I like the production a lot, and the energy. Haunted is nice, interesting that BOOTs did this and essentially nothing else?
Queen for a reason
Lots of energy and variety. Which is good because this album is forever long. Not all the tracks are winners but Beyoncé ruled the airwaves in 2014 for a reason.
Not my favourite Beyonce album, but still highly enjoyable. The lyrics here have bite and they hit hard despite Beyonce sweet vocals. The production is great and some really big songs like ‘Drunk in Love’ and ‘XO’ and ‘Superpower’
Okkk. Se mi zdi, da sm ga vsaj enkrat v celoti že, pa itak se spomnim, ko so komadi izhajal (osebno mi je bil Lemonade amazing, pa un nastop na Coachelli - ufff). "Pretty Hurts" je kr dobr opening track. U ja, sm poslušala ta album, spomnim se teh posnetkov mejhne Beyonce. "Haunted" je fakin hud, kako se razvija skozi svojih 6 minut. "Drunk in Love" je ikoničen Tud če ni moj najljubši. Mislm, zj sm pr Jay-Z delu - on men nikol ni bil všeč k rapper. Don't get the hype at all. Vokalne sposobnosti in general showmanship žene? Impeccable. U, "Blow" mi je bil zmer hud. Video je tud perfektn za ta komad ki je nasty disco, basically. "Partition" rab besedo, k je somehow več k 'ikoničen'. (Kako sm loh pozabila, da je ta album tok horny?) "Rocket" je beautiful. "Mine" & "XO" mi nista dbest. "Heaven" uniči the sexy vibe k ga je Beyonce skozi album kultivirala & zadnji komad isto ("Blue").
It's hard to rate this album w/o considering what Beyoncé was doing before this came out. This record was the start of an "artistic" period for her. But when I first listened to it, I only paid attention to how she was exploring different genres under a loose electronic vibe. I was also fascinated by how she was feeling herself in this album, how frank she was about sexuality. There were a few songs that stood out to me like Blow for its roller skating funk, Partition and No Angel for their minimalist beats (one more energetic and the other chill), Rocket for sounding like D'Angelo's Untitled, and Haunted for its transition from spoken word to a thumping, electronic atmosphere. That said, some songs were also filler to me (Jealous, XO, Pretty Hurts). If I had to choose an album that best represented Beyonce in this decade, it'd have to be Lemonade. This is more so a taste of what was to come (3.5-4).
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would
I actually don't know if I've ever been through this front-to-back. The first song was super fun, and I supposed I never realized how many ludicrously popular songs were on this record. This is the album that gave us "I sneezed on the beat, and the beat got sicker," which is enough to give it a high score. But I found it fun at times, very sad at others, and overall a very full portrait of a very interesting person. Cool!
I recall this being the point where I found Beyoncé “cool”. The lows drag a little bit, but I’ll round up because I like the hits and vibe. Why It Matters (Memory Version) In 2013, when the music industry relied on months of promotion and singles-driven marketing, Beyoncé suddenly released an entire visual album with no warning and changed expectations for how major artists could launch music. The album fused mainstream pop with darker, more experimental R&B while presenting Beyoncé as a fully autonomous creative force rather than simply a superstar performer. Its influence can be seen in surprise releases, visual-album rollouts, and the artistic freedom embraced by artists ranging from Beyoncé’s own later work to Drake, Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, and Taylor Swift. Outside music circles, it is remembered less as a collection of songs and more as the album that rewrote the modern pop-star playbook.
I've mostly heard Beyoncé big singles and some small songs, so I wasn't really sure what a full album by her would involve. This was a solid album! She has quite a powerful voice!
1001 albums to hear before you rock hard then rock steady 93# Blow is fantastic Rocket is just a D'Angelo song and i'm not complaining.
She has a great voice but I didn't latch onto the music itself.
Bop
The videos totally change this for me. Visual vignettes bathed in the power, outrage, vulnerability and tenderness of being a black woman, wife, mother, boss, creator.. . while the music isn’t always what I enjoy, a genius she clearly is.
Me gustó conocer canciones no tan populares de una artista que se destaca por lo mismo. Tiene canciones creativas con mensajes lindos (el caso de la primera canción) y también atrevidos... Muy buena producción en todos los casos.. aunque no sea de mi gusto totalmente.
Really nice
Classic bey, eh? Big surprise was Blow, absolute banger that seemingly didn't get much airtime over the years. A jam tho
Really excited to read about this one. Impressive Beyonce.
Might be my favorite Beyonce album....I remember reading that she invited a bunch of musical talent to her house at the Hamptons and set up a "summer camp" as she described it, which is a cool way to make an album and get some different ideas. Definitely her horniest album. Some songs are weak (including Jay-Z having the lamest verse of all time on "Drunk in Love") but overall I feel like its her most varied album and has some really great production. I like "Partition" and "Blow" the best, "Pretty Hurts" is a cool opener. Has some corny indulgent moments but overall its a solid 4.
