Logical, but not practical if you haven't done so from the beginning. (depending of course on the size of your library
)
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iPod Who Rates there Music Properly
- Thread starter smogsy
- Start date
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Logical, but not practical if you haven't done so from the beginning. (depending of course on the size of your library
)These days I do use ratings extensively. I started using them because I wanted to create a playlist with recently added music which I was still deciding whether I liked it or not. Sometimes I need to listen to a song a few times before I make up my mind. What I did was I rated all my current music and then created a new playlist called 'Unrated' which contains only songs that don't have a rating. Once I know I've listened to all the songs in this playlist a few times I know I can delete any songs that still have a rating of zero stars. I also have a '20 most highly rated' playlist for listening to my favourite songs.
I rate mine
I have smart playlists that pick out
5 stars
4 and 5 stars
3 stars
2 stars
I typically assign everything in a new album with 3 stars. I have a smart playlist that pulls in all songs with 3 stars that has been played fewer than 4 times. I will listen to that smart playlist and reassign a star value in my iPod as necessary. If I don't change the star value it automaticlly drops out of the new album playlist and into the regular 3 star playlist after it has played 3 times.
I use 2 stars for non-songs.
I do use 1 star but only with new album songs as a way to quickly sort when syncing with my music library so I can blow them away.
I have smart playlists that pick out
5 stars
4 and 5 stars
3 stars
2 stars
I typically assign everything in a new album with 3 stars. I have a smart playlist that pulls in all songs with 3 stars that has been played fewer than 4 times. I will listen to that smart playlist and reassign a star value in my iPod as necessary. If I don't change the star value it automaticlly drops out of the new album playlist and into the regular 3 star playlist after it has played 3 times.
I use 2 stars for non-songs.
I do use 1 star but only with new album songs as a way to quickly sort when syncing with my music library so I can blow them away.
+2.
Ratings are invaluable for smart playlists.
But if you don't use smart playlists I don't think it's worth it just for your own information. I know what I like, but iTunes doesn't.
I had a major breakthrough when I stopped using the ratings system as a way of saying how much I like a song, and started using it as a way of saying how frequently I want to hear a song.
5 Stars - Once a month
4 Stars - Once every 3 months
3 Stars - Twice a year
2 Stars - Once a year
1 Star - Once in a blue moon
And then I setup a series of smart playlists that creates one master playlist.
1. 5 Stars + "Not played in the last 30 days" (Limit: 200 songs)
2. 4 Stars + "Not played in the last 90 days" (Limit: 450 songs)
3. 3 Stars + "Not played in the last 6 months" (Limit: 225 songs)
4. 2 Stars + "Not played in the last 12 months" (Limit: 50 songs)
5. 1 Star + "Not played in the last 24 months" (Limit: 25 songs)
6. New/Unrated (Limit: 75 songs)
There's no scientific formula for why I chose those particular limits. Mostly they're pretty proportional to what my entire library looks like.
This method ensures that I always have a playlist of "fresh" music, so I don't get burned out on the same songs over and over. I found that if I listened exclusively to 5 star songs, eventually, I'd get sick of some of them and they'll get dropped to 4-star or 3-star songs. This method prevents that.
5 Stars - Once a month
4 Stars - Once every 3 months
3 Stars - Twice a year
2 Stars - Once a year
1 Star - Once in a blue moon
And then I setup a series of smart playlists that creates one master playlist.
1. 5 Stars + "Not played in the last 30 days" (Limit: 200 songs)
2. 4 Stars + "Not played in the last 90 days" (Limit: 450 songs)
3. 3 Stars + "Not played in the last 6 months" (Limit: 225 songs)
4. 2 Stars + "Not played in the last 12 months" (Limit: 50 songs)
5. 1 Star + "Not played in the last 24 months" (Limit: 25 songs)
6. New/Unrated (Limit: 75 songs)
There's no scientific formula for why I chose those particular limits. Mostly they're pretty proportional to what my entire library looks like.
This method ensures that I always have a playlist of "fresh" music, so I don't get burned out on the same songs over and over. I found that if I listened exclusively to 5 star songs, eventually, I'd get sick of some of them and they'll get dropped to 4-star or 3-star songs. This method prevents that.
I rate songs based on their highest chart position:
5 stars: Top 10
4-1/2 stars: 11-40
4 stars: 41-100
3-1/2 stars: 100+, or above average album tracks
3 stars: average album tracks
2 stars: below average album tracks
1 star: utter crap (remixes, etc.)
5 stars: Top 10
4-1/2 stars: 11-40
4 stars: 41-100
3-1/2 stars: 100+, or above average album tracks
3 stars: average album tracks
2 stars: below average album tracks
1 star: utter crap (remixes, etc.)
I beginning to use ratings. I'm an album guy and will buy the entire album instead of just a song or two. With that said, the ratings help when I want the best songs from an album to sync. For instance, I have every album Mary J. Blige has put out. But my playlist that I sync to my iPhone is her 5 star songs.
They help when I'm putting together a playlist of my best hip hop or jazz albums.
They help when I'm putting together a playlist of my best hip hop or jazz albums.
i do. everything starts at two stars and then moves up or down depending on how much i like the song. i use these ratings in a couple smart playlists. i'm pretty casual about it though. like when i think of it, i'll add a star, but not obsessively.
[edit] there are some great ideas for smart playlists in this thread. thanks!
[edit] there are some great ideas for smart playlists in this thread. thanks!
Yes, ratings have their place
I have almost 6,000 tracks of music. Yes, of course I like them all or I wouldn't have it on my iPod/iPhone/iTunes library. But for most of us, some songs are more equal than others. I tend to rate at the5, 4, and occasionally 3 star level so the vast majority of my music is not rated at all. Because this creates an instant playlist ("my top rated") if there are times I just want to listen to songs I especially like to hear and not catch the in-between stuff, I can choose that playlist.
And the ratings are not permamently fixed. There are certainly songs I rated highly when I first got iTunes in '04 which I have downgraded or unrated over time. But I find the stars a useful tool.
I have almost 6,000 tracks of music. Yes, of course I like them all or I wouldn't have it on my iPod/iPhone/iTunes library. But for most of us, some songs are more equal than others. I tend to rate at the5, 4, and occasionally 3 star level so the vast majority of my music is not rated at all. Because this creates an instant playlist ("my top rated") if there are times I just want to listen to songs I especially like to hear and not catch the in-between stuff, I can choose that playlist.
And the ratings are not permamently fixed. There are certainly songs I rated highly when I first got iTunes in '04 which I have downgraded or unrated over time. But I find the stars a useful tool.
I'm shocked that more members here don't take advantage of star ratings! I've got over 7,500 songs and every one is rated when it's imported or purchased. (All have album art and most have lyrics too!) My definitions are identical to yetanotherdave's. It give amazing versatility to Smart Playlists when combined with other criteria. For example five-star songs that haven't been played in a month; two-star songs that have never been played; favourite live concert recordings; best beach party songs; best Halloween songs. It's one thing to have 5,000 songs in there somewhere -- but it's something else to have music that you can easily find, sort, and enjoy. 
i don't have my own system, i use Autorate because there's a good 12000+ songs on there. i think Autorate calculates it by play + skip frequency, which i reckon gives a good indication of how much i like the songs. i have quite a varied collection of music because i refuse to delete music just because my tastes may be changing.