User Rating (50%). The average of verified listener ratings, ½–5 stars. You rate an album once; you can update your rating any time. Every individual rating is preserved — not just the average.
Influence (20%). How much the album shaped what came after — influence on other artists first, on its genre second, on broader culture third, adjusted for cross-genre reach. Shown out of 5 stars.
Acclaim (15%). Critical standing, out of 5 stars.
Originality (5%). Song structure, lyrics, sonic vision, instrumentation, and production, each measured against a benchmark album (from The Velvet Underground & Nico to Kid A). Out of 5 stars.
Lyrics (5%). The words as written — imagery, structure, point of view, what the song is actually saying. Judged on the page, separately from how they're delivered. Out of 5 stars.
Popularity (5%). Sustained commercial performance measured against Sgt. Pepper's sales decay curve. 1,500 streams = 1 album sale. Missing data never counts against an album. Out of 5 stars.
An album earns a rank only when it has all five editorial scores and at least four verified user ratings. Until then it shows a provisional score but stays off the board. Every album starts unranked — the Top 500 is built by listeners, not inherited.
Can't decide what to rate? Drop a coin in the slot and the Juke picks a record for you — favouring albums that are just a few ratings away from earning their place on The Chart. It's free play, always — nothing on this site costs money.
| You listen on | How we verify |
|---|---|
| Spotify | Connect your Spotify account directly — we confirm the album's tracks in your listening history. |
| Apple Music | Connect via Apple's MusicKit — we check your recently played albums. Rate soon after you listen; Apple only exposes recent plays. |
| Amazon Music | Connect a free Last.fm account and add the Web Scrobbler browser extension — it logs Amazon Music web plays (and even Alexa/Echo plays) to Last.fm, which we verify. |
| Last.fm | Connect directly — scrobbles from any player count, including YouTube Music, Tidal, and desktop apps. |
One rating per listener per album — updates welcome, drive-bys not.