YMMV / Shiina Ringo

• Awesome Music: Lots of it, with Shōso Strip and Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana being perhaps the most frequently cited examples. Heisei Fūzoku and Sanmon Gossip are no slouches either.
• Broken Base: The work up to and including Sanmon Gossip and Sports is generally quite well loved, but her output in more recent years has somewhat divided the fanbase, particularly after the split of Tokyo Jihen. Some fans feel that she's just treading water stylistically and compositionally, while others still like her recent output just fine.
• Growing the Beard: Shiina Ringo's early work is very good Japanese rock music, but it is almost universally agreed among fans of Japanese music that Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana is the album where she graduated from being "very good" to being "genre-defining". Its leading single "Stem", which is featured in a different arrangement on the single release, is generally considered to be where she first established this level of quality.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Shiina looking an awfully lot like Kyary Pamyu Pamyu on the album cover for Shōso Strip, which also doubles as bait of sorts for any new listeners who expect something similar to Kyary only to end up with something completely different.
• Vindicated by History: Sanmon Gossip received a decidedly muted reception when it initially appeared, perhaps because it ended a six-year solo hiatus after the Tough Act to Follow Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana (Heisei Fuzoku was a collaboration with arranger Neko Saito), but has gained more appreciation in more recent years for its skilled use of Genre Roulette - no two of its songs sound particularly similar to one another.