FutureSex/LoveSounds

Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
Critic Score
Based on 21 reviews
2006 Ratings: #362 / 732
User Score
2006 Rank: #140
Liked by 138 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

81
Pitchfork

The pop star offers his ambitious, grandiose sophomore album: Almost entirely produced by Timbaland ... the album abandons the feelgood sheen which the Neptunes peddled so adroitly on his debut, Justified, but makes up for it with the largesse of its sonic embrace.

80
musicOMH
Timberlake takes a significant co-credit of creative dues along with his illustrious producers.
80
Evening Standard
Deliberately dirtier than his 2002 debut, there's shimmering electronic soul treasure here - it's a 21st-century disco ball.
80
Prefix
Bereft of overproduced love ballads and Brian McKnight collabs that catered to the frightened record executives who didn’t think hip-hop fans would embrace the N’Sync star or N’Sync fans would embrace a more unusual record, Timberlake’s second solo record is dark and dirty to begin and smooth and sexy to finish.
80
The Skinny

FutureSex/LoveSounds manages to be safe, subversive, surprising, and sultry all at the same time.

80
Sputnikmusic

It may not have four singles in it as strong as Justified had, but overall it's a far more accomplished record: he's a more skilled vocalist; his songwriting has improved, if only slightly; and it's an album that actually maintains quality throughout instead of dipping off half way through.

80
NME
Whereas his 2002 solo debut shot a glance back to Michael Jackson's 'Off The Wall', this is more indebted to 'Smooth Criminal', early '80s Prince and on its ballads, Stevie Wonder.
76
Coke Machine Glow

Despite its lack of depth, FutureSex discovers itself as a mess of mainstream gold, a mess strewn about so it looks more disheveled and complicated than it actually is. A consortium of dazzling instances, it’s impossible to deny a hefty portion of this album, shrouded flaws and all.

70
AllHipHop

Timberlake manages to shine, but would’ve faired better had the whole album remained consistent. Still, FutureSex/LoveSounds is a giant step forward for Timberlake, and a guarantee that he’s here for the long haul.

70
Rolling Stone

On his skilled but sometimes labored follow-up ... the liberated ‘NSync frontman bears the weight of experience that drags down so many maturing lovermen.

70
Slant Magazine

FutureSex/LoveSounds isn’t the album I hoped or predicted it would be, and it also isn’t the future-pop many will claim it to be. But it’s a lot like Justified in that it’s a solid collection of expertly produced pop songs whose flaws will be devoured by its almost guaranteed string of hits.

70
AllMusic
Give Justin Timberlake credit for this: he has ambition.
70
PopMatters

While FutureSex/LoveSounds is not a masterpiece, it's damn good ... More than that, though, I respect Timberlake's willingness to experiment and dance outside of his comfort zone.

67
Entertainment Weekly

The enjoyable, forgettable FutureSex/LoveSounds may be a just-okay Timberlake album, but it’s a great Timbaland demo reel.

60
The Guardian

The lyrics don't really matter, as long as there's endlessly shifting sonic fireworks on offer to distract your attention.

60
Uncut
Laudable, but overreaching.
60
Mojo
Only problem is, he also wants us to love him for his mind, so he has declared this a concept album.
60
The Independent

After a while, the combination of compound noun titles - "Sexyback", "Lovestoned", etc - and superstud preening does leave one wondering when Timberlake is going to bring something truly original to his game.

60
Gigwise

In all honesty it was all too good to be true that the superstar appeared to really take his music seriously by experimenting with his sound, so the chunk of crap that makes up the last part of FutureSex/LoveSounds is unsurprising.

60
Q Magazine

A set of forward-thinking pop reminiscent of Sign O' The Times-era Prince.

40
NOW Magazine

While a certain segment of the population find overly sensitive young men with girlishly high voices very appealing, Timberlake's attempt to present a rough, tough image on the sleeve of FutureSex/LoveSounds is just as ridiculous as that hilarious Vibe cover shot of him wearing a White Panther Party MC5 T-shirt.

ThePurpleIdiot
100

(Reinventing my review style a bit so it looks a little weird, bare with me please lmao)

One of my biggest guilty pleasure albums >:D

Talk about an underrated classic when you hear one, this is so supremely amazing! I remember a long time ago, I used to despise Justin Timberlake’s music, I thought he was just a monotonous and irksome pop hits artist, never willing to experiment and would make the same old annoying radio smashers constantly. I thought this because I only heard a ... read more

ImpalaLT
81

I used to blindly hate JT’s music just because he made that one song in the Trolls movie that is pretty bad. I then saw the user scores for this album and his 2013 albums, and I was like, “Dang, are these albums really that good?”

Turns out that this album is a pretty big banger. This is where he improved his songwriting and his singing. It’s also different from all the rest of the albums that came out in that era of pop music, which can be a great thing depending on ... read more

TrollFaceReview
73

this is just TOOL for people who smell good

tiesd504
83

Justin's best album. Smooth, fun, and catchy as fuck all the way through with some amazing Timbaland production as cherry on top. Also the charisma he has on here is just off the charts.

nightclubbing
99

With his sophomore album Justin successfully transitioned from being the boy in a boyband to a successful solo recording artist.

From a production standpoint this is the perfect album, the songs are catchy enough for radio but not generic enough to the point where you hate them, they still sound fresh even after 18 years, the lyrics of the album are actually pretty good, much better than the ones on his debut album, the maturity shows, you can tell the almost 4 year break worked, had he ... read more

zeelee233
78

Timberlake X Timbaland out of this world. Nostalgia for a time when pop could make a name for itself. "As the name suggests, the concept is "sexy", highlighting the retro elements while weakening the R&B colours and amplifying the proportion of hip-hop and dance elements. With its dynamic and clear rhythms and catchy melodies, the whole album is a glamorous and glittering pop album. In the midst of the mesmerising electro, retro and avant-garde merge to create a brand new ... read more

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Year End Lists

#9/Slant Magazine
#25/Pitchfork
#26/Rolling Stone
#91/Paste
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