diff --git a/Brainarr.Plugin/Services/Enrichment/ArtistMbidResolver.cs b/Brainarr.Plugin/Services/Enrichment/ArtistMbidResolver.cs
index d449c967..f28530e4 100644
--- a/Brainarr.Plugin/Services/Enrichment/ArtistMbidResolver.cs
+++ b/Brainarr.Plugin/Services/Enrichment/ArtistMbidResolver.cs
@@ -43,6 +43,8 @@ public async Task<List<Recommendation>> EnrichArtistsAsync(List<Recommendation>
                 return new List<Recommendation>();
 
             var result = new List<Recommendation>(recommendations.Count);
+            var resolvableCount = 0;
+            var resolvedCount = 0;
 
             foreach (var rec in recommendations)
             {
@@ -53,24 +55,34 @@ public async Task<List<Recommendation>> EnrichArtistsAsync(List<Recommendation>
                     continue;
                 }
 
+                resolvableCount++;
+
                 try
                 {
                     var enriched = await ResolveArtistAsync(rec, ct);
                     if (enriched != null)
                     {
+                        resolvedCount++;
                         result.Add(enriched);
                     }
+                    else
+                    {
+                        // Best-effort: preserve the original recommendation when MBID resolution fails.
+                        // Downstream safety gates (RequireMbids) can still enforce MBID presence when configured.
+                        result.Add(rec);
+                    }
                 }
                 catch (Exception ex)
                 {
                     _logger.Debug(ex, $"Artist MBID resolution error for '{rec.Artist}'");
+                    result.Add(rec);
                 }
 
                 // Be nice to MusicBrainz
                 await Task.Delay(200, ct);
             }
 
-            _logger.Info($"Artist MBID resolution complete: {result.Count}/{recommendations.Count} resolvable artists");
+            _logger.Info($"Artist MBID resolution complete: resolved {resolvedCount}/{resolvableCount} artists (returned {result.Count})");
             return result;
         }
 
diff --git a/Brainarr.Plugin/Services/Enrichment/MusicBrainzResolver.cs b/Brainarr.Plugin/Services/Enrichment/MusicBrainzResolver.cs
index 5e30e6b6..5aea20fb 100644
--- a/Brainarr.Plugin/Services/Enrichment/MusicBrainzResolver.cs
+++ b/Brainarr.Plugin/Services/Enrichment/MusicBrainzResolver.cs
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@ public async Task<List<Recommendation>> EnrichWithMbidsAsync(List<Recommendation
                 return new List<Recommendation>();
 
             var result = new List<Recommendation>(recommendations.Count);
+            var resolvableCount = 0;
+            var resolvedCount = 0;
             // Deduplicate within this batch to avoid repeated queries
             foreach (var rec in recommendations)
             {
@@ -58,6 +60,8 @@ public async Task<List<Recommendation>> EnrichWithMbidsAsync(List<Recommendation
                         continue;
                     }
 
+                    resolvableCount++;
+
                     // Check LRU cache first
                     var key = MakeKey(rec.Artist, rec.Album);
                     Recommendation cached = null;
@@ -72,6 +76,7 @@ public async Task<List<Recommendation>> EnrichWithMbidsAsync(List<Recommendation
                     var enriched = cached ?? await ResolveMbidAsync(rec, ct);
                     if (enriched != null)
                     {
+                        resolvedCount++;
                         // Update LRU
                         lock (_lruLock)
                         {
@@ -85,6 +90,12 @@ public async Task<List<Recommendation>> EnrichWithMbidsAsync(List<Recommendation
                         }
                         result.Add(enriched);
                     }
+                    else
+                    {
+                        // Best-effort: preserve the original recommendation when MBID resolution fails.
+                        // Downstream safety gates (RequireMbids) can still enforce MBID presence when configured.
+                        result.Add(rec);
+                    }
                 }
                 catch (Exception ex)
                 {
@@ -94,7 +105,7 @@ public async Task<List<Recommendation>> EnrichWithMbidsAsync(List<Recommendation
                 // Throttling handled centrally via RateLimiter("musicbrainz")
             }
 
