Speaking for my own ratings, I would disagree with this statement. The distillation to a single number for a rating is simply how much I enjoy listening to any given album, and how I compare it to other albums I have heard/rated. I think that written reviews are the place to expound on the other contextual elements, but that's just me.
This has been an interesting thread - I distinctly recall threads of this nature about fifteen years ago that were much more directed at finding fault with the site and bashing it. I'm glad to see it still provides a useful reference for many.
I would find that person insane, but I think it is perfectly acceptable to rate solely on how much the rater likes a particular album, rather than contextually. There are plenty of albums in a style where I might be the outlier that likes someone three generations down the line, rather than the originator. I'll risk raising you're ire here and admit that while I can see the significance of Zappa, I'd take a Euro knock-off of Zappaesque jazz-rock over the real deal most any day Though if it makes you feel better, I do have a 14 on Forever Changes.
This is one place where the site falls flat for me, and I wish there would be more enforcement of having people keep up with their ratings. We all have other things happening outside of rating for a website, but as a long-time member and user of the site, I could do with a purge of at least two of those rows.
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