Editing Loud (Rihanna)

"Loud" received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 67, based on 22 reviews.

Jon Pareles of The New York Times perceived a "hermetic, cool calculation" on the album, writing that it "works the pop gizmos as neatly as any album this year, maintaining the Rihanna brand".

Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt commented that the album shows Rihanna "undefeated by her worst circumstances — and finding redemption in exactly the kind of pop nirvana that made her famous in the first place".

James Reed of The Boston Globe called it "an unabashed return to where Rihanna belongs: the dance floor" and stated: "As if liberating herself from the depths, she's a force on these 11 songs."

Stacey Anderson of Spin commended Rihanna's "full, healthy claim to her sexuality" and wrote that the album "offers a confident female ethos on par with the best of Shakira or Beyoncé."

Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club commended Rihanna for elevating the album's generic sound, writing that she "does sound invigorated, delivering charismatic vocal performances of material that doesn’t always warrant them".

Emily Mackay of NME felt that its "experiments feel more organic, its tone better paced" than "Rated R."

Thomas Conner of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that "the celebratory atmosphere of Rihanna's sassy new jams are seasoned with some of the darker flavors from 'Rated R'".

Pitchfork Media's Ryan Dombal complimented the album's "effervescent pop" and stated: "Her laissez-faire attitude toward hit-making on Loud can result in too-safe moves or semi-experiments that come off surprisingly great".

Ed Power of Hot Press complimented its "unabashedly subtext-free" songs and found its hooks "way beyond addictive."

In a mixed review, Andy Kellman of Allmusic found the album's material "slapdash" and "uneven", and called it "more an unfocused assortment of poor-to-solid songs than a unified set".

Andy Gill of The Independent felt that "the more interesting tracks are those with less salacious demands on her vulnerability".

Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani commended that "the subtle West Indian flavor with which Rihanna and company have smartly imbued" most of the album, although he noted some flaws in its production and wrote that "Rihanna has always had trouble fitting into one genre ... and for better or worse, Rihanna continues to stylistically branch out on Loud".

Hugh Montgomery of The Observer commented that "sonically, it's fairly unremarkable ... but its strident buoyancy is difficult to resist".