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 Battaglia of The A.V. Club said that Stevens " have grown into one of the best song @-@ makers in indie rock " with the album . Tim Jonze of NME called Illinois " a brainy little fucker " and described Stevens as " prolific , intelligent and — most importantly — brimming with heart @-@ wrenching 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 " symbolize 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 Metivier of PopMatters described " John Wayne Gacy , Jr . " as " horrifying , tragic , and deeply sad without proselytizing . " Amanda Petrusich of Pitchfork Media described Illinois as " strange and lush , as excessive and challenging as its giant , gushing song titles . " Dave Simpson of The Guardian echoed this sentiment by saying that the music sound like " The Polyphonic Spree produced by Brian Eno . " The diversity in instrumentation also received a positive review from Entertainment Weekly 's Kristina Feliciano .