Best Ever Albums

Re: Rating Albums

demetrios — Fri, 3 Feb 2012 03:00:57 GMT

Author: demetrios

Posted: 02/03/2012 08:00

I agree with this idea.
I think it's going to be an improvement to the function of the whole site!

Re: Rating Albums

albummaster — Fri, 3 Feb 2012 02:30:53 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 02/03/2012 07:30

it will be across everything. It's on a per item basis so any rating more than 3σ from the mean average for that item will be excluded from the Bayesian.

Re: Rating Albums

Xavygravy — Fri, 3 Feb 2012 02:17:09 GMT

Author: Xavygravy

Posted: 02/03/2012 07:17

albummaster wrote:

Xavygravy wrote:

Also, I think the best way to get more accurate ratings is to cut out the bottom AND top 10% of ratings. This will eliminate most of the extreme ratings that stuff up the ratings and focus on the more common, realistic and 'accurate' ratings.

yes, it's going to be a very similar approach (top and bottom), but 3 sigma.

If 3 sigma means only 0.27%(x2) of ratings are excluded, I think that value is way too insignificant. All that will do is make the already highly-rated albums have an even higher rating.
2 sigma seems more appropriate: 4.55%(x2) of ratings will be excluded, leading to a more accurate rating across all albums.

This new rating system is being applied to songs, bands and charts as well as albums, right?

Re: Rating Albums

albummaster — Fri, 3 Feb 2012 02:02:32 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 02/03/2012 07:02

Xavygravy wrote:

yes, it's going to be a very similar approach (top and bottom), but 3 sigma.

Re: Rating Albums

Xavygravy — Fri, 3 Feb 2012 01:58:10 GMT

Author: Xavygravy

Posted: 02/03/2012 06:58

It's fine as it is.

If anything were to change, I think it should just be an option to change the interface of the ratings e.g. you would only be able to rate in a 5-star scale with half-star increments, but others will still be able to rate with the 20-star scale (default).

Also, I think the best way to get more accurate ratings is to cut out the bottom AND top 10% of ratings. This will eliminate most of the extreme ratings that stuff up the ratings and focus on the more common, realistic and 'accurate' ratings.

Re: Rating Albums

albummaster — Fri, 3 Feb 2012 01:31:56 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 02/03/2012 06:31

this is a thread that has been dug up from the archives, and the decision then was to keep the 100 based system. There's a few other threads where this was discussed as well e.g. http://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1617 (this one from last summer) At one point, I was in favour of changing to a 5 point system with half point increments to be consistent with some other sites, but the consensus here was to keep things as they are as the 20 point system here is a bit more granular.

vesander wrote:

The answer is keep the 100 point system but ignore the Bottom 5-10% from the averages to take out haters who generally haven't really listened to the albums and are just padding their own stats or rating by broad strokes like at a category level... gee, I don't like genre X so I'll give this album i don't know 15/100. You don't have too many people like that but you see them in nearly albums with a lot of ratings and you can tell it's blatant and it weighs too heavily in the averaging.

there's something coming in an imminent update that will put this issue to bed.

Re: Rating Albums

Captain_Dude — Thu, 2 Feb 2012 18:32:56 GMT

Author: Captain_Dude

Posted: 02/02/2012 23:32

Albums, I believe, work very well when rated on the 5-star scale using 1/2 star increments. As so many others have stated, it is almost a "standard" among those who do album reviews.

Hotels and restaurants are rated using the 5-star system, too...and it works wonderfully for them.

When I assign stars to an album, I often look at them like I would a U.S. Army general's stars. For the majority of releases, a 4-star rating is just about as good as it gets. Five stars are awarded when an album so warrants it...it has to be practically flawless and held in the highest regard. In other words, the album must be an absolute classic...and 5-stars should MEAN something VERY special when awarded.

Re: Rating Albums

kidamnesiac — Thu, 2 Feb 2012 17:26:24 GMT

Author: kidamnesiac

Posted: 02/02/2012 22:26

yeah, 100 is the best and i would be able to rank albums 97 instead of 95 or 100.

