{$Rascal Flatts} are three average, nice guys. They make contemporary country-pop that's nice, but ever so slightly and satisfyingly a cut above average. Nothing on their eponymous debut deviates from the norm -- it's squarely down the center of the mainstream, edging closer to pop than it does to real country -- but it's sweetly endearing and unassuming. Take the lead song and single, {&"Prayin' for Daylight,"} for example. It's almost defiantly square, but the trio doesn't ever realize that it's not hip to be square -- the very quality that makes it so much fun. They revel in their warm harmonies, bright production, catchy mid-tempo pop tunes, and ballads of heartbreak and love that always seem happy. {$Rascal Flatts} never really changes their approach at any point during the album -- many of the zippier songs sound a lot like {&"Prayin' for Daylight"} and the slower numbers are just slower variations of that tune -- but that doesn't matter, since this is an amiable, well-crafted, professional record. Are there some slow moments? Well, yes, but they pass by easily, thanks to the surface gloss and the boys' cheerful attitude. {^Rascal Flatts} may not be weighty, but it's not supposed to be. It's designed to be a sunny, pleasing modern country-pop album, and that's exactly what it is. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide