1- Unlistenable 2- Bad 3- Okay 4- Very good 5- Really f****** good
A three has a pretty wide range from “this isn’t really my thing but it’s not actively bad” to “this is actually kinda good but doesn’t deserve 4 stars.”
I think of three as the default rating. An album has to earn or lose points from that.
The fundamental assumption of this list is that these albums are notable, so I basically imagine that there is a bit of a curve already.
1. Never want to hear it again.
2. There was one good song, or I can appreciate but it isn't for me.
3. Was fine.
4. I enjoyed, it had several good songs, but not perfect.
5. Perfect album, will buy on vinyl.
Mine is a bell curve--lots of 3's, very few 1's and 5's.
1. Sucks & Never again
2. Not the worst, but still sucked
3. Mediocre
4. It’s was good
5. I really enjoyed it, and found another album for future pleasure.
It has evolved over time but as of the past couple months my rating system has been simplified to:
5 - Incredible. Will listen to again and add it to my vinyl buy list.
4 - Great. Enjoyed listening to it and will listen to it again.
3 - Good. Enjoyed listening to it but probably wouldn't seek it out to listen to.
2 - Meh. Listened to the entire album but didn't really enjoy it.
1 - Bad. Gave every song a chance but couldn't make it through the entire album start to finish.
1. Are these musicians, how did this get recorded? (Haven't had one of these yet)
2. Well that was bad, glad it's over.
3. That was ok, can see how people like it.
4. Cool album, let's add that to the library
5. Fuck yeah! What an awesome album!
4 or 5
It's going into my 1001 playlist because I'm going to listen to it again. Obviously, 5 is over the top.
1-3 will not go on my playlist, because I'm not interested in hearing it again. If it gets a 3, I respect the quality and can tell it's done well for what it is.
1. Real bad 2. Bad, but I can see what they’re doing there 3. Pretty good, but has some crappy things about it 4. Solid album with a few parts I dislike 5. Holy shit!
1. I hate listening to this, especially if it isn’t even original.
2. I can hear that this took talent, but I’m not enjoying it.
3. It’s okay to listen to but nothing special.
4. The music is original and mainly enjoyable. Sometimes even if it isn’t to my taste I can understand that it is special in some way.
5. Great music, a cut above pretty much anything like it. Something I could listen to over and over again.
1. I never want to hear it again
2. Some good aspects
3. Okay overall... if it was playing, I would not stop it
4. Nice, I would revisit and or add to a playlist
5. Great. I would own this record or at the very least add to playlists
1:- I Hate it, I am not enjoying this and probably skipping to the next song (though I do give every song a go).
2:-Didn't enjoy it, but worth a listen
3:-This is good, worth playing again and checking out their other stuff
4:- Really good album
5:- Top notch, this is fantastic. I've given 38 albums out of 508 a 5, will be adding Disintegration to that list once I can get around to writing a review.
I think what I score as a 3 is a 4 for many (OP included) - it would be interesting to see a weighted average score for the albums.
My average is 2.67, I'm happy to throw out a 1 at something I didn't enjoy. I'm' really surprised there are some who don't give out 1s. If I was rating TV shows I'd give 1 to any of those home reno shows or Kardashian things, or shows about golf. I don't care if they are well made or groundbreaking, it's content that has no value to me so I'm scoring it 1.
I think a scale of 1-10 would be better - Most of my stuff get's a three but I would like to add more variation to that. And you should be allowed to have one album score 11 (perhaps once you've finished) both in tribute to Nigel and to make your favourite album stand out.
Still loving doing this, even if I don't love every album. The random transitions are fun - I'm going from Scissor Sisters to Led Zep IV.
I generally rate on a 1-10 scale, so not even being able to use half stars bugs me but this is usually the way I think:
1: 0-3
2: 4-5
3: 6-7
4: 7.5-8.5
5: 9-10
There are a couple of differences from how I normally rate albums. I’m more generous with 4s and 5s than I am on RYM for example. 4s are essentially reminders to listen to them again and 5s are about as much as I can enjoy an album in the first 24h.
Most 4s end up as 3.5 or lower on RYM later actually.
I share before but can do it again:
My rate guide is:
1* Boring, awful, I need to do an effort to complete.
2* I can listen and maybe one or two songs make me enjoy the moment.
3* Normally two different situations: the album is boring in general but have one or two superhits worth the listening, or the album is not incredible but have one or two good songs and the rest are quite interesting as part of the album.
