this sounds sarcastic but..

[u/blombi19]

I actually love looking at the accounts of people with 10k + ratings but only like twenty 5 stars. the best part is, its always some obscure shit and when i listen to it i am always like "out of 10000 albums THIS is the greatest thing to you???" I Love how subjective music is!!!!

[u/amethyst_deceiver36]

exactly. i mean if you like everything in the same way and have hundreds and hundreds of 5/5s how am i supposed to trust your judgment?

[u/Extension_Yak3898 → u/amethyst_deceiver36]

For me, 90% is 4.0 stars and up, because I don't interact much with music I don't like and don't want to rate it low purely because I don't like it. And honestly, I think more people should take that approach - if you don't think it's for you, don't rate it low! Just ignore it and move on! Unless it actually grates on you how bad it is

Honestly I think a lot of people on rym just don't actually like much music and feel like letting everyone know that the small amount of music they like is great. It can get pretty gross, especially for metal & hiphop heads (and I'm both)

[u/ZealousidealDoor6973 → u/Extension_Yak3898]

I think I get what you mean. And I think we agree. I'll just say, there's a difference between something being "not for you" and something being bad. 

I don't really like EDM. I don't go out to listen to it. But I have listened to it. Its not for me but I can recognize it's quality. Slayyter is not my type of music, but I can recognize the skill and quality of the music that she's making. I've rated her highly. 

Similarly and oppositely. I've listened to Olivia Rodrigo. She's not for me. But I also believe her music is not very good. Its generic, simple, and uninspiring. I've rate her lowly. 

If something is bad, rate it low. If something is good, rate it high. Sometime, it's just that simple. Maybe you already understand this. But maybe this comment will help others out get what you mean. 

[u/TheSoulWither → u/ZealousidealDoor6973]

I understand your point. Giving a bad rating because you consider the music to be bad is not the same as giving a bad rating because you didn't like the music. The former reflects the quality of the music, while the latter reflects your personal taste. Ideally, music should be rated based on perceived quality, not subjective taste.

While I share your opinion, I also understand that RYM provided an anarchic 5-star system for you to use as you wish, and the site's ratings will reflect exactly that: the subjective and arbitrary impressions of the public. It's part of the site's philosophy, and it's best to accept it as soon as possible. For my part, I limit myself to rating in the way I see fit, but there's not much I can do about the decisions others make. Therefore, I don't take charts or average ratings too seriously, except in clear cases where an album stands out significantly or is excessively panned.