I think the best way to learn about what is good or not is through the opinions of people you respect or agree with enough to take their word for it. Centraliz

I think the best way to learn about what is good or not is through the opinions of people you respect or agree with enough to take their word for it. Centralized example: Yahtzee Croshaw of the Zero Punctuation video game reviews eschews any semblance of a ratings system because it's a little absurd to boil down a complex opinion into a number. Watch a review and get a sense of whether you'd like the game or not. Decentralized example: plug.dj (before it went down. Dubtract.fm kinda sucks) let users get in line to play one song for a room. Some rooms can have you waiting 3 hours to play one song so if you're gonna wait that long you're gonna play a banger. Yeah it's more effort than a numeric ratings system but you get what you pay for with your time.