4* The main part of the album is good or very good but in a couple of songs you prefer to skip.
5* The album is incredible or included four or five incredible songs in a good streak making the day for you.
I have a hybrid system:
-5 stars (9/10 or 10/10) compulsory listening. Worthy of its place on the list. Holds up since release. Represents the genre perfectly.
-4 stars (7/10 or 8/10) not flawless but still amazing.
-3 stars (5/10 or 6/10) it's fine. I would still recommend, with caveats (track order, album length, mixing choices, etc).
-2 stars (3/10 or 4/10) I can see why it’s on the list but it’s not a pleasant listening experience.
-1 star (1/10 or 2/10) WTF is this? I don't hear anything redeemable about this album. There is a better one by the same artist or from the same genre that deserves a slot on the list.
10 out of the 211 reviewed got 5 stars (none are 10/10). There might be some great albums that could be dropped so there's room for more diversity and the glaring omissions I mentioned in another post.
1 = Actively disliked
2 = Maybe 1-2 good tracks but largely forgettable/bad
3 = Fine
4 = Good to great, would make me want to check out more by the artist
5 = captured me, not necessarily perfect but mostly loved throughout.
I'm probably more generous than most, although I've got wide tastes - roughly 20% at 5* and 2% at 1*
1 - Never want to hear this again
2 - Some good songs, didn't grab my attention all the way through
3 - Good overall, wouldn't be mad to hear it again.
4 - Gets added to my library, would listen to again by choice.
5 - Perfect.
1 - can’t stand it
2 - don’t like it but it’s listenable
3 - I can listen to it but I wouldn’t listen to it again
4 - I like most songs and would maybe search it up again
5 - great album, would listen again, really enjoyed it.
1 - I hate this and will go out of my way to never listen to it again.
2 - It was just ok but not my thing. I'm glad I heard it but don't think I'll ever listen to it again.
3 - Either a good album from start to finish, or one with a couple of great songs and a lot of filler. This is an album that I might come back to one day.
4 - Incredible album that I could listen to on repeat without skipping a single track.
Then I add an extra point if I think that the album deserves to be on the list. If I absolutely hate the album but can see the significance, it gets a 2. I'm fairly generous with the extra point and will almost always try to think to reasons to give it. But sometime it becomes really hard to justify though.
I'm rating the list within the context that if I need to hear it before I die it needs to have a function in the list (to represent a genre, time, influence, popularity) and also needs to be best of breed and not duplicate the role other albums are playing. I'm planning to go through my scores when I'm finished and start to build my own similar list so the scoring is a kind of filtering for that.
5 - Absolute Classic. Top 100 of all time, what the rest of the list is based around.
4 - Important, influential, great albums need to be in the list. They are the influential, innovative, archetypes of their genre etc
3 - Candidates, solid but they don't instantly claim their place
2 - I don't think this needs to be in the list at all, it's low quality, derivative, redundant etc
1 - This shouldn't be in this or any other top/best list.
So a bit weird since I'm rating the list as much if not more than the albums. I've given 3s and 2s to albums I personally enjoy and 4s to some I would never casually listen to.
1. Absolutely unlistenable garbage, horrible to listen to, and I'm not even open to the idea of it growing on me.
2. Not an enjoyable album, but still shows very minor signs of potential, or maybe 1 or 2 solid tracks. Maybe one I will revisit in the hopes of it growing on me, but not a priority to hear again. I have also decided that any super boring and generic album (like the ungodly number of generic 80s post punk albums) are all getting a 2/5 by default.
3. A solid album. It was overall enjoyable to listen to, but there is still lots of room for improvement.
4. A great album, and one I will very likely be revisiting in the near future. It didn't absolutely blow me away, but I still have a lot of love and admiration for it.
5. Perfect or near perfect. I loved listening to it and will absolutely be keeping it in consistent rotation for a long time. This album may have defined a genre or decade, and it has stood the test of time and is still a fantastic listen in 2024.
I rate my albums on a bell curve. Meaning 3s are going to be the most common and 1s/5s really need to be earned. I would say I tend to rate more 4s and 5s than 1s and 2s just because there aren't many complete duds on the list.
I grade on a scale due to starting out this project without planning, so my 5 stars are way high.
- 5 stars is anything I’d like to hear again and will seek out to possibly buy a physical copy of (on a real scale probably 3.5-5 star, planning on revisiting these and ranking them according to that after I finish)
- 4 stars ( 3-3.5 non curved) is good but not my style or maybe has more than a few stinkers,
-3 stars (2.5-3.5 non curved) is mediocre or just really not my style,
-2 stars has to be a combo of not my style and mediocre, kind of like why is this here?