El disco antes de Lemonade, Renaissance y Cowboy Carter. El que viene después de los exitosos cuatro anteriores. Con este Beyoncé se ganó el respeto mundial, si es que no lo tenía ya. Pretty hurts te eleva, Haunted sigue con una estructura y una producción perfectas. Drunk in love fue el sencillo principal del disco. Flwaless y Mine (con Drake) son otros buenos ejemplos. Blow es R&b con garra. Rocket es sedosa y elegante. Heaven también. Un disco pletórico para una Beyoncé imparable.
I can’t believe this album is over 10 years old. I didn’t listen to it in full at the time, but I do vividly remember its release. It’s easy to forget that surprise drops were not the way things were done, and certainly not how the cornerstone pop stars were doing it. I wish I could remember how “Pretty Hurts” hit at the time. Hearing it now it rings a little hollow and even dated; I don’t know if that’s what I’d choose as the album opener, but I am obviously not Bey, so what do I know. Thankfully “Haunted” picks things back up. Overall it’s a lot of fun, stuffed with great production and vocal performances. Often steamy. I wish the songs themselves were a little shorter; there’s a sprawl to this that isn’t always to its benefit (I really don’t understand why that Drake song is over six minutes long, for example, even if I begrudgingly like his feature.) I don’t think it’s her best work (I’d give that to ‘Renaissance’), but it is maybe her most important as far as shaping popular music goes. If someone asked me what pop music in the 2010s sounded like, this would be one of the albums I’d point to.
yesssssss. the boomers just came in and said "this sucks" but im a "teenage girl" and is wise enough to determine what sucks and what dont. 4/5
I’m giving this a 4 more out of respect for her talent than anything else. I’m not really a Beyoncé fan myself, but man, she can sing. Even when a song wasn’t totally my thing, there was never any question who was carrying it. She has that level of presence where she can make almost anything sound bigger than it is. There’s also a whole lot of sexual innuendo all over this album, which definitely became part of the experience. Some of it worked better than other parts, but overall I could at least appreciate how confident the whole thing felt Favorite song: “Drunk In Love”
one word. „partition”? MORE LIKE PERFECTION. „partition” is eating. favorite song „***flawless” and „7/11”, second fav „partition”. honorary mention „haunted” or „drunk in love”. i’d say this album was solid, gave me 2-3 songs that i’d put on my playlist and the rest is also good woahhh!! queen.
Ms. Knowles-Carter was horny.
Confidence, swagger, bravado, whatever you want to call it. Beyoncé’s attitude on most of the album can be described that way. Fearless as well. The lyrics feel very personal and raw. There is also a lot of sexual energy, but it seems like it is on her terms, which matters. Probably want to skip this one in the presence of minors though, due to the graphic nature of some of the songs. Standout tracks for me were Haunted, XO and Heaven.
This album has a handful of bangers and is entertaining throughout.
I listened through most of this and didn't really feel connected to the music. It just all seemed the same, slow jam, sexy thing over and over. It wasn't bad, but it just felt meh. After chatting with someone else they suggested watching videos and that this album was meant to be a visual experience on top of the music so I watched some of the videos. That did increase my enjoyment and connection to the music. I also was able to get a little more into the lyrics and songs. It helped to pull out the female empowerment and more relationship topics she was including in her songs. She is absolutely beautiful and stunning. I am not sure I am have going to be a true Bey fan but I can at least appreciate that her talent.
I love what a deep dive this is into the female experience. There is so much power and beauty and fierceness in being a woman, and she just brings it all out there. From ridiculous beauty standards to love and jealousy to empowered sexuality to becoming a mom, this was an impressively produced journey through her soul. The song are very layered and lush. She really is a queen. Favorite tracks were Pretty Hurts, Haunted, XO and Flawless. Spotify only had the video accompaniment for a handful of the songs, which I was bummed about. I'll have to look up the rest of them some other time, but the videos that were there really did add to the power of those tracks.
8/10 – Very Good
The fact that this is at a 2.86/5 is atrocious. No it’s not some sort of incredible masterpiece, but it deserves some level of recognition for what it did for the music landscape as a whole. Y’all ever pull your heads out of your asses long enough to notice that shit doesn’t get released on a Tuesday anymore like it did back in your prime (RYM I love you, these insults are directed at the pricks who log on to 1001 and give this pretty alright album a 2/5)? Anyway this is pretty good yeah. Pretty hurts is a wonderful song, and there are a couple other great songs too, such as Blue and Heaven. I’d actually already heard this one but it still brings good memories. 7.6/10
3.75 A little disappointed that so many of the reviews here seem dismissive of this, unwilling to engage, just because this is Beyoncé. This is a really good album, with incredible production that really sounds mid-2010s. That Frank Ocean influence jumps out of the record. There’s hits, there’s deep cuts, and Beyoncé’s incredible voice. I really enjoyed listening to this. I could have probably done with one less song about having sex with Jay-Z, tho.
