a sense of "acute self-awareness along with flashes of grace and insolence: the album is a pitch-perfect teenage plaint". Record Collector Eleanor Goodman commented; "though the multicoloured cover of 1999’s Clarity became familiar in music shops, its combination of melancholy, introspective pop with faster punk rock broke the band in the US". Chris Ryan of The New Rolling Stone Album Guide said the band had cemented the "perfect balance of noise and bliss" on Clarity. Sputnikmusic staff reviewer Andrew Hartwig praised Jimmy Eat World's musicianship and stated; "Musically, the band are excellent. The drumming is sophisticated and original and the use of two guitars is a great addition to the band. The aforementioned range of added instruments adds immensely to the arrangements of the songs". He summarized his review saying; "Clarity is an album full of sensible pop songs, replay value and a diverse range of instruments and sounds. Truly one of the best albums of the 90s". Charles Merwin of Stylus Magazine called it a "minor masterpiece—a product of its time and as important to modern emo as Weezer's "Pinkerton". Alternative Press included Clarity in their "10 Classic Albums of 1999" feature; according to Scott Heisel; "Like Weezer's Pinkerton before it, the album has gone on to serve as the birthplace of emo's third wave". He cited "Goodbye Sky Harbor" as a track that is frequently imitated "but never duplicated. Proving it's far better to test your own limits than rely on the parameters of others—which is the exact reason why Clarity resonates with tens of thousands of people, a decade later." When Kerrang! magazine made a Jimmy Eat World album guide, they stated; "Glorious is perhaps the best word to capture the essence of Clarity. Overflowing with flawless melodies backed up not only by magnificent musicianship but a ton of heart, this is the album that renders the label 'emo' redundant. Every note and syllable resonates with the kind of heartfelt emotion we'd like to think is poured into everything we listen to". Legacy and influence Writing in 2003, Andy Greenwald called Clarity "one of the most fiercely beloved rock 'n' roll records of the last decade. It is name-checked by every single contemporary emo band as their favorite album, as a mind-bending milemarker that proved that punk rock could be tuneful, emotional, wide-ranging, and ambitious." William Goodman of Spin described it as a "benchmark emo and pop-punk