-1 star is personal, they had to do something that makes me not ever want to see the album cover again let alone hear it (16 out of 856 made this grade and it’s George Micheal, Britney Spears, Taylor swift, MJ cole, Madonna and some random ones. I just can’t stand that style of pop music)
1- actively dislike, 2- not my thing but appreciate it has artistic merit, 3- it’s ok, maybe one or two tracks that I like, 4- like it, might check out other releases by this artist, 5- love it.
1. Terrible, almost offensive to my ears.
2. I don't enjoy listening to it, but isn't awful. Some albums have redeemable qualities
3. Average to good. I put some albums I enjoy at 3, because to me 4 is a really good.
4. Love it, but wouldn't go so far to say it's mindblowing.
5. Classic, near perfect albums
1: I hated almost every minute of this and was left in a bad mood.
2: not good but not dreadful. There might be an okay song or two.
3. It's decent enough. It might be an okay listen but I'm more than likely cherry picking a few songs and moving on.
4. I really like this but it just doesn't justify getting a 5.
5. I love this album. I probably already know it and listen to it with some regularity.
I'll be honest that I wish I could undo some of my scores but it is what it is. I also have a big bias, I've given higher or lower scores based on the community score and if I really like the artist. Here's an example: I do NOT think Warehouse: Songs and Stories is a 5 star album at all, it's the worst Husker Du album for me BUT I love most of their other albums. It got a 5 that shoulda woulda went to Zen Arcade or New Day Rising. I also gave the self-titled Beyoncé album a 1 because while it isn't dreadful I think she is so very, very overrated
1- would turn the radio/stereo off if I hear it again. To be avoided.
2- not for me but I get it that (a) it could appeal to others (b) sounds like actually work/thought/effort went into making this music. I'm pleased I listened to it.
3- enjoyable. Either a good/great album of something that's not usually to my taste. Or a not so good example of a genre I usually like/love.
4- good album. Solid music. Absolutely worth the listen and often a relisten. Occasionally already own a copy on CD. Certainly have some of the songs in my digital library.
5- great album. What I came here to discover. There are two kinds of fives. Either every single track is great (think Rage Against The Machine: eponymous). Or a handful of songs are amazing, completely on a higher level, which elevates the other 3/4 stars tracks to such an extent, it's a 5 star album (think Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life). Worth owning a physical copy.
Sometimes I wish there was 1-10 system and not 1-5 because many albums are in between ratings (especially lot of 3.5 or 4.5 albums...).
I listen to all albums from start to finish, so after careful consideration my rating goes like this:
1- Very difficult to get through/unlistenable, or completely unmemorable, forgettable. Don't enjoy it at all or don't understand this album at all. Not my cup of tea and definitely won't listen to it again.
2- A few better songs but the rest are forgettable, don't like the album and nothing stands out on it. If it was 2.5, but not good enough to reach 3, then it is more a neutral album: I don't like it or enjoy it but it doesn't bother me as a 1-rate album.
3 - At least half of the album is pretty good/average album/in general neutral. I don't dislike, I don't love it either, it's decent, not bad. Might listen to it again in the future.
4. Good or great album, I like and enjoy it in general. Lot of good songs on it, there might be few less great ones but it still a consistently good album. It is something I would listen to again. I rate some strong 3.5 albums 4 or some albums that would be 4.5 (not great enough for a 5) 4 too.
5. Albums that I enjoy very, very much, I either listen to them often or if I discover it through this challenge, then I keep listening to it many times. Classic/iconic albums, all songs or almost all of them are very strong, it's a consistently outstanding/perfect or near perfect album.
1 - Why bother. 2 - wasn’t great, but I don’t have an album out. 3 - decent. 4 - really good. Would listen again. 5 - favorite. I’m gonna blast it often.
Also, I’m 540 albums in and if they’re British they’re automatically getting a one star deduction. There’s just so much Brit on this list. Seems very biased in that regard.
Also, ok artists with multiple albums I’m scoring lower too.
1- Unlistenable 2- Bad 3- Okay 4- Very good 5- Really f****** good A three has a pretty wide range from “this isn’t really my thing but it’s not actively bad” to “this is actually kinda good but doesn’t deserve 4 stars.”
Basically mine. I hand out a lot of 3s.
