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We re finally past American Idol 's pre-taped auditions and selectively-edited Hollywood Week. The field this year is wide open, with no distinct Scotty McCreery-esque favorite. But at last we can see the newest crop of judges, Mariah Carey, Keith Urban and Nicki Minaj, handing out their critiques live .

That means we can now fairly compare them to their predecessors on the panel. Are they better? Are they worse?

It's time to get all judgey on the judges and not just on the new guys, but all the previous panelists, too. Without further adieu, my ranking of every American Idol judge from best to worst. Of course I totally nailed it, but feel free to disagree in the comments. #1 Simon Cowell Week after week and year after year, we were on pins to hear what the curmudgeonly Brit was going to say about contestants.

And with good reason: he was usually spot on. Cowell was the prickly critic that the panel has been missing since his departure after Season 9. The good : He famously told Carrie Underwood that she would sell more records that any other Idol, and she has more than 14 million to date.

The bad : He once told Jennifer Hudson: "You're out of your depth in this competition." Hudson as we know went on to win a supporting-actress Oscar and other awards for Dreamgirls , and sang a memorable tribute to Whitney Houston after her death just before the Grammys last year. (Cowell later admitted he was wrong about her.) The Memorable : Aside from a gross smooch-fest with Paula in a pre-taped bit they did during Season 5, his eye roll during Season 6 was mistakenly interpreted as a sarcastic reaction to sympathies expressed for the Virginia Tech massacre. (Turned out to be a case of bad camera timing.) #2 Kara DioGuardi Maligned by some as vapid and stilted, I always enjoyed Kara s sassiness. She s a prolific hitmaker and brought her keen sense of what it takes to be a successful artist and musician to the judging panel. MTV named her best judge in 2010.

She s a great singer in her own right, too. The Good : In a behind-the-scenes revelation, she stuck up for Adam Lambert in her judging screen-test auditions before Season 8 had even begun, as noted in her book. The Bad : Unfairly or not, DioGuardi was seen as the "polarizing upstart who spoiled Paula Abdul s standing as Idol s lone female voice.

Also, the finale song she penned for Kris Allen, No Boundaries, was terrible, even prompting Allen to drop the song from the live tour (DioGuardi recorded it herself later, and her version shows it was more suited to a female voice). The Memorable : Her Vision of Love schooling of the tragic Bikini Girl was an epic piece of shade and eerie premonition of current judge Mariah Carey. #3 Paula Abdul As the one-season awfulness of Hey, Paula proved, Abdul's kookiness was not reserved only for the judging panel; she endured an avalanche of criticism for being a empty-headed pushover. Notorious for her erratic, perhaps painkiller-induced behavior, Paula was still entertaining for her signature ditzy, seal-clapping affect.

Like her or not, she was the reliable, reassuring soft-voice alongside the Cowell Scowl. (And note she s doing just fine on social media post- Idol, with nearly 2.5 million Twitter followers.) The Good : She was correct when she called Kelly Clarkson a triple threat, because, well, Kelly totally is. Bad & Memorable combined: In a confused haze, the Forever Your Girl offered a critique of a song that Jason Castro hadn t yet sung. #4 Keith Urban Cut from the same cloth as Kara DioGuardi, Keith is an established, current songmaker who shows the most promise at this year s judging table. He connects with the contestants emotionality and vocal nuance, and would do us all a favor by being even more critical and hard to please.

The good : He s managed to offer keen observations and survivor skills amidst cat-fight chaos. (He credits his "literal estrogen nest" at home with Nicole Kidman and daughters as preparation for fellow gal judges, Minaj and Carey.) The Bad : He spilled a drink on Minaj and didn t get an expletive-laced diatribe thrown at him (I d have expected at least a slap). The memorable : When in the weeds of the initial Mariah-Nicki judging kerfuffle, he banged his head on the judging table and said: I feel like a scratching post. The carpet on that post wore out long before the show ever went live. #5 Randy Jackson The "dudes," the "dawgs" and the "good lookin outs" were, in earlier seasons, a foil for Cowell s hard-to-please pout and he does have experience as a Journey bandmate and producer.

He could have sharpened his critic's blade after Cowell's departure and been the voice of reason, but alas, that didn't happen. The good : He s been occasionally sharp this season, seeing talent where it is and calling bad singing where that is, too. The Bad & (un)Memorable : Jackson s prime opportunity to assume the veteran, Critiquer-in-Chief role after Cowell s departure has never materialized, and because of that, the show has been lost without a critical rudder. #6 Nicki Minaj To say, Nicki pulls focus is the understatement of the past Idol decade.

This season s trash-talking bad girl has been wildly unpredictable, and not just for her daily changing hairstyles. She steps all over the judges and gives contestants nicknames like "ladybug," "top hat," and "frog killer." Cue Mariah s eyerolls. The good : Pulling focus is not such a bad thing just ask Simon Cowell.

As much as I can t stand the girl, she s got critical promise. There s a level of unpredictability in what she ll say that s both entertaining and sometimes on the mark. The bad : Minaj doesn t hide her lusty side, outwardly hitting on many male contestants like the very sexy Johnny Keyser.

But the "you look sexy tonight" stuff is just gross and a tad creepy from someone who is tasked with giving guidance and feedback.

Speaking of gross The memorable : Minaj said "I want to skin you and wear you" to Top 10 finalist Candice Glover, which is a bit too Hannibal Lecter for my taste. (Honorable mention: following JDA's gender-fabulous sashaying Adele cover, Minaj swooned. "Miss lady let me say something, hold on.

Work it, girl." Continue reading →