Definitely Beyoncé’s horniest album with blow & partition but damn it’s full of bangers. Couple misses (mainly No Angel) is keeping this out of a 5 for me. Fave songs: Drunk in Love, Blow 4/5
Not many artists can make a pop record that stands the test of time, but Beyoncé showed here that she can.
This is a quite a dark album and feels like Beyonce's rallying cry to women everywhere to at the very least explore the way in which an inherently patriarchal society impacts their aspirations, expectations and sexuality. The audio clips included in the song give a pointed insight into Beyonce's struggle to be recognised as talented and successful artist. As a white man, this album is not really made for me. But it allows me to explore the way in which a marginalised group feels by the everyday actions of people that look just like me. And it doesn't feel great. A very powerful album, masquerading as a beautifully arranged pop album. It is easy to see why Beyonce is a global superstar. (3.900)
Pretty impressive pop/R&B record. More musical variety than I was expecting. Lyrical themes of sexuality, monogamy and feminism. Standouts are poignant leadoff "Pretty Hurts", highly sensual and funk-influenced "Blow", and hip-hop "7/11".
“Your breastesses is my breakfast” Poetry.
Nice album.
Favorite Track: XO
Seductive and entrancing
Listened to and from work. Didn't watch the visual version. I am certainly not the target audience for this album but I can certainly acknowledge the importance and the weight of it. I enjoyed it a lot, especially Beyonce's vocal range and mastery of a variety of styles throughout. I'm so torn between 4 and 5 stars but I think on this occasion I'm going to round down.
Beyoncé I didn't know you like that... vocally talented to another degree 8.1/10 4/5
It’s Beyoncé!! Second album in a row over an hour and this one was MUCH better. Really enjoyed this album. Couple songs that weren’t my favorite but some good bangers.
Stopped at Blue because it's current 23:30, but great album. Reading while listening to it was very enjoyable, Beyonce does wonders with her voice, puts the emotion where and when it sounds the best.
For everyone hating on this, are you really that pathetic, pretentious and consider yourself so different? Beyonce deserves a spot on this list. She is massive and one of the most important artists in music right now. Sure, this album has a lot of fillers, but you can't deny the fact that she has to be on this list. In fact, this is called 1001 albums you have to listen before you die, not before you kill yourself. For all the stupid people here, go listen to Elvis Costello and shut the fuck up. That being said, Beyonce sounds incredible as always, but some of the songs on this record are just fillers. The production though is amazing and it really defined the sound of that era.
That moment when Beyonce turned from one of popstars to an actual interesting artist in my eyes...
You had to be there (college during the Obama years).
Top 3: 1. Haunted 2. Pretty Hurts 3. Blue Least Favourite: ***Flawless
Very good! I was surprised when it went into Prince territory, but I liked it.
wayyyyy overhated people just hate to see a woman succeed
I love this album with a lot of songs that are classics now. The sound is more mature and the theme more sexual but like how she sounds. The featuring are kind of a let down except with Jay-Z.
This album is brilliant. My exposure to Beyonce has been through her performances, which are heavily choreographed. It was good to experience just her voice, and now I get it.
fun to have a newer album, good vibes Pretty hurts and XO my faves
I was really happy to see a woman on this page after so many days of listening to men in the 60s/70s trying to sound cool. I focus my personal music taste on female artists. I am only familiar with her hits and her most recent album Cowboy Carter, so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect going into this. Note: I watched the whole visual album for this. God is certainly a woman. I truly was not ready for just how sexual this was going to be. About six songs in a row, all at the front of the album, just about as explicitly about sex as you can get. It was a little fatiguing, but I still had fun and enjoyed them. Blow and Rocket were my favorite of these hyper sexual tracks. I thought the back half of the album was more enjoyable for myself personally. The songwriting is strong and I really enjoyed the subjects she explored. Beyonce is really good at creating a mood with her music. She sets a vibe sonically and lyrically that always comes across so clearly. Vocals were very strong, of course. She really has such a beautiful feminine tone. Production goes pretty crazy. So many ideas are explored and fully fleshed out. It's primarily R&B but also has that pop influence that makes it appeal to a wide audience. I think Beyonce's best moments here are stripped down with layered vocal harmonies. No complaints about mixing; it really feels like a labor of love. This is certainly one of the stronger, fully formed ideas I've listened to so far. The quality and the effort really stands out and she certainly accomplished what she was going for. I don't think this is quite a 5, but pretty close. Not much I enjoy more than seeing a beautiful woman confident in herself and serving absolute c*nt. It also makes me happy that a bunch of men watched this and got uncomfortable with that image and rated it low. Some of y'all just can't handle a confident woman, and I'll gladly keep this for myself. 4.3/5.
Let me guess, all the comments are talking shit.
Not bad at all.
The worst part of this album was having to listen to Drake. Absolute banger otherwise. Can't believe I've been missing out on Beyonce all these years. Heaven and Pretty Hurts are my favorites.
Name another sprawling artistic opus that's this horny. It makes Purple Rain look like Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (Yet Jay-Z still cheated on Beyoncé a couple years later.) I'm here for both the horniness and the electro R&B, though this album is a little too much of a good thing for me. Standouts are "XO," "Jealous," and "Pretty Hurts," along with "7/11" and "Ring Off" from the platinum edition. The extra tracks also hearken back to days before Kanye and Nicki Minaj lost their minds.
I never choose to listen to Beyonce but everytime I do I'm entertained and impressed. Believe it or not I'm not sure I'd ever heard any of these songs before except maybe drunk in love. Mine is pretty cringe-y. Jealous is pretty great. All that said, this is extremely good, but I can never get too into albums where it's created by a committee well into the double digits.
Great Beyance classics. Good listening, probably wouldn't own it.
I expected to hate this, but I didn't. What I do hate is, that on youtube it's all videos with long intros. it takes the flow out of the album. Favorite song: blow.
Earns her billions.
Why everyone be hatin' on Beyonce and pop music? Old farts ya'll are!!
Really solid album
Classic Beyoncé album with radio hits I remember from my childhood like Drunk in Love and XO.
Buen disco. Bastantes bangers. Horny af de una manera que no me esperaba. Jay-Z es el mayor sinvergüenza de la historia por tener a la piba escribiendo un disco entero sobre follárselo para que luego le pusiese los cuernos. Se merece cada segundo de Lemonade. Me animó bastante el hacerme la cena. Debería escuchar más Beyoncé.
I’ll admit that I rolled my eyes when I got this album. After listening to it, I felt pretty silly about that. This is a fantastic record by an absolute boss of the business. Queen Bey sounds amazing throughout the record, and the production is top notch throughout.
This is a pretty good pop record! I really liked it.
It’s great, but the hype is still a mystery to me.
This had some bops.
First Listen; 4; I can tell why this album is catchy and well liked. It sounds good, the songs are well produced and diverse, and Beyonce is obviously a talented vocalist. It's still really not my kind of music though and it's not something I would come back to listen to a whole album, but certainly enjoy listening to singles.
beyonce!
Lots of classic Beyonce on this. Not my favorite album by her but I think it mostly holds up.
absolutely bonkers. while i'm someone who doesn't listen to ms. knowles casually, i am someone who has watched several hours of video essays about her. ms. knowles, as an artist, is endlessly fascinating because she's a businesswoman first and foremost, and it's because of her business savvy that she's able to create such visionary work. also, her music is pretty great too!! i kept on having to check what year this album came out as i was listening to it - some of these tracks i recognize and can place chronologically, but others sound like a synthesis of pop / electronica sampled from the years 2008 to 2012. after some cursory research i saw this album was labelled under the electro-r&b genre, which makes a lot of sense to me of where it originated sonically (specifically thinking about the track haunted here, which, to the surprise of no one, was my #1 highlight from this album). i liked this album a lot more than i thought i would, and my opinion going into this album is the same coming out: it's a shame this is the only beyonce album on 1001. not even getting into the visual album aspect (which i feel like i could write another 500+ words about, but i'm already behind on album ratings so i won't), this album carries a grandeur (to use an antiquated early 2010's term: epic-ness, perhaps??) that's difficult to refute. like, ms. knowles knows what she's doing here, right!! she knows how to make great music - i don't really care, otherwise, if this was hyper-engineered in a lab and has a superficial common denominator (read: mass appeal without risk) re: feminist messaging. highlights - haunted, drunk and in love, blow, no angel, partition, mine, xo, flawless
I went in thinking I got some great r&b which maybe in there but most of all I’m excited to have finally find a new album to have sex to , having overplayed the weekend 10 years ago
Guess who's jealous of Adele... 3.5/5
I enjoyed this quite a bit. Added a few tracks to my playlist. She has such a soothing voice.
I would never besmirch the good name of Queen B but personally I prefer Lemonade.
This was ***Flawless.
Beyone'i repertuaariga olen pigem põgusalt enne tutvunud. See album on kõvasti tumedam ja alternatiivsem, kui ma oleks oodanud. Suur temaatika on muidugi seks. Siin on palju võimsaid lugusid ja produ on uskumatul tasemel. Mitut lugu saadab ka provotseeriv muusikavideo, mida tasub kindlasti vaadata, see on albumi kuulamisel eriline kirss tordil ja minusugusele inimesele annab võibolla sisu paremini edasi kui muusika sõnad. Iga lugu kuidagi eristub teistest. Isegi kui album on peaagu poolteist tundi pikk, siis vaheldust on siin piisavalt, et ma kuulan huviga terve kogemuse läbi. Ma avastasin siit ka, et John Mayeri "XO" on kaver Beyonce'i originaalist. Albumi pealkiri "BEYONCE" on igati õigustatud. Siia albumile pole muusikat pandud pelgalt muusika väljalaskmiseks, vaid see on Beyonce'i kui artisti suur eneseväljendus ja peegeldus tema tolleaegsest olekust.
