5.0 - In my opinion, a perfect album. Musically, lyrically, and thematically the album is tied together flawlessly. Any bands that receive a 5.0 rating are well worth checking out, and worthy of your attention.

4.5 - An excellent, near perfect release. A few songs or ideas do not meld together as well as with 5.0 releases, but these are still amazingly strong recordings and/or strong artistic statements.

4.0 - A strong effort. This is something that has flaws, but despite that these are still incredibly enjoyable. The records here will be something worth spinning and returning to time and time again. These can easily be album of the year contenders.

3.5 - A decent album or release that does not necessarily say as much thematically, musically, or lyrically as the 4/5 albums, but at the same time has its own charm. These albums will be enjoyed on a fairly regular basis, and are still worthy of notice.

3.0 - An "okay" album that is worthy of attention, but the flaws begin to be noticeable to an degree that it begins to tarnish and distracts from what can otherwise be considered strong songs. These albums are not bad, but neither do I consider them to be "great". However, these can still provide the listener with a few genuinely enjoyable moments.

2.5 - An average, bland effort. The high points offered by the artist(s) on the album are balanced out by the low points. These albums typically fail to entice an "I love it" or "I hate it" response from me.

2.0 - A poor effort, few songs and themes may be interesting and worthy of checking out, but for the most part these fall flat.

1.5 - 0.5 - Varrying degrees of bad to outright awful.