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Rating Albums In Genres You Don't Like?

When doing album challenge lists, like The Rolling Stone Top 500, how do you rate genres you don’t like? For instance I really don’t like Country music but it seems unfair to rate all Country stuff really low.

I usually just leave a review and don’t rate it out of courtesy, but it’s really up to you.

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That’s a tough situation, but if it’s a genre you simply don’t enjoy, then I would stray away from rating and reviewing. And maybe go check out some country music that blends genres you like to get a better apprecation of that genre. I’d highly recconmend “The Magnolia Electric Co.” to help you get into the genre. It was my gateway and it’s a fantastic record that blends indie rock with alt-country.

Edit: This is a bad take, only leaving this up cause I like Myxogastrid’s reply. Still go listen to Songs: Ohia tho.

“stay away from rating and reviewing”??

this is a good way to discourage people from exploring and evaluating new music, which is shitty. and is one of the primary uses of a site like this

ratings should reflect as broad a swath of listeners as possible. if only fans rated everything, every rating on the site would be a 70 or above, which defeats the entire purpose. the more people rate an album, NO MATTER WHO IT IS (except bots lol), the more accurate the rating becomes.

your reviews, along with your ratings, should be equally uninhibited - explain what you don’t like about it! what gross vibes do you get? what can’t you stand? even explain that you’re not a fan of country if you want

but yeah, there’s no such thing as an invalid bias when appreciating wholly subjective art. these differences in taste and opinion are what drives discussion. talking about music would be boring as fuck if everyone agreed on everything

NOW GO TANK THOSE COUNTRY CHARTS!!

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Yeah, looking back at my comment, my point makes no sense. Like what you like, but please if you don’t “get” or find any enjoyment in a genre, please go about and try to find some appreciation. But also know that whatever review you make is gonna sound really shitty and uneducated if you don’t have an appreciation for the genre of the album you’re reviewing.

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