"Overrated" ... a contradiction in terms?

I just realized that over or under rated is actually extremely useful if used properly. If you are writing a review in which you disagree with the majority of other reviewers, you could say that the album is, on this site/in general public opinion, over or under rated. If you then counterpoint the general consensus on the album, you create a very persuasive argument that you're rating is, in fact, more accurate than other people's.

^^^That didn't quite come out how it was in my head, but hopefully you'll get my general drift.

MikeEnRegalia wrote: Inspired by the recent Pink Floyd discussion (DSoTM vs. WYWH) I ask: How can any album be "overrated" ... or "underrated"?Most people simple mean by "overrated" that *in their opinion* the album should have a lower average rating. That's quite presumptuous, as - especially for albums with many reviews/ratings - they're essentially saying that they know better than all the others. They're saying "hey guys, you all submitted wrong ratings!".

    
Interesting point. But if we really go with that, 9 out of 10 albums on a fan-based review site would be "overrated," as fans (understandably) often only have the time or the urge to review albums they like.

Underrated and Overrated are very subjective terms, as they entirely depend on the individual person. They're not saying, "hey guys, you all submitted wrong ratings!" Rather, they're saying, "hey guys, according to MY tastes, you all submitted wrong ratings!" In other words, over/underrated comes about when someone disagrees with popular opinion.

For example, I'd say that The Final Cut (Pink Floyd) is underrated here (3.16 or so here, I'd give it 4.3/4.4), while Planets (Eloy) is overrated (4.58 or so here, I'd give it 3.4/3.5). But that doesn't mean that everyone else's reviews are wrong, I just disagree with them.

Still, you make a very valid point, and fairly accurately define over and underrated.

You asked, "How can ANY album be over or underrated?" Well, to any individual person, every album is probably at least slightly over or underrated. As a definite term, however, you are right. It IS impossible for an album to be over or underrated (other than the general fan based tendency to have lower votes be underrepresented), as what an album is only as good as people perceive it to be. For each person, this is different, but when you average every person's opinion, you get the PERFECT average rating for the album, at which point it is neither over nor under rated.

Once again, a VERY interesting point, and, in case you couldn't tell, it got me to thinking. Thank you for that.

And pop here?? dont you want to tell every emo boy that my chemical romance is pretty overrated??

i found it very possible to an album to be overrated.. in the case of yes i think tales from topographic oceans is far superior from close to the edge.. and the last one in here is the NUMBER ONE ESSENTIAL PROG ALBUM OF ALL TIMES.... what word do i have to call it? Overrated...

"overrated" is overrated...

^ yes, but they're not always avoidable.

^ me too - I'll just try to be more careful about when to apply it.

^ but quite many of them!

Peter Rideout wrote:   The term really bugs me! The way it tends to be used here really means "I don't like this popular thing -- it's not nearly as good as the rest of you claim to think it is."   It is sheer arrogance to presume that other people's pleasure in a piece of music is inferior, or less warranted, than your own lack of pleasure. People need to realize that taste is individual, and from the heart -- it is not calculated.

^ Of course this isn't going anywhere - people will continue to use the word "overrated", and that's ok. It's just a little discussion, can't see the harm in that.

Australian wrote: I see, I see. But even that can be called calculation in a way.

Yes, but displaying a numerical average does not mean that I need a calculator to decide what I'll listen to next, like "album X has 0.1 more points, so I'll choose that one".