Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(69/100)
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Entertainment.ie
Entertainment Weekly	B−
Los Angeles Times
NME	(8/10)
Pitchfork Media	(6.8/10)
PopMatters
Robert Christgau	C
Rolling Stone
Stylus Magazine	B−

29 is the eighth studio album by alt-country singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, released on December 19, 2005 on Lost Highway. Produced by Ethan Johns, and recorded prior to the formation of backing band The Cardinals, the album was the last of three released in 2005. Session guitarist JP Bowersock would later go on to join the Cardinals, subsequently recording Cold Roses and Jacksonville City Nights alongside Adams. The album's cover art was drawn by Adams.

The album has sold 81,000 copies in the United States and 153,000 worldwide. In November 2009, the album was number 54 on a list of 'The 100 best pop albums of the Noughties' by The Times Music critics.

29 was recorded over two weeks during the first half of August 2004 at producer Ethan Johns' North Hollywood studio, Three Crows. According to Johns, only two songs were completely written before the sessions began - "Night Birds" and "Elizabeth, You Were Born To Play That Part". The remaining tracks were written in the studio. To give the music a sense of spontaneity and immediacy, several of the songs released on the final album were first takes.

The album is a loose concept album, with each song representing a single year in Adams' twenties.

The album so far has a score of 69 out of 100 on Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews".Uncut gave it all five stars and said it was "not easy listening, yet [Adams has] never made a more beautiful album."Yahoo! Music UK gave it nine stars out of ten and said, "At last Ryan Adams has made a record every bit as good as his heroes."The A.V. Club gave it a B and said that Adams' music "takes some sifting, but the gold always glitters."The New York Times gave it a favorable review and called it "Cohesive in its fragility."E! Online gave it a B− and said that Adams "fails to come up with an album that keeps up the standard set here by a couple of standout tracks such as 'Strawberry Wine' and Nightbirds.'"

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Wikipedia