So many bangers on this joint
This may have been the first Beyoncé album I’ve listened to in full. I didn’t realize how horned up she is! Tons of great tracks on here, and it is a pretty good blend of sensual and soulful. Best Track: Blue (feat. Blue Ivy)
The undefeated Queen of Pop
I have always been fairly neutral towards Beyoncé but I've also never really listened to any of her music voluntarily. I liked it well enough.
Big banging songs
I don’t understand the hating on modern pop. All said, Lemonade would be the better choice
hella hits on this album, probably the best remixes ive heard on a disc 2 set, and just absolutely raw talent. Mrs. Carter knocks it out the park here.
After the first song "Pretty Hurts" I thought that this album would be a deep message about the female experience in a world that that puts so much emphasis on looks. Instead, this is one of the most sexual albums I have ever heard. It goes from saying that living up to others beauty standards is painful and that you should just be happy with yourself to I'm the sexiest person in the world. Not upset by that. Just not what I expected after that start.
Pretty hurts - 7/10 Haunted - 6/10 Drunk in love - 8/10 blow - 7/10 no angel - 6/10 partition - 8/10 jealous - 6/10 rocket - 7/10 mine - 8/10 XO - 8/10 Flawless - 6/10 superpower - 7/10 heaven - 6/10 blue - 8/10
more of a 3.5 for me, but there are some great songs on here that are still iconic today. some of these comments are just breathtakingly racist, though. at worst, this is a mid album depending on your tastes. i simply don't believe that this is the worst pop album some of you have listened to! it is not the truth! it's a shame XO uses that bizarre sample of the challenger explosion because it's a great song - one of my favorites by beyonce.
>looks at the comments >thinly-veiled racism, misogyny, and a general fear of pop music abound >michael bluth voice: i don't know what i expected i was actually paying attention to the radio in 2014 but somehow i totally missed this album and its singles. i honestly don't think i had heard any of these songs before (but of course had heard all the memes and buzz about SURF-BORT). there are definitely some duds and songs/features that have not aged well here (looking at you, drake) but overall this is solid stuff. beyonce's voice sounds great as always and the production/instrumentation on these tracks is some of the best money can buy. the clips from her past are a nice addition as well, really makes everything feel more real and less like a soulless commercial release, but there's still enough long and drawn out filler that it's definitely not a five star from me. favorites: pretty hurts, haunted, drunk in love, partition, xo, blue
A morning of listening to Beyonce telling me how much she fucks while building ikea furniture lmao. The best line has to come from Jay Z tbh, with "you're a milf and I'm a motherfucker" LMAO. lyricism. I did enjoy the vine-like "daddy what are you gonna do with all this ✨️ASS✨️" I should start saying 'no rest in the kingdom' next time I can't sleep too. There was also a Drake jumpscare which unfortunately was a very catchy song. Had a fun time overall, just not one to share with the parents
Excellent album. This album really lets you see the continual evolution of Beyoncé and her art.
Ok
Mid 4
I enjoy Beyoncé but Lemonade or Renaissance really should have been the pick over this. Still a nice pop album though
This was a solid self-titled album from Beyoncé! I felt like this album is a sexy good time and many of the songs are very catchy and fun to listen to. Drunk in Love and Partition are my two standout tracks from this album. I would definitely listen to this album again in the future!
Pas mal de sons connus, je ne pensais pas que c’était y a déjà 11 ans… pas mon album préf mais beaucoup de sons variés et queen b = c’est une vibe générale
I remember this coming out and being such a cultural moment. It’s aged about as well I expected it to (very well). I’m never going to be the biggest Beyoncé fan but this still feels like such a landmark album and the blueprint for so much music that came after it.
Would never listen to this normally, but I was impressed. Beautiful voice.
This was probably my first real memory of Beyonce as a solo artist. Unsurprisingly, it's very good. If not for a few tracks that I'd consider duds, this would've been 5 stars. And I'm a JAY-Z fan but damn he basically ruined Drunk in Love. Just stfu and let her cook, dude. 4/5 Highlights: Pretty Hurts Drunk in Love Partition Jealous Rocket XO
Had fun with this but am in a rush today so I'm just sayin' 3-4
Dope
Really well produced. Majid Jordan, Pharrell, Caroline Polacheck, Timbaland etc. contributing some good ass songs on here. Also enjoyed Beyonces performance on here. Forgot how much I enjoyed the song with Drake
Beyonce's Beyonce by Beyonce is pretty decent. Nice intro to beyonce and what she's about 82/100
Dunno what everyone is complaining about, this was a fun listen.
