Revisiting the Ratings

Rating System

I haven't revisited the rating system since the beginning of this blog and I think it's time for me to do so.  The grade ratings have largely fallen in a narrow band, limiting their usefulness for readers.  In addition, my initial criteria - how replayable a tune is - has gradually gone out the window.  I'm not sure a one-dimensional grade or rating makes a lot of sense; some albums are awesome because they're super-fun (like Girl Talk's All Day), some albums are tough listens but very meaningful (like Elvis Perkins' Ash Wednesday).  Some great albums feature brilliant songwriting (like Josh Ritter's So Runs the World Away), and some are wonderful interpretations of old tunes and feature no new songs at all (like the recently-reviewed American Legacies).  How can I boil down all these factors into one grade, and what value does it have if I do?

So what am I going to do?  Not totally sure yet, but I'll feel it out as I go along.  The next couple reviews probably will have no ratings.