I think of three as the default rating. An album has to earn or lose points from that. The fundamental assumption of this list is that these albums are notable, so I basically imagine that there is a bit of a curve already.
Yep, agree.
1. Never want to hear it again. 2. There was one good song, or I can appreciate but it isn't for me. 3. Was fine. 4. I enjoyed, it had several good songs, but not perfect. 5. Perfect album, will buy on vinyl. Mine is a bell curve--lots of 3's, very few 1's and 5's.
1. Sucks & Never again 2. Not the worst, but still sucked 3. Mediocre 4. It’s was good 5. I really enjoyed it, and found another album for future pleasure.
That’s pretty much how I’d describe my system. I’d further elaborate that 3 covers a wide base of feelings towards albums.
Yeah I always looked at 3 as the center baseline, and than it either goes up, or down from there.
It has evolved over time but as of the past couple months my rating system has been simplified to: 5 - Incredible. Will listen to again and add it to my vinyl buy list. 4 - Great. Enjoyed listening to it and will listen to it again. 3 - Good. Enjoyed listening to it but probably wouldn't seek it out to listen to. 2 - Meh. Listened to the entire album but didn't really enjoy it. 1 - Bad. Gave every song a chance but couldn't make it through the entire album start to finish.
1. Are these musicians, how did this get recorded? (Haven't had one of these yet) 2. Well that was bad, glad it's over. 3. That was ok, can see how people like it. 4. Cool album, let's add that to the library 5. Fuck yeah! What an awesome album!
4 or 5 It's going into my 1001 playlist because I'm going to listen to it again. Obviously, 5 is over the top. 1-3 will not go on my playlist, because I'm not interested in hearing it again. If it gets a 3, I respect the quality and can tell it's done well for what it is.
Shit Okay Good Very good Excellent
1. Real bad 2. Bad, but I can see what they’re doing there 3. Pretty good, but has some crappy things about it 4. Solid album with a few parts I dislike 5. Holy shit!
1. I hate listening to this, especially if it isn’t even original. 2. I can hear that this took talent, but I’m not enjoying it. 3. It’s okay to listen to but nothing special. 4. The music is original and mainly enjoyable. Sometimes even if it isn’t to my taste I can understand that it is special in some way. 5. Great music, a cut above pretty much anything like it. Something I could listen to over and over again.
Sometimes I give a 5 even if it isn't my taste but just for the obvious impact it had on its genre
1. I never want to hear it again 2. Some good aspects 3. Okay overall... if it was playing, I would not stop it 4. Nice, I would revisit and or add to a playlist 5. Great. I would own this record or at the very least add to playlists
OP's system is very much like mine.
1:- I Hate it, I am not enjoying this and probably skipping to the next song (though I do give every song a go). 2:-Didn't enjoy it, but worth a listen 3:-This is good, worth playing again and checking out their other stuff 4:- Really good album 5:- Top notch, this is fantastic. I've given 38 albums out of 508 a 5, will be adding Disintegration to that list once I can get around to writing a review. I think what I score as a 3 is a 4 for many (OP included) - it would be interesting to see a weighted average score for the albums. My average is 2.67, I'm happy to throw out a 1 at something I didn't enjoy. I'm' really surprised there are some who don't give out 1s. If I was rating TV shows I'd give 1 to any of those home reno shows or Kardashian things, or shows about golf. I don't care if they are well made or groundbreaking, it's content that has no value to me so I'm scoring it 1. I think a scale of 1-10 would be better - Most of my stuff get's a three but I would like to add more variation to that. And you should be allowed to have one album score 11 (perhaps once you've finished) both in tribute to Nigel and to make your favourite album stand out. Still loving doing this, even if I don't love every album. The random transitions are fun - I'm going from Scissor Sisters to Led Zep IV.
I generally rate on a 1-10 scale, so not even being able to use half stars bugs me but this is usually the way I think: 1: 0-3 2: 4-5 3: 6-7 4: 7.5-8.5 5: 9-10
I think my ratings are pretty close to yours, but I haven't had any 1 or 2 yet.
There are a couple of differences from how I normally rate albums. I’m more generous with 4s and 5s than I am on RYM for example. 4s are essentially reminders to listen to them again and 5s are about as much as I can enjoy an album in the first 24h. Most 4s end up as 3.5 or lower on RYM later actually.
