[Finky]

I usually will give an album a full listen, one time through. It usually either grabs me or it doesn't. If I've heard an album is supposed to be great, and for some reason I don't like it, I'll commit to 3 full listens. Some bands are really an acquired taste. When I first listened to Radiohead (album was "Kid A"), I thought, "why does everyone like this?" And then it grew on me -- by the 3rd listen, I just wanted to play the album again and again. On the other hand, I listened to Talk Talk (album was "Laughing Stock") 3 times through, over a several days, and I thought it was dreadful each time...leaving me baffled as to why seemingly everyone else thought it was wonderful. I'd suggest that if you're listening to a genre of music that you're unfamiliar with, then more than one listen might be appropriate. If you're really familiar with the genre, than you'll probably know after one listen.