This guy is basically the ultimate argument settler! He review a billion records and sorted and classified them all!
http://starling.rinet.ru/music/ratings.htmClass A (formerly - 5 stars). An ideal band; sure enough, some of its output might be flawed, but it's the highest standard by which I judge everything else. It must meet such an awful lot of selective criteria that only three of the bands in existence (the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Who) have received this rating; Bob Dylan also passed the plank, although it was a tough choice for me - he's put out quite a solid load of stinkers. Still, the very inhumane strength of his 1965-66 records alone managed to get him through.
Class B (formerly - 4 stars). An immeasurably great band; don't worry if it hasn't made the biggest grade, because that's something up for the demi-gods to do. If you're looking for unlimited musical and stylistic innovation (the Byrds, the Kinks), awesome musicianship (Cream, Jimi Hendrix), or immaculate songwriting (CCR, John Lennon, Paul McCartney), start right here. Not a lot of people made this grade, either, though.
Class C (formerly - 3 stars). These bands are rarely as grand, impressive and cathartic as the above-mentioned, but they are still universally significant. As I see it here and now, this place is mostly reserved for extremely innovative bands that didn't always manage to complement the innovations and their, often unique and entirely original, style with fully competent songwriting (Led Zeppelin, the Velvet Underground, etc., etc.).
Class D (formerly - 2 stars). More or less the contrary - bands and artists with, quite often, lots of songwriting talent, but fairly limited in style and rarely innovative in anything. This section contains many names that'll make the biased person cringe - the Monkees, Rod Stewart, etc. - but I could care less; I love these artists' knack for creative, original melodies, and there they'll stay.
Class E (formerly - 1 star). Artists with occasional flashes of brilliance, but which never go far beyond 'cutesy'. For the most part, this is very high quality background music - tunes which can be easily enjoyed but which are more or less useless to listen to with a lot of attention. You can dance or groove to this stuff, but you can't really think about this stuff (Ringo Starr). Or it's vice versa: you can think a lot (Fruupp), but you sure don't enjoy the songs for their catchiness or sheer musical power.
