 Critical reception of Illinois was overwhelmingly positive . Review aggregator Metacritic compiled 40 critic reviews of Illinois and gave the album a 90 out of 100 , indicating " universal acclaim " , designating it the best @-@ reviewed album of 2005 . Andy <unk> of The A.V. Club said that Stevens " has grown into one of the best song @-@ makers in indie rock " with the album . Tim <unk> of NME called Illinois " a <unk> little <unk> " and described Stevens as " prolific , intelligent and — most importantly — <unk> with heart @-@ <unk> melodies . " Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone responded favorably to the album , praising the " over @-@ the @-@ top arrangements " and Stevens ' " breathy , gentle voice " . Sheffield criticized " John Wayne Gacy , Jr . " , stating that it " <unk> nothing about American life except the existence of creative @-@ writing workshops " , but elsewhere praised the personal nature of songs such as " Chicago " and " Casimir Pulaski Day " . Michael <unk> of PopMatters described " John Wayne Gacy , Jr . " as " <unk> , tragic , and deeply sad without <unk> . " Amanda <unk> of Pitchfork Media described Illinois as " strange and lush , as excessive and challenging as its giant , <unk> song titles . " Dave Simpson of The Guardian echoed this sentiment by saying that the music sounds like " The <unk> <unk> produced by Brian Eno . " The diversity in instrumentation also received a positive review from Entertainment Weekly 's <unk> <unk> . 