Pretty solid album
Thinking of all the reviews that point out how many writers are credited on this record, which does, on the face of it, make you wonder how personal any of this can be. But the thing is, it really does sound personal. Not like I hang with the Carters, so who knows whether the story she's telling is true, but does this matter? And shouldn't we be impressed that with, or despite the whole big machine, the result feels so real?
This one took me days to fully absorb. What an ambitious and well structured project that seems to show such a progression. The first half exploring identity/lust is just non stop bops. I was floored by Beyoncés rapping on the first half of partition before the beat switch. Unfortunately the love/infatuation era was pretty weak: jealous and rocket were just OK, Mine was garbage with a shit drake feature, and XO is an abysmal early 2000/2010s era poprock throwaway ala imagine dragons or kings of leon. These four tracks really did this album dirty. Flawless is pretty good with a nice meaning, superpower is pleasant and the frank ocean feature is well used, and Heaven really starts to bring everything to a close. But Blue is an absolutely outstanding closer. All around this was an intricately crafted and well produced album with a few duds (and one skip) in the middle. 4/5
Love. Classic Beyonce. Joy in that full-throated singing.
I am not a dance/pop listener so my initial reaction to having to have to listen was closer to burdened than excited. I gave it my attention, though, and had to take a step back. The progressions are a little more complex than I expected and the lyrics dark, moody, brooding at times. There are strong sexual overtones to most songs and sometimes outright "gratuitous" lyrical content. I guess it was edgy at the time. A few songs reminded me of Drake circa Take Care and I think I heard a few samples or similar lyrics cited or copied. 1 - 10? I give it a 7. I think I will give it another listen, since I was fiddling with the new subwoofer I added to my sound system and had to step out at a couple of moments.
Queen!
Not a genre I normally listen to, but I appreciate the creativity and growth here from Beyonce's earlier music.
Mostly pretty good. A ton of variety throughout and Beyoncé does it all quite well. Production is also very cool. 7/10
It’s not as good as some of her others. But I did like it.
Some good tunes, some self indulgence; would have made a better single record
Strong singing overall from Beyoncé. Feel the genuine emotion of love when it’s up and down as well as added societal expectations for a woman in todays world. Didn’t need the Drake feature but liked the Frank Ocean one
Love Beyoncé! Not my favorite album of hers but definitely has some good songs
Banger after banger
Maybe the worst Beyonce album to start with? I don’t think she has a bad album, but this is bottom two or three. That said: 12 liked songs
Beyonce's self titled album is her fifth studio album, which was composed, produced, and released as a "surprise album." The album was release with no promotion, no singles, and no prior announcement. As Bey collaborated with writers, producers, and a video team - it's released as a "visual album," a feature-length film was produced with the album - maintaining the "surprise" is a significant accomplishment. Nonetheless, it topped the album charts during the first week it was released. The album includes a number of experiments into electro-soul - a range of dance beats as structures for Beyonce's incredible voice. These tracks are of an impressive range, leading many to suggest that this is the best of her work.
go bakc?
Love her range, sounds and attention to detail in the production, a bit bummed most if not all of these are about Jay-Z.
01) Pretty Hurts - 10,0 02) Haunted - 8,5 03) Drunk In Love - 10,0 04) Blow - 8,5 05) No Angel - 8,0 06) Partition - 9,0 07) Jealous - 9,0 08) Rocket - 8,5 09) Mine - 7,5 10) XO - 10,0 11) Flawless - 8,0 12) Superpower - 8,5 13) Heaven - 7,5 14) Blue - 8,0 TOTAL: 8,64 (86/100) Current ranking: 87/564
Every Beyoncé album I've ever heard has been somewhere between average-good. This is definitely at the 'good' end of the spectrum, but I'm still baffled when I see it appear in places like Apple Music's 100 Greatest Albums of All Time. There are a couple of weaker and more forgettable tracks (e.g. Rocket).
Some of the best pop music I’ve heard.
Objectively, this is a very good album. I don't know why people have issue with it. If you want to listen to the same shit you've listened to thousand times then maybe you shouldn't go through this list.
It works for what it does. Also Babak should have put a ring on it 😂
Quite good I see why people love her. Not something I’d usually spin but very much enjoyable and I am glad I had an excuse
It’s a bit of a shame that THIS album is how Queen Bey is represented on here. After this album she really caught her artistic stride and has put out three PERFECT MASTERPIECES. And that’s a hill I’d die on.
Good but not great. She’s got a great voice though!
I’ve always enjoyed Beyoncé despite pop not really being my go to. I enjoyed this album but not enough of the songs were memorable enough to merit a 5 star.
