95% of my ratings come from spinning the vinyl. Though I do have a digital library, I don't consider digital copies part of my collection. The distinction between 2 and 3 stars is of crucial importance to me as I tend to get rid of anything less than 3 stars unless it's an album by one of my favorite artists.

In order to achieve more consistency within my rating system, I have decided to no longer include compilations and to delete those compilations I had previously rated. I found that box sets and other collections were skewing my ratings by padding the 5 star category. So, for consistency's sake, I have decided to only rate "standard albums," which, for now, I have defined simply as original studio or live albums. I'm not going to rate any singles (or multiple editions of the same album) for the same reason, but I will continue to rank soundtracks.

Speaking of compilations, nearly all RCA Camden albums consist of previously released material and should be considered compilations. The only exceptions I know of are a handful of regular releases for Elvis Presley. The same goes for all releases on Harmony Records. Harmony was a budget label Columbia used to reissue historical material during the 50s, 60s, and 70s. I bring this up because the majority of these compilations are listed in the regular album section on RYM. Johnny Cash's Understand_Your_Man from 1973 (Harmony KH 30916) is a perfect example; every track on this record had been previously released on an earlier LP.