I use a personalized rating system that I created over months of researching other reviewers rating systems. I believe this rating system is the best to express my opinion and show the rating of a project to the best of my ability.
Lyrics: This category is for the meaning, purpose, and of course what the artist is saying and expressing in his/her lyrics. The rating is designed to account for the expectations of the artist, the artists potential, and comparing the lyrics to other artists.
Production: This category is how was the production on the project? Are the beats good? Do they it the songs? It's a very simple category but very impactful on the projects rating. This category is somewhat opinion based.
Delivery & Flow: How the artist/s delivers the lyrics, are they just saying them like they don't care, or are they speaking them like there is purpose. Does it complement or take away from the track. How does the artist move into the next line, does it sound good? This is another somewhat opinion based category.
Versatility: This category is somewhat based on the artists past projects to see if they are growing as an artist. This category is for the style, genre, delivery, lyrics, sound, etc of the project and if it there is a variety.
Creativity: Has the topic been talked about before? Does the artist come at the project different than other artists? Does the artist rip off other artists?
Banger Status: This category is my enjoyment of the project and the impact it has had on hip hop. My enjoyment is purely opinion based and is my HONEST and TRUTHFUL opinion. If the project is new at the time I reviewed it the impact on hip hop won't affect the rating as much, to see the overall impact it takes time.
Overall Score: This is the average of all categories, and if I feel like the project deserves a higher overall score I will add .5 at most.
Album/LP: Albums are around 16 songs, due to the industry standard vinyls having 4 sides of 4 songs. This has stuck since the original 16 songs limit. Albums should have a central idea and should have more purpose than the individual songs do by themselves. This can be done through instrumentals, lyrics, and/or the composition of an album. It has more structure and meaning than other types of projects, this can be achieved with a central idea.
Compilation Project/Mixtape: A project that is a compilation of songs released by a single or multiple artists to keep fans engaged until a new project and market towards future fans. This type of project has less structure and usually no central idea or purpose other than to provide the listener with music.
EP: A project that is half the length of a album or less. EP's can have some structure and some themes but usually don't. EP's are similar to mixtapes and compilation projects as they are used to keep fans entertained until a larger project releases. EP's were originally to expand on a single but have progressed farther.
B-Side: A B-side is usually used to give fans the scrapped songs from a project if they are highly anticipated or requested. There is not usually structure or ideas behind the B-side but sometimes they can be nicely implemented into the projects theme.
Deluxe Album: Deluxe albums are basically money grabs to get more first week sales. Deluxe albums usually contain only a few more songs for the same price to make it seem like a good deal. Deluxe album songs can have structure and purpose but usually don't.
DJ Mix Project: DJ Mix projects are projects containing songs that consist of songs put together into one that the DJ released. These are barely around but do exist. These are very common in electronic music but have been found inside of hip hop.
Live Albums: Live performances of songs. These songs usually didn't make a project but sometimes live albums of previously released songs are released. They usually have no purpose other than to put live versions of songs onto streaming platforms.
Soundtracks: These are a compilation of songs used for an album. These usually don't have structure but if done well, they can mirror a movie but in music.
Album/LP/EP/Deluxe Album/Soundtracks/Live Albums/B-Sides:
Lyrics: -/10
Production: -/10
Delivery and Flow: -/10
Creativity: -/10
Versatility: -/10
Banger Status: -/10
Overall Score: -/10
Compilation/Mixtape/DJ Mix Project/Other:
Lyrics: -/10
Production: -/10
Delivery and Flow: -/10
Versatility: -/10
Banger Status: -/10
Overall Score: -/10
9.6 to 10: Almost Perfect
9 to 9.5: Astounding
8 to 8.9: Amazing
7 to 7.9: Great
6 to 6.9: Good
5.5 to 5.9: Ok
5 to 5.4: Underwhelming
4 to 4.9: Below Average/Not Worth Listening To
3 to 3.9: Bad
2 to 2.9: Awful
1 to 1.9: Terrible
0 to 0.9: Garbage