Hey page readers, Sage here!
How do we rate albums at Out of Ten? What makes an album worth a 10, and what makes it so bad that it gets a 1? What about the ones in the middle, what’s the difference between a 5 to a 7?
Below is a quick overview of the criteria I use to rate albums. Though we try to remain consistent from episode to episode, there are times where our ratings on albums change throughout the year from what we say on the podcast. You can always track my reviews on my RateYourMusic profile, and Michael’s here.
9.5 – 10
These albums will usually be considered as some of my all-time favourites. I will love these albums forever and they will be on repeat and on my rotation for many years to come. I will also hype the shit out of them if you ever ask me for music in-person at a party.
9.0 – 9.4
Album of the year contenders. There will usually only be 3-4 albums rated this high each year for me. These albums are great with very memorable tracks and moments. Will highly recommend to anyone regardless of their current music taste.
8.1 – 8.9
Great albums that are recommended listens. A lot of standout tracks. There may be small things here or there that stop it from being an album of the year candidate. These factors include having a filler track or two, tracklist organization, or maybe these albums are just my thing and I can see others not enjoying the album (which would probably get the album a lower 8 rating)
7.6 – 8.0
Good-to-great album, good amount of standout tracks. Small things are missing or done that stop it from being a top album. The album will get repeat full listens, but may get lost in the shuffle further into the year as better releases come out.
7 – 7.5
Good album and good tracks, but lacks in big hitter repeat tracks. In some cases, the album just may be too long. Worth listening to a few times, but you’re more likely to pick individual tracks or singles to put on a playlist instead of doing multiple full playthroughs.
6.5 – 7
Okay album, with at least 2-3 really good tracks. The album may be worth listening to 1-2 times, but factors such as tracklist cohesion, too many filler tracks or long length may lead to less playthroughs. There’s a possibility of me still recommending to give the album a listen if you are a fan of the artist or genre.
6.0 – 6.5
Passable, okay album. You may find 1-2 songs worth listening to multiple times. At this point, I’d have either equal positive and negative remarks about the album, or sometimes more negative. I would usually not recommend an album once it hits this range.
I find that if there’s an album I’m excited for that really misses my expectations, I’ll put it somewhere in this area.
5.0 – 5.9
Mediocre, but not terrible. Probably no worthwhile songs to re-listen to, and you might only listen to this album once. If an album is inoffensive but boring or uninspiring, I will put it somewhere in this range.
Less than 5.0
Bad album. An album at a 4.0 range is maybe more uninteresting or boring than bad.
Albums from a 2.0 to 3.0 range are offensively bad, and are at the point that I wish I could get the time back that I spent listening to it. Not worth checking out at all.
An album 1.0 – 0.5 is a rare one, but they’re for albums so bad that I’d actually recommend you listen to at least parts of it just so you can hear how bad it is.