I absolutely love RYM! It's the most comprehensive music resource on the internet, and has been a priceless resource when it comes to discovering new bands and genres. I also absolutely love rating and reviewing albums, almost as much as I love actually listening through my music collection. Unfortunately, I'm an enormous perfectionist when it comes to reviewing my albums. As I don't like to post ratings without reviews, this means that I own an enormous number of albums that I have yet to review here on RYM.

For the time being, I'm focusing on rewriting many of my earliest reviews (which are primarily alternative/indie rock albums). I also have a growing queue of progressive rock albums that I hope to begin reviewing sometime in the not-to-distant future. If you'd like to keep yourself busy while waiting for me to review those prog rock albums, I'd like to advertise several progressive-themed labors of love down in my lists section. [List306745] and [List307550] combine to outline what I regard to be a comprehensive progressive rock collection. Enjoy!

(Self-Imposed) Rules of the Game:

• I always listen through an entire album immediately prior to writing a review. Since around 2010 I've also taken thorough track-specific notes during this final listen, which I use when writing my review.


• I never initiate writing a review unless I've listened to an album at least three times previously, which means that the "final" listen above is at least my fourth time through the record. In practice, I generally listen through an album many more than three times before attempting to review it (according to my private listening log, 7-8 listens appears to be the average since 2010).


• Since the summer of 2014, all of my half-stars rating have been accompanied by a numerical decimal score from 0.0 to 10.0 (with one decimal digit). 5.0 star albums correspond to 9.1-10.0 ratings, 4.5 star albums correspond to 8.1-9.0 ratings, etc. I've done this mostly to help distinguish records within half-star categories (with upwards of 250 albums in some half-star slots, this felt necessary). Strangely, this has also made it a lot easier for me to rate most albums: with the numerical ratings speaking to the quality of the record, I don't fret quite as much over releases that land near the boundary of two half-star grades. Just keep in mind that my decimal scale isn't intended to be absolutely precise, at least not within more than a couple tenths of a point. One hundred possible scores is far too many options for specific ratings to carry specific meaning. Personally, I use the decimal ratings primarily as a comparative tool.


• If I completely (or at least largely) rewrite a review for an album that I've previously reviewed, I'll "bump" that record to the top of my queue. Modest rewrites, a change in rating, or the addition of track ratings never prompt a bump. I do this because I feel that my reviews are my most useful contribution to the site, and because people who follow my feed deserve to be aware of any major changes.