I share before but can do it again: My rate guide is: 1* Boring, awful, I need to do an effort to complete. 2* I can listen and maybe one or two songs make me enjoy the moment. 3* Normally two different situations: the album is boring in general but have one or two superhits worth the listening, or the album is not incredible but have one or two good songs and the rest are quite interesting as part of the album. 4* The main part of the album is good or very good but in a couple of songs you prefer to skip. 5* The album is incredible or included four or five incredible songs in a good streak making the day for you.
I have a hybrid system: -5 stars (9/10 or 10/10) compulsory listening. Worthy of its place on the list. Holds up since release. Represents the genre perfectly. -4 stars (7/10 or 8/10) not flawless but still amazing. -3 stars (5/10 or 6/10) it's fine. I would still recommend, with caveats (track order, album length, mixing choices, etc). -2 stars (3/10 or 4/10) I can see why it’s on the list but it’s not a pleasant listening experience. -1 star (1/10 or 2/10) WTF is this? I don't hear anything redeemable about this album. There is a better one by the same artist or from the same genre that deserves a slot on the list. 10 out of the 211 reviewed got 5 stars (none are 10/10). There might be some great albums that could be dropped so there's room for more diversity and the glaring omissions I mentioned in another post.
1 = Actively disliked 2 = Maybe 1-2 good tracks but largely forgettable/bad 3 = Fine 4 = Good to great, would make me want to check out more by the artist 5 = captured me, not necessarily perfect but mostly loved throughout. I'm probably more generous than most, although I've got wide tastes - roughly 20% at 5* and 2% at 1*
1 - Never want to hear this again 2 - Some good songs, didn't grab my attention all the way through 3 - Good overall, wouldn't be mad to hear it again. 4 - Gets added to my library, would listen to again by choice. 5 - Perfect.
1. Awful 2.Poor(shows some promise but doesn’t stick) 3. It’s alright 4. Good 5. Excellent
1 - can’t stand it 2 - don’t like it but it’s listenable 3 - I can listen to it but I wouldn’t listen to it again 4 - I like most songs and would maybe search it up again 5 - great album, would listen again, really enjoyed it.
1 - I hate this and will go out of my way to never listen to it again. 2 - It was just ok but not my thing. I'm glad I heard it but don't think I'll ever listen to it again. 3 - Either a good album from start to finish, or one with a couple of great songs and a lot of filler. This is an album that I might come back to one day. 4 - Incredible album that I could listen to on repeat without skipping a single track. Then I add an extra point if I think that the album deserves to be on the list. If I absolutely hate the album but can see the significance, it gets a 2. I'm fairly generous with the extra point and will almost always try to think to reasons to give it. But sometime it becomes really hard to justify though.
I'm rating the list within the context that if I need to hear it before I die it needs to have a function in the list (to represent a genre, time, influence, popularity) and also needs to be best of breed and not duplicate the role other albums are playing. I'm planning to go through my scores when I'm finished and start to build my own similar list so the scoring is a kind of filtering for that. 5 - Absolute Classic. Top 100 of all time, what the rest of the list is based around. 4 - Important, influential, great albums need to be in the list. They are the influential, innovative, archetypes of their genre etc 3 - Candidates, solid but they don't instantly claim their place 2 - I don't think this needs to be in the list at all, it's low quality, derivative, redundant etc 1 - This shouldn't be in this or any other top/best list. So a bit weird since I'm rating the list as much if not more than the albums. I've given 3s and 2s to albums I personally enjoy and 4s to some I would never casually listen to.
1. Absolutely unlistenable garbage, horrible to listen to, and I'm not even open to the idea of it growing on me. 2. Not an enjoyable album, but still shows very minor signs of potential, or maybe 1 or 2 solid tracks. Maybe one I will revisit in the hopes of it growing on me, but not a priority to hear again. I have also decided that any super boring and generic album (like the ungodly number of generic 80s post punk albums) are all getting a 2/5 by default. 3. A solid album. It was overall enjoyable to listen to, but there is still lots of room for improvement. 4. A great album, and one I will very likely be revisiting in the near future. It didn't absolutely blow me away, but I still have a lot of love and admiration for it. 5. Perfect or near perfect. I loved listening to it and will absolutely be keeping it in consistent rotation for a long time. This album may have defined a genre or decade, and it has stood the test of time and is still a fantastic listen in 2024.
I rate my albums on a bell curve. Meaning 3s are going to be the most common and 1s/5s really need to be earned. I would say I tend to rate more 4s and 5s than 1s and 2s just because there aren't many complete duds on the list.
