Standout describes the one in a group that is clearly much better than the rest — so much better that you notice it without being told. It works as an adjective before a noun (the standout performance, the standout player, the standout dish on the menu) and also as a noun on its own (she was the standout of the whole team). It always needs a group behind it: you cannot be a standout alone, because the word means you rose above the others. It belongs to reviews, sports writing, and casual praise rather than formal writing — a food critic, a coach, a teacher talking about a class. Two useful details. First, it is nearly always positive; if something is noticeable for being bad, English speakers reach for other words. Second, standout praises within a set, so it is smaller praise than it sounds: the standout song on a bad album is still on a bad album. Careful speakers use exactly that to praise gently.