Star Rating Breakdown

Most Recent Rating System from April 2024-Present

Most Recent Rating System: I decided to make a different rating system for GreatPods. I’ve also added a middle ground for X.5+ and X.5- with… wait for it… X.5. No plus or minus sign. This only applies to 7.5 Stars and below. See table for exact numbers. I decided to alter the rating system I use when submitting new reviews to Great Pods. Like all rating systems, at the end of the day, the numbers are more arbitrarily chosen than carefully selected down to the decimal point. The maths aren’t going to math, so don’t even try for this rating system conversion table.

New Rating System

I switched to ten stars around the turn of the decade because all my reviews were 4 stars or above. As with any rating system, this is entirely subjective. The names given to the number of stars an