RYM

Rate Your Music (RYM) is an online database, rating, and discussion community focused on cataloging music releases across genres and formats. Users create artist pages and release pages, input metadata such as year, label, formats, and track listings, and assign ratings to individual releases. The site supports discography organization through user-generated lists, including personal collections, wantlists, and year-end charts. Community discussions and reviews accompany release entries, providing a forum for opinions and criticism.

RYM covers a broad range of formats, including albums, EPs, singles, compilations, and live recordings, across global scenes. Ratings are submitted on a five-point scale with half-point increments, and the resulting average rating is displayed on each release page alongside user reviews and comments.

The site originated in the early 2000s as a collaborative project by music enthusiasts seeking a comprehensive, editable catalog. Since then it has grown into a large, global community used by collectors, reviewers, and researchers. It has influenced other music catalogs and discussion spaces, while also facing criticisms related to data inconsistencies, moderation challenges, and debates over gatekeeping and perceived elitism inherent to crowd-sourced communities.

Rate Your Music remains a widely used reference for discographic information and community opinions. While it is not a definitive authority and should be cross-checked with other sources, it provides a distinctive blend of metadata, ratings, and discussion that appeals to users seeking both factual cataloging and subjective reception.