How do you rate music? (1-5 scale)
 

This occurred to me when I decided to Google what people define as mediocre music. The consensus being music that is there, objectively good musicianship and all, but doesn't appeal to you, but not annoying either. Passable music, a plain Jane if you will.
One even exclaimed that if you're going to make music, either make it big or make it flop. Which is a promising sentiment.

2.5 would be a typical rating for Mediocre. I noticed that some of my 3 and 3.5 fell into the Mediocre category and some the 2.5s I have are straight up bad.
The 1-2 would be more so abysmal then. I already skip 2.5s within the first 20 seconds already as it is. Some of the 3s I have, I skip once it runs through the chorus (a minute into the song typically). It's not that the song is bad, but I just know I got better songs and I want to move it along. Were it to be between the radio or a 3 star, I'll without a doubt fully listen to a 3 star.

I'm debating if I'm being too generous or too harsh with how I rate music. I would wager that I'm being to generous so I'll knock down ratings on all my songs a notch unless they are solid.

Here's my system on RYM:

5 stars: "Desert island" album. This is a Revolver or Yellow House.
4.5 stars: Incredible album, listen regularly.
4 stars: Great album, listen occasionally.
3.5 stars: Good album, repeat listen when I first played it. Might turn it on again.
3 stars: Decent album, didn't need to listen more than once.
2.5 stars: Boring.
2 stars: Bad.
1.5 stars: Awful.
1 star: Couldn't even get to the end.

I don't always rate albums --- seems a little arbitray --- but when I do or if I have to, I usually use 3 as the basic "good but not overly great, sort of average" album and everything above that climbs in quality, with 4 bwing pretty damn good and maybe unexpectedly so, and 5 being the pinnacle, love this album, you have to hear it. On the other side, 2 is disappointing, mediocre, not really worth listening to and 1 is music I wipe my ahhh there you have my basic ratings. ;)

Of course, there can be ones that fall more into one but less into the other so you can have half-ratings too, where maybe an album is say better than 3 but not quite a four, in which case (anyone?) it's a three and a half, and of course the other way too, where it's not quite that good but not quite bad enough to get say a 2, so it's two and a half.

Probably how most people run things I guess.

My system for songs:

1 star: Horrible
2 stars: Bad
3 stars: OK
4 stars: Good to great (meaning there's a significant difference between low 4's and high 4's)
5 stars: Fantastic. These occupy a smaller area near the top end of the scale than other ratings.

This is my rating system on RYM:


HellCell, you said that some of your 3.5 album fall into the mediocre category, which I find interesting, since I think 3.5 is a pretty good rating.

I'm re-calibrating my system. It's not an authentic 3.5. My 3.5s are being underappreciated because of how generous I've found myself to be rating.

So with my new system heres how it works. 2.5 is the pivotal point. Any higher is a climb and any lower is a drop.
Meaning 3, 4, and 5 is likability but with varying extent.
2, 1, and 0.5 is a dislike with varied extent.

I think the right word is compressing my ratings. I noticed not all 5s are the same (I noticed a quality difference), so some are really 4.5s. I noticed some of my 4s should be 3.5.Atm 15% of my songs are at 5, but realistically I'd say it's closer to 10%. Anyways you get the idea.

I understand what you're saying. I went through my RYM five-star ratings, and found Boys Don't Cry by The Cure, which I'd only listened to once, and I remembered only half of it. So I gave it a 4.0 instead. Listened to it again the other day, and I think that's a fair rating.

1: Very close to worthless.
2: A 2 is basically filler. I might be tempted to skip this.
3: It's not engaging, but it's not boring either.
4: Slightly engaging. An album/song I can listen to maybe a few times in a row before growing tired of.
5: Something I can listen to many times and never grow tired of.

The line between 3 and 4 is tentative at best, as is the line between 2 and 3. 1's and 5's are clear cut: I hate it or I love it.

I'd rate music 3 out of 5.

Not bad but must try harder.

Guacamole - Hot Dog

Hot dog being the bees knees and guacamole being somewhere between taint scud and jockey itch.