I’m mixed on this album because there are songs on here that I love. My favorite thing about Beyonce is her voice, it’s an instrument to me. I think some of the more pop leaning records over power her voice and it takes me out of the record. But the records where the production is simple and her voice is carrying us through the records are simply beautiful. But this is definitely not her best album by a longshot. So ultimately, I give it a 3.7/5 but I’m bumping it up to a 4 because it’s fucking Beyonce, cmon!!!
I feel like this is the album where Beyonce when from safe(ish) pop star and started experimenting a bit more. Obviously those types of songs are still on this album, but the beats are more interesting than previous albums and got more peeps into her.
I just want to thank Beyoncé
I think this is a proper album. A body of work, a project. It's not a set of pop songs with a load of filler. It's not my scene but it is something worth listening to as an album.
How is this the only Beyonce album???
She’s got some real talent. Wasn’t expecting to like this at all
Chimamandas "verse" was a cultural reset. Sue me.
This is fun. Not my favorite from her, but there’s a good amount of experimentation and openness on this. Arrangement is good, production is stellar, vocals are obviously perfect. I don’t know, though, do we need over an hour of this? Some tracks just keep going in a way that gets to feeling like self aggrandizement. I’m starting to use big words so I guess it’s time to end the review. 4/5
great, love beyonce
4/5. With each listen, I do appreciate the songwriting and musical production more. As far as the songs themselves, I enjoy them but don't think their perfect. The influence this album has though is not something to deny. If this album was mostly instrumental, I think I might enjoy it more because the beats are really good. Beyonce can still sing though and the way she uses her voice in certain songs is on an expert level. There are just some songs on here that stand out and not in a good way. Overall, I do think it's a necessary album but not her best. Best Song: XO, Rocket, Haunted
7/10… Pop / r&b
Better than I thought it would be. There's none of the big hits on here and the album is pretty samey, but I enjoyed it. I don't see myself listening to it regularly, but when I do, I'll enjoy it for what it is. Good pop.
Carried by Beyoncé's vocal ability and melodies, the album has some very average instrumentals and functional lyricism at best.
Drunk in love pushes the whole thing to 4.
While I don't see myself putting this album specifically on very much, it was a great listen and obvious why Beyonce is the queen. Powerful voice, powerful lyrics, and great, catchy beats. She deserves all of the accolades.
Sound wise this album is amazing in its variety and edginess, it also feels very personal but not necessarily relatable. There is no doubt we have a superstar giving us her thoughts and feelings and maybe that why I feel distanced from the whole effort.
1st half of this album is very strong, but with over an hour runtime it does feel a bit bloated. There are a lot of good songs on here (XO, Drunk in Love, Rocket, Pretty Hurts) and obviously it's Beyonce, so the floor of this grade is high to start. Low 4 feels fair to me.
I have never quite understood the broader appeal of Beyonce. I've tried to listen to other of her albums straight through (most recently Rennaissance), but have never made it. The mix throughout is weirdly suppress, but pushing the volume a bit did the trick. Opener, Pretty Hurts, feels like the mix is weirdly suppressed. Despite this, I can get down with the song. The synth heavy instrumental is triumphant and anthemic. Gotta say Haunted is not a side of Beyonce I've heard. Love the instrumental here -- sounds like Clams Casino meets Burial or something. Early album standout -- the trap drums through the end were satisfying. Drunk in Love is a familiar one. For me, the instrumental carries this one (though the chorus delivery is catchy as hell). Gotta be weird to listen to your mom and dad make music when dad is talking about "slid(ing) the panties to the side" because he doesn't have time to take drawers off. Credit where it's due -- this song bangs. Mine feels like oddly placed here. It plays like a cast off Drake track from Nothing Was the Same more than a Beyonce song. Also the vocal sample sounds a lot like something Joey Purp would put out. End result is pretty in production, but kind of boring. XO is a turn the house lights on sort of track. Fine, but sort of losing steam. Okay Flawless is trying to pump some life back in with a semi-aggressive trap instrumental. I am a sucker for a well-placed philosophical vocal sample and this is no exception. Blue is disarmingly beautiful. It feels familiar in all aspects, but is such a nice standalone song. Weird fit within the context of the album, but I'm not complaining. Maybe I've just listened to the wrong Beyonce albums. This was more hit than miss. Kind of dragged in the back half, but was still a solid 4 for me.
Beyonce with the incredible singing and surprising amount of womping bass on a lot of these songs. Was excited to see this album pop up because it was unexpected and also cool to listen to. Just so the Beyhive doesn't come after me I am giving this a 4.. jk jk I am going to give it a 4 anyways cause that was a very good album
FOXXY Cleopatra! Only song I know on here is Drunk In Love. Beyonce bringing the heat. Really digging this first half. Rocket is a standout for me. Drake has to ruin everything. While R&B is usually not my thang I really enjoyed the electronic aspects with this and obviously, her voice. The back half definitely took me out of it. Low 4.