-            _logger.Info($"MBID resolution complete: {result.Count}/{recommendations.Count} resolvable recommendations");
+            _logger.Info($"MBID resolution complete: resolved {resolvedCount}/{resolvableCount} recommendations (returned {result.Count})");
             return result;
         }
 
diff --git a/Brainarr.Tests/Services/Enrichment/ArtistMbidResolverBestEffortTests.cs b/Brainarr.Tests/Services/Enrichment/ArtistMbidResolverBestEffortTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7ef66200
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Brainarr.Tests/Services/Enrichment/ArtistMbidResolverBestEffortTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Net;
+using System.Net.Http;
+using System.Threading;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using Brainarr.Tests.Helpers;
+using FluentAssertions;
+using NzbDrone.Core.ImportLists.Brainarr.Models;
+using NzbDrone.Core.ImportLists.Brainarr.Services.Enrichment;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace Brainarr.Tests.Services.Enrichment
+{
+    public class ArtistMbidResolverBestEffortTests
+    {
+        private sealed class StubHandler : HttpMessageHandler
+        {
+            protected override Task<HttpResponseMessage> SendAsync(HttpRequestMessage request, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
+            {
+                var response = new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.ServiceUnavailable)
+                {
+                    Content = new StringContent("{}")
+                };
+                return Task.FromResult(response);
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public async Task EnrichArtistsAsync_PreservesOriginalRecommendation_WhenLookupFails()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var httpClient = new HttpClient(new StubHandler());
+            var resolver = new ArtistMbidResolver(TestLogger.CreateNullLogger(), httpClient);
+            var rec = new Recommendation { Artist = "Radiohead", Confidence = 0.9 };
+
+            // Act
+            var result = await resolver.EnrichArtistsAsync(new List<Recommendation> { rec }, CancellationToken.None);
+
+            // Assert
+            result.Should().HaveCount(1);
+            result[0].Artist.Should().Be("Radiohead");
+            result[0].ArtistMusicBrainzId.Should().BeNull();
+        }
+    }
+}
+
diff --git a/Brainarr.Tests/Services/Enrichment/MusicBrainzResolverCacheTests.cs b/Brainarr.Tests/Services/Enrichment/MusicBrainzResolverCacheTests.cs
index dbf08ca8..1bbb6724 100644
--- a/Brainarr.Tests/Services/Enrichment/MusicBrainzResolverCacheTests.cs
+++ b/Brainarr.Tests/Services/Enrichment/MusicBrainzResolverCacheTests.cs
@@ -19,10 +19,12 @@ private class StubHandler : HttpMessageHandler
         {
             private int _calls;
             private readonly string _content;
+            private readonly HttpStatusCode _statusCode;
 
-            public StubHandler(string content)
+            public StubHandler(string content, HttpStatusCode statusCode = HttpStatusCode.OK)
             {
                 _content = content;
+                _statusCode = statusCode;
             }
 
             public int Calls => _calls;
@@ -30,7 +32,7 @@ public StubHandler(string content)
             protected override Task<HttpResponseMessage> SendAsync(HttpRequestMessage request, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
             {
                 Interlocked.Increment(ref _calls);
-                var response = new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.OK)
+                var response = new HttpResponseMessage(_statusCode)
                 {
                     Content = new StringContent(_content)
                 };
@@ -59,5 +61,27 @@ public async Task EnrichWithMbidsAsync_UsesInProcessCache_ForDuplicateItems()
             result.Should().HaveCount(2);
             handler.Calls.Should().Be(1); // Second item served from in-process cache
         }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public async Task EnrichWithMbidsAsync_PreservesOriginalRecommendation_WhenLookupFails()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var handler = new StubHandler("{}", HttpStatusCode.ServiceUnavailable);
+            var httpClient = new HttpClient(handler);
+            var logger = TestLogger.CreateNullLogger();
+            var resolver = new MusicBrainzResolver(logger, httpClient);
+
+            var rec = new Recommendation { Artist = "Radiohead", Album = "OK Computer", Confidence = 0.9 };
+
+            // Act
+            var result = await resolver.EnrichWithMbidsAsync(new List<Recommendation> { rec }, CancellationToken.None);
+
+            // Assert
+            result.Should().HaveCount(1);
+            result[0].Artist.Should().Be("Radiohead");
+            result[0].Album.Should().Be("OK Computer");
+            result[0].ArtistMusicBrainzId.Should().BeNull();
+            result[0].AlbumMusicBrainzId.Should().BeNull();
+        }
     }
 }