Album of the Year (website)

Last updated

AOTY
Aoty2.png
Type of site
Review aggregator
OwnerRobert Thomas
URL albumoftheyear.org
Launched2008
Current statusActive

Album of the Year, popularly known by the initialism AOTY, is a website that aggregates reviews of music albums. For each LP, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Ratings are averaged and albums ranked in a chart intended to give an overall picture of critical appraisal of current releases, based on the averaged score out of 100.

Contents

Many review websites give a review grade out of five, out of ten, out of 100, or even an alphabetical score. AOTY converts such a grade into a percentage.

In the media

AOTY is often used by publications such as No Ripcord, Drowned in Sound and Consequence of Sound to refer to their rating.[ citation needed ] In January 2015, No Ripcord tweeted: "Want to keep track of all of our 2015 review scores? The folks at @aoty got you covered. One worth bookmarking." [1] The following month, Consequence of Sound published an article about the "sophomore album slump" based on a study undertaken by the website concerthotels.com. According to the article, the study's organizers began with Rolling Stone 's list of the 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time, published in March 2013, and then reviewed AOTY's album ratings to compare the scores of 80 debut records with their follow-ups. [2]

Similar sites

The site is similar to other review aggregator websites such as Metacritic and AnyDecentMusic? in that it gathers reviews to assess critical acclaim.

Charts

Once an album or release has five critic reviews from different sources, it enters the current Best Albums Chart by Critic Score. It takes 25 user ratings to enter the Best Albums Chart by User Score

Related Research Articles

Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged. Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc Doyle, and Julie Doyle Roberts in 1999. The site provides an excerpt from each review and hyperlinks to its source. A color of green, yellow or red summarizes the critics' recommendations. It is regarded as the foremost online review aggregation site for the video game industry.

Rotten Tomatoes American review aggregator for film and television, owned by Fandango

Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang. Although the name "Rotten Tomatoes" connects to the practice of audiences throwing rotten tomatoes when disapproving of a poor stage performance, the original inspiration comes from a scene featuring tomatoes in the Canadian film Léolo (1992).

<i>LCD Soundsystem</i> (album) 2005 studio album by LCD Soundsystem

LCD Soundsystem is the debut studio album by American rock band LCD Soundsystem. It was released on January 24, 2005, jointly through DFA and Capitol Records in the United States and EMI elsewhere. The album encompasses genres that range from dance-punk to electronica to indie rock to dance music. The album was critically acclaimed upon release and was nominated for the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Many singles were released to promote the album, including the band's breakout "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House", which reached number one on the UK Dance Chart in March, 2005.

<i>Saint Dymphna</i> (album) 2008 studio album by Gang Gang Dance

Saint Dymphna is the self-produced fourth studio album by American experimental music band Gang Gang Dance. Released in 2008 by The Social Registry, it would be the final album for the label, before moving on to 4AD for 2011's lauded Eye Contact. It received positive reviews from critics.

<i>Teen Dream</i> 2010 studio album by Beach House

Teen Dream is the third studio album by American dream pop duo Beach House. It is the band's debut album with the record label Sub Pop, and their third with European label Bella Union who released it on January 27, 2010. The album was produced by the band and Chris Coady.

AnyDecentMusic? website collating music album reviews from magazines, websites, and newspapers

AnyDecentMusic? is a website that collates album reviews from magazines, websites, and newspaper. It includes music albums, covering rock, pop, electronic, dance, folk, country, roots and urban. Reviews are sourced from more than 50 websites, magazines and newspapers, largely from the US and UK, but also from Canada, Ireland and Australia.

<i>The Peoples Key</i> 2011 studio album by Bright Eyes

The People's Key is the ninth studio album by Bright Eyes, the Nebraska band of Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, and Nate Walcott. The album was recorded in Omaha, NE at ARC Studios, produced by Mogis, and engineered by Mogis and Andy LeMaster. The album was released on February 15, 2011, Conor Oberst's birthday, on Saddle Creek Records. Before then, it was streaming online in its entirety as part of NPR's "First Listen" series.

<i>Apokalypsis</i> (Chelsea Wolfe album) 2011 studio album by Chelsea Wolfe

Apokalypsis is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe, released on Pendu Sound Recordings on August 23, 2011.

<i>Ocean Roar</i> (album) 2012 studio album by Mount Eerie

Ocean Roar is the sixth studio album by Mount Eerie, released on August 29, 2012. It is the second of two albums released by Mount Eerie in 2012.

<i>Recover EP</i> 2013 EP by Chvrches

Recover EP is the debut EP by Scottish synth-pop band Chvrches.

<i>Complete Surrender</i> 2014 studio album by Slow Club

Complete Surrender is the third studio album by English folk pop duo Slow Club. It was released on July 14, 2014 on independent record label Caroline International. The record was produced by Colin Elliot. The album received "Generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic, and peaked at number 51 on the United Kingdom Albums Chart and 43 on the Top Heatseekers chart.

<i>In Another Life</i> (album) 2015 studio album by Bilal

In Another Life is the fifth studio album by American singer and songwriter Bilal. It was released on June 30, 2015, by Entertainment One. Bilal recorded much of In Another Life with producer and songwriter Adrian Younge, who played most of the instruments on the album. Its cover art was designed by visual artist Angelbert Metoyer.

Big Thief Indie rock band

Big Thief is an American indie rock band with folk roots based in Brooklyn, New York, United States. Its members are Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek, Max Oleartchik (bass), and James Krivchenia (drums). All four members of Big Thief attended the Berklee College of Music, but only formed a group after each had graduated.

<i>The Future and the Past</i> 2018 studio album by Natalie Prass

The Future and the Past is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Natalie Prass. It was released in June 2018 under ATO Records.

This Wild Willing is the fourth studio album by Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard. It was released on 12 April 2019, under Anti-.

<i>Weezer</i> (Teal Album) January 2019 album

Weezer, also known as the Teal Album, is the twelfth studio album, and the fifth self-titled album by the American rock band Weezer. It was released digitally on January 24, 2019, through Crush Music and Atlantic Records, with a retail release on March 8. The album is composed of cover songs, making it the band's first covers album. It was announced and released on the same day as a surprise precursor to Weezer's thirteenth studio album, which was released on March 1, 2019. The album received mixed reviews, with some praising the self-aware frivolity of the project, while others criticized the arrangements.

Goat Girl is the debut eponymous studio album by English post-punk band Goat Girl. It was released on 6 April 2018, by Rough Trade Records.

<i>From King to a God</i> 2020 studio album by Conway the Machine

From King to a God is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Conway the Machine. It was released on September 11, 2020, by Griselda Records, Drumwork and Empire Distribution. Production was handled by eleven record producers: Beat Butcha, Daringer, Alchemist, DJ Premier, Erick Sermon, Havoc, Hit-Boy, Khrysis, Murda Beatz, Rockwilder and Signalflow Music. It features guest appearances from Armani Caesar, Benny the Butcher, Dej Loaf, El Camino, Flee Lord, Freddie Gibbs, Havoc, Lloyd Banks, Method Man and Westside Gunn.

<i>Old Flowers</i> 2020 studio album by Courtney Marie Andrews

Old Flowers is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Courtney Marie Andrews. It was released on July 24, 2020 via Fat Possum Records.

Perfect Shapes is the second studio album by American indie rock musician Madeline Kenney. It was released on October 5, 2018 under Carpark Records.

References

  1. "Want to keep track of all of our 2015 review scores? The folks at @aoty got you covered". Albumoftheyear.org. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  2. "Proof the "sophomore album slump" is a real problem". Consequence of Sound . February 13, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2018.