Not since In Rainbows had a surprise album drop stirred such a frenzy, and for good reason: BEYONCÉ is a towering testament to the singularity of its creator, an internet-breaking audio-visual showcase of sexual empowerment and vocal supremacy.
Kyllä tää vaan on hyvä: kun meinaa alkaa balladihkot kyllästyttää, tulee joku pikku herätys, vähintään vähän lisää bassoa ja kovuutta, kunnes taas pehmenee. Tätä on työstetty ja osaavimmat ihmiset ovat olleet töissä. Eli snadi duuniviba, tehty tosi tietoisesti jotain megamyyvää. Onneksi ei voi kuitenkaan sanoa, ettei olisi silti kekseliäisyyttä.
reading all the reviews and they remind me of youtube comments a 13 year old who's really into nirvana might leave, but some of them are written by people in their 30s. the album is good
Great little unknown artists are why I love this challenge. Hope there’s more of her!
I don't like her as much as many people do
this was good, had some fun tracks
Honestly very, very impressive. I thought this was going to be some naff pop shite but wow I was wrong. The production is top notch, some of the beats are incredible. Hanuted a particular stand out. The clear display of sexuality made it a bit uncomfortable at first listen, but once you expect it it actually adds to the album. Puts it on a complete different footing than most Beyonce/Destiny's Child albums. Fair play. Well done Beyonce, I was wrong to paint you as a one dimensional pop artist.
ts kind of weird tbh i wasnt expecting it. you could argue its overproduced but i like it sounds interesting
I like Beyonce as a vocalist, so going in, I thought it would be an easy decision to rate this as a five-star album, but in the event I could not. Some of the tracks are very good, but others didn't move me much at all. I think I like the album enough to add it to my Tidal library and give it some more air time, but a four-star rating is the best I can do, I feel.
Is this the og bad bitch pop? So horny. Pretty good tho!
actually pretty good
The sheer magnitude of hits hard. Beyonce delivers another top album with defining songs and themes to power and elegance. I am not in love with her music but I can appreciate it.
4-
Is Tang the same as fresh orange juice? no. There's no need to compare them, they're two completely different experiences. One is natural juice, the other is a manufactured artificially-flavored sweet treat. Sometimes I want to drink a nice glass of fresh orange juice, other times Tang is just the thang. If I want fresh orange juice, I'll pop in Sharon Jones, Roberta Flack, Aretha. If I want Tang, I'll pop in Beyoncé, Rihanna or maybe Janelle Monáe. People whining about how this record is "made by committee / artificial / manufactured" are just bitching about how Tang isn't orange juice. Nobody said it was.
I would give this a 3 normally, but some of these reviews man. You guys need to get out more.
This is really a great inclusion to the list as I really loved it when it came out and definitely wore down the CD. Actually, this was the album that got me to really get into Beyonce and to appreciate her as more than just a pop hit maker. My favorite from this album is actually "XO" even though "Drunk in Love" and "7/11" are the bigger hits. I really feel like "XO" is such an attractive standout on this album; it's so romantic, fun, catchy, and lovely. The night time beach boardwalk carnival vibe music video is a perfect visual representation for how I hear the song. There's love and excitement in the air, a drumbeat that screams "we're dancing and having fun but are in no rush to get to the end of the song", and Beyonce is not only sexy but also friendly and silly; often laughing and highlighting others in the video. Strong 4/5.
4.5 rounded down--it's beyonce
Big fan of Beyoncé, but this isn’t my favourite, regardless, it’s not a bad album by any means.
We flawless
This good album will not stay on the 1001 list for long. I'm pretty sure it can be replaced by "Lemonade" or even "Cowboy Carter" in the next edition (especially the second, given the book authors' love for country music). However, it is here, and it was a good listening session. It's nice to note every breakthrough from Beyoncé's last albums being born here and there, along with the songs of this album.
i like most of the songs on this album, it was nice at the time, it was nice now, pretty hurts and XO are my favourites (although XO reminds me of a break up from my ‘kind of’ long distance boyfriend from new york, odd time) beyoncé is a great singer and i appreciate a lot of her music tbf, it’s catchy and sometimes emotional and it always makes you wanna sing along which is always a + for me.
Onhan tämä aika toimiva pop-levy. 4/5
Nunca la había escuchado y me gustó en general. Pretty Hurts me pareció muy linda.
Tight R’n’B Album with astonishing bangers that shift Beyoncé core discipline towards even tighter produced Electro.
Malgré de grands moyens de production, un album intime, d’une artiste mature qui explore en dehors des impératifs commerciaux. Touchant et surprenant
Some are songs are really good, some aren't as fun to listen to. She is pretty to listen to.
3.75!
IT’S BEYONCÉ!!!