I think albums should be judged based on their merits, relative to genre and intent. The only albums that deserve 5 stars, in my opinion, are those rare ones that cohere as a single unit, with everything in them being necessary to the whole. I think that Vagrant Story may be the best example of this.
If a soundtrack has some merits, but is still a chore to listen to all the way through, it probably deserves a 3. I wouldn't seek to buy anything I think of as a 3, but occasionally I end up with one anyway.
Something deserving of 2.5 stars is uninteresting but inoffensive, and most likely just bland. Anything lower than that is something I probably wouldn't take the time to listen to, let alone buy. It would have to have serious deficiencies in composition/arrangement/presentation, or be something so utterly flawed in conception that it doesn't deserve the plastic it was housed in.
I agree that the ratings here are generally overinflated, but what can you do? People will vote what they feel like voting.
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