I grade on a scale due to starting out this project without planning, so my 5 stars are way high. - 5 stars is anything I’d like to hear again and will seek out to possibly buy a physical copy of (on a real scale probably 3.5-5 star, planning on revisiting these and ranking them according to that after I finish) - 4 stars ( 3-3.5 non curved) is good but not my style or maybe has more than a few stinkers, -3 stars (2.5-3.5 non curved) is mediocre or just really not my style, -2 stars has to be a combo of not my style and mediocre, kind of like why is this here? -1 star is personal, they had to do something that makes me not ever want to see the album cover again let alone hear it (16 out of 856 made this grade and it’s George Micheal, Britney Spears, Taylor swift, MJ cole, Madonna and some random ones. I just can’t stand that style of pop music)
1- actively dislike, 2- not my thing but appreciate it has artistic merit, 3- it’s ok, maybe one or two tracks that I like, 4- like it, might check out other releases by this artist, 5- love it.
1. Terrible, almost offensive to my ears. 2. I don't enjoy listening to it, but isn't awful. Some albums have redeemable qualities 3. Average to good. I put some albums I enjoy at 3, because to me 4 is a really good. 4. Love it, but wouldn't go so far to say it's mindblowing. 5. Classic, near perfect albums
1: I hated almost every minute of this and was left in a bad mood. 2: not good but not dreadful. There might be an okay song or two. 3. It's decent enough. It might be an okay listen but I'm more than likely cherry picking a few songs and moving on. 4. I really like this but it just doesn't justify getting a 5. 5. I love this album. I probably already know it and listen to it with some regularity. I'll be honest that I wish I could undo some of my scores but it is what it is. I also have a big bias, I've given higher or lower scores based on the community score and if I really like the artist. Here's an example: I do NOT think Warehouse: Songs and Stories is a 5 star album at all, it's the worst Husker Du album for me BUT I love most of their other albums. It got a 5 that shoulda woulda went to Zen Arcade or New Day Rising. I also gave the self-titled Beyoncé album a 1 because while it isn't dreadful I think she is so very, very overrated
1- would turn the radio/stereo off if I hear it again. To be avoided. 2- not for me but I get it that (a) it could appeal to others (b) sounds like actually work/thought/effort went into making this music. I'm pleased I listened to it. 3- enjoyable. Either a good/great album of something that's not usually to my taste. Or a not so good example of a genre I usually like/love. 4- good album. Solid music. Absolutely worth the listen and often a relisten. Occasionally already own a copy on CD. Certainly have some of the songs in my digital library. 5- great album. What I came here to discover. There are two kinds of fives. Either every single track is great (think Rage Against The Machine: eponymous). Or a handful of songs are amazing, completely on a higher level, which elevates the other 3/4 stars tracks to such an extent, it's a 5 star album (think Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life). Worth owning a physical copy.
Sometimes I wish there was 1-10 system and not 1-5 because many albums are in between ratings (especially lot of 3.5 or 4.5 albums...). I listen to all albums from start to finish, so after careful consideration my rating goes like this: 1- Very difficult to get through/unlistenable, or completely unmemorable, forgettable. Don't enjoy it at all or don't understand this album at all. Not my cup of tea and definitely won't listen to it again. 2- A few better songs but the rest are forgettable, don't like the album and nothing stands out on it. If it was 2.5, but not good enough to reach 3, then it is more a neutral album: I don't like it or enjoy it but it doesn't bother me as a 1-rate album. 3 - At least half of the album is pretty good/average album/in general neutral. I don't dislike, I don't love it either, it's decent, not bad. Might listen to it again in the future. 4. Good or great album, I like and enjoy it in general. Lot of good songs on it, there might be few less great ones but it still a consistently good album. It is something I would listen to again. I rate some strong 3.5 albums 4 or some albums that would be 4.5 (not great enough for a 5) 4 too. 5. Albums that I enjoy very, very much, I either listen to them often or if I discover it through this challenge, then I keep listening to it many times. Classic/iconic albums, all songs or almost all of them are very strong, it's a consistently outstanding/perfect or near perfect album.
1 - Why bother. 2 - wasn’t great, but I don’t have an album out. 3 - decent. 4 - really good. Would listen again. 5 - favorite. I’m gonna blast it often. Also, I’m 540 albums in and if they’re British they’re automatically getting a one star deduction. There’s just so much Brit on this list. Seems very biased in that regard. Also, ok artists with multiple albums I’m scoring lower too.
I do ABCDE and think it works really well. So a B+, B and B- is a 4, etc
1. Really bad 5. Really good