Why not 4 and 1/2 stars?? Please...

Oh - please - why can't we have a 4 and 1/2 star rating on the reviews??

I know options should be limited - and there would be no point in 3 1/2 or 2 1/2 etc..

BUT...

There are so many brilliant albums out there that don't quite make it to a classic masterpiece but they really are almost there that a "4" (8 out of 10) isn't good enough and "5" (10 of 10) is too much.

The website insists on thinking really hard about awarding a "5" and indeed very few albums really deserve "perfection", but because "4" is too low, people are forced to award too many "5" ' s.

On the other hand, people think something's not quite perfect but nearly there and award a "4" because they are forced too, but in reality it's not enough.

Oh, think about it - how many times when you review an album you are really struggling with the thought - is it a "4" is it "5".

Oh, go on....

Easy Livin wrote: There have been many discussions on half stars already. Do we really want to go there again?

It sounds like a pretty good idea to me. I mean, I've reviewed a few things, and had exactly the same dilemma as PinkPangolin described in a couple of instances.

My major problem is that although an album may be of top notch quality, it isn't necessarily 'essential' to every prog fan's collection - very few things are, I would say. But four stars looks very understated when commenting on an album that is truly fantastic.

There are other websites which offer more rating steps ... 

Why not 3.124348989828 stars.

Or 2j stars.

Or 6 stars, in case you ever need to rate Dream Theater's Scenes From A Memory Metropolis on a scale of 6 to 100

In short, I think there are sites... Mike's for one, which cater nicely to the micro-ratings crowd. As it is, I have enough trouble deciding between three and four... deciding between good but not essential or good but not essential and a half seems even more difficult.

As it is, I think the problems are basically three-fold.

1. The rating criteria we've got now aren't perfect, but they can fit most shades of opinion pretty well. If you want to distinguish a four star you really like from one you think is just there, you've space in the review for it.

2. The reviews/ratings already on the site would be sort of compromised in terms of impact because I don't think anyone could be bothered to go through all their old reviews and fix things up by half a star.

3. It would be a lot of work for poor M@X.

And

Finnforest wrote: People simply underestimate the stature of 4 stars and therefore overuse the 5 star choice way too often.  4 is not just a good album, it's a really GREAT album.  You just need to adjust your thinking to limit your 5s to those few albums that are truly special, that magical top shelf of masterpieces that is a very small percentage of anyone's recorded music collection.    With a little practice, you begin to realize that not every album you enjoy needs 5 stars.  It took me quite a bit of time to adjust to that, but now it is second nature.   Good luck

is dead on.

Padraic wrote: Nothing to stop you from inserting "4,5 stars really!" in your review.

I've always personally thought that 4; 5 stars more accurately impresses the delicate balance between an excellent addition to any collection and a masterpiece of progressive rock. Additionally, you can go 4 ;5 stars if you want to suggest it's more masterpiecely.

Ah, the exquisite power of the semi;colon.

Finnforest wrote: People simply underestimate the stature of 4 stars and therefore overuse the 5 star choice way too often.  4 is not just a good album, it's a really GREAT album.  You just need to adjust your thinking to limit your 5s to those few albums that are truly special, that magical top shelf of masterpieces that is a very small percentage of anyone's recorded music collection.    With a little practice, you begin to realize that not every album you enjoy needs 5 stars.

My thoughts exactly. 4 stars is very rarely "not enough" when it actually is a great score for any album/DVD. Everyone should make this notice, 5 separates the best, but the ones that deserve a 4 are still priviledged.

^ Rateyourmusic.com is supposed to be quite nice ... 

Mr ProgFreak wrote: ^ Rateyourmusic.com is supposed to be quite nice ...

I do love that website.

I personally think things are fine... Usually if I'm unsure, I won't review the album just then and give it a few more listens to see if my impression improves or deteriorates.