This site has been an invaluable part of my musical life for the past five years. I am a vinyl fiend. I especially love private press records.

I have recently been distracted with the wishlist feature on RYM. Grant it, many of the records which have made my wishlist will never graze my greasy fingertips. However, knowing they are out there is half the battle of digging. Once time permits, I plan on paying it back to the RYM community by making several lists of my own.

The records that I am fond of, I generally rate higher than others. In this regard my ratings are quite biased. Below you'll find a breakdown of my ranking in alchemical terms.

Rating system:

5.0- "Aurum" Gold is the most perfect of the metals. For the alchemist, it represented the perfection of all matter on any level, including that of the mind, spirit, and soul. It is associated with the operation of Coagulation.

4.5- "Rubedo" The raising of Iosis to Aurum. Close to being gold, but still in the Iosis state.

4.0- "Iosis" The Purple Phase of the Great Work is the third and final stage of transformation. It is marked by the purpling or reddening of the material and occurs during the Coagulation operation.

3.5- "Citrinitas" The passing of Xanthosis to Iosis.

3.0- "Xanthosis" The Yellow Phase of alchemy is an intermediate stage that takes place between the Black and White phases of the Great Work. The term was used by Alexandrian alchemists to describe changes that took place during the Fermentation operation.

2.5- "Albedo" The passing of Melanosis to Xanthosis.

2.0- "Leucosis" The White Phase is the second stage of the Great Work and takes place during Distillation.

1.5- "Nigredo" The passing of Melanosis to Leucosis.

1.0- "Melanosis" The Black Phase is the first stage in alchemy. It phase begins with the operation of Calcination and lasts through the Putrefaction stage of Fermentation.

0.5- "Plumbum" Lead is the first and oldest of the seven metals of alchemy. It is associated with the operation of Calcination.

-alchemylab.com/dictionary