notrobinson9's Rating Scale
Strong-Decent-Light
A rating ending in 8 is a "strong" for that particular rating, ending in 5 is a "decent", and ending in 2 is a "light". For example, a strong 8 would be an 88, a decent 6 would be a 65, and a light 7 would be a 72.
10
As close to perfect as reasonably possible. Albums that I rate as a 10 are practically completely devoid of flaws, and I would not wish to change anything about them. 10s typically have some kind of profound personal or emotional impact as well, though an album can get a 10 for simply being incredibly exceptional across the board.
Strong 9
Almost perfect, though separated from 10s by maybe having very slight dips in quality or not having as much of an emotional impact. However, strong 9s can still easily stand as among the best albums I have ever heard, and could potentially pass as 10s depending on my mood.
Light-Decent 9
Amazing albums that excel in practically every aspect, and can likely stand as one of the strongest albums of their niche. There might be some slight flaws or a filler track or two, but for the most part they majorly impress and leave a lasting impact.
Strong 8
Excellent albums with miniscule flaws and several impressive elements, but lacking a bit of the impact needed to raise them higher.
Light-Decent 8
Great albums that remain consistently enjoyable and impress me in some way. I can find myself wanting to revisit most of the tracks and would easily recommend them to any fans of the niche or genre.
Strong 7
Albums here are usually in the “very good, but…” range. They have plenty of strengths and memorable tracks, but may fail to truly impress me or have too many flaws to warrant scoring higher.
Light-Decent 7
Albums that are simply enjoyable. They don’t do anything crazy, they probably have some weaker tracks dragging them down, but they’re still an overall worthwhile experience. I wouldn’t jump to recommend them, but fans of the specific genre or niche should find something they like.
Strong 6
Decent albums that I enjoyed while listening, but would be unlikely to revisit. Strong 6s usually have a couple tracks that can worm their way into my rotation, but the majority of the album fails to rope me in.
Light-Decent 6
Albums that I see as just passable or completely average. They still could have a good song or two nestled in them, but most of the album is either noticeably flawed or leans on the boring side. Still, these albums are at least a bit more enjoyable than not.
Strong 5
Albums that have a couple good ideas present in them, but are either too boring, inconsistent, or flawed to be worthwhile.
Light-Decent 5
Purely and exceedingly mediocre. These albums leave me with almost nothing worthwhile and are a thoroughly boring experience throughout. They might not do anything particularly wrong as a whole, but listening to them just feels like a waste of time.
Light-Strong 4
This is the territory where I would start to call albums “bad”. However, 4s are more tolerably unpleasant than outright awful. They have bad songs and questionable artistic decisions throughout, though there are at least a couple of reasonably bright spots to keep it grounded. Still, these albums largely fail as a listening experience and I would not recommend them to anyone.
Light-Strong 3
These albums are now firmly in “bad” territory. There is a level of artistic cohesion to them, but through some combination of poor songwriting, baffling decisions, or whatever else, they come out the other side as a highly unenjoyable and regrettable experience.
Light-Strong 2
The only thing keeping these albums grounded is a vague sense of musical competence. On every other front, they completely and utterly fail. Listening to them makes me wonder why no one tried to stop this.
Light-Strong 1
These albums are a showcase of complete artistic failure. There’s barely a sense that anyone involved in the creative process had the slightest idea of what they were actually doing. Listening to a 1 feels as if the album has genuine contempt towards me as a listener
Light-Strong 0
Very rarely given out, reserved for albums that are too much of an abomination to any music lover to warrant even a 1. Mankind would be objectively better off if these albums were erased from history.