RATINGS:

Excellent [ex-cel-lent] --- the most complete/definitive/narratively satisfying version of a score or work; unhindered by revisionist remastering or voguish high-tech tweakery or over-indulgent engineering; includes a booklet or insert of solid historical factoids that reveal material never before available; a release that re-aligns a composer's long neglected status; finally given proper due; music must also rock supremely

Very Good [very gud-tudt] --- very satisfying album offering a substantive amount of score; well-mastered; notable liner notes with intriguing production, historical, and archival factoids; attractive art direction that exceeds the generic and acceptable

Good [gud-tudt] --- adequate; having small quibbles that do not detract from listening fun-factor; not wholly representing the strengths and compositional high points of a score; an album mainly of note to completionists

Mediocre [mee-dee-oh-kurr] --- applicable to generic 'music from and inspired by' concoctions; a weak re-recording that satisfies the sonically myopic and fails to do justice to the original work; just plain "meh" on the wow meter

AYK [ay-yick!] --- acronym for 'Are you kidding?!?!?!'; rating applied to release categorically assessed as an absolute embarrassment; utterly bungled attempt to prey on the naive buyer & soundtrack collector; 'for shame, for shame'

Artifact [R-T-Fakt] --- purely of curio value; of note for its unique art direction, liner notes, and/or alternative audio content not carried over in subsequent definitive releases

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