Re: Rating Albums

vesander — Thu, 2 Feb 2012 16:52:28 GMT

Author: vesander

Posted: 02/02/2012 21:52

I think the 100 point system is working well actually for the most part. It may be a little too precise or complex for some, but why post on a site like this if you don't like detail or precision?

If you go to 5 stars all of the albums are going to muddy together. The great albums will all average down to ~4* because you have enough haters to downgrade any album. The difference between 80 where many very good albums settle and 85 or so on this site is all the difference in the world. Those would all be just 4s in a 5* system.

The answer is keep the 100 point system but ignore the Bottom 5-10% from the averages to take out haters who generally haven't really listened to the albums and are just padding their own stats or rating by broad strokes like at a category level... gee, I don't like genre X so I'll give this album i don't know 15/100. You don't have too many people like that but you see them in nearly albums with a lot of ratings and you can tell it's blatant and it weighs too heavily in the averaging.

Re: Rating Albums

Anonymous — Thu, 2 Feb 2012 16:29:04 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 02/02/2012 21:29

90-100 - Favorite
80-85 - Great
70-75 - Very good
60-65 - Good
55 - Okay
45-50 - Flawed
20 -40 - Dislike
0- 15 - BAD BAD BAD

Re: Rating Albums

Bork — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:26:29 GMT

Author: Bork

Posted: 01/31/2012 03:26

It's not a big problem and if it stays the same I am fine with that too.

When I think of a rating for an album I tend to think in terms of five stars with half steps though. That rating can easily be translated to any other scale like you said, but since the question was asked it doesn't make much sense to have a 100 scale if most people translate their rating to it from a 5 scale.

Re: Rating Albums

RFNAPLES — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:09:59 GMT

Author: RFNAPLES

Posted: 01/31/2012 03:09

Is this just semantics? What is the difference 10/10, 100/100, 5/5? 8/10, 80/100, 4/5? Or is it high math? I don't see the problem.

Re: Rating Albums

Hayden — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:04:39 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 01/31/2012 03:04

My rating system:

1/10
2/10
3/10
4/10
5/10
6/10
7/10
8/10
9/10
10/10

And your album gets one of those! 🕺

Re: Rating Albums

Happy — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:02:58 GMT

Author: Happy

Posted: 01/31/2012 03:02

I also think there should be a 5 star system with .5s being available. It makes the albums much easier to judge. Sometimes I have a hard time picking between a 90 or a 95.

Re: Rating Albums

Bork — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:08:18 GMT

Author: Bork

Posted: 01/31/2012 01:08

I find it easier to relate to a 5-star than a 10 or 100 point system.

Try to be different

Music Manic — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:27:14 GMT

Author: Music Manic

Posted: 01/30/2012 17:27

Despite of the other's sayings, I still think that 100 points is the best measurement. Even though not everyone could give a valid rating with that system, but it still quite representative, as in IMDb's rating system

Re: Rating Albums

albummaster — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 09:56:50 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 09/14/2008 13:56

Just listening along here to the feedback, I think this site will probably revert to /5 (with 0.5 increments) in the not too distant future. I agree with the comments here and don't feel /100 is working that well - it's too precise for most people and from a usability point of view it's fiddly to use. GameSpot used to do user ratings out of 100, not sure if they still do.

Re: Rating Albums

maxxy — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:05:20 GMT

Author: maxxy

Posted: 09/13/2008 01:05

out of 5 stars with half-stars. It's the most common way and the only one that makes sense now.

Re: Rating Albums

Elston — Wed, 9 Jul 2008 15:42:01 GMT

Author: Elston

Posted: 07/09/2008 19:42

These are the characteristics I give to my ratings:

10 - Masterpiece
9 - Excellent
8 - Great
7 - Good
6 - Okay
5 - : | (Indifferent)
4. Not my Thing
3. Bad
2. Awful
1. Horrid

I don't currently have any albums rated low than a 4, mostly because I wouldn't buy a record or download an album that I probably won't like

Re: Rating Albums

Elston — Mon, 7 Jul 2008 01:44:13 GMT

Author: Elston

Posted: 07/07/2008 05:44

I prefer a 5 point system that goes by 1/2 increments. Either that or a 10 point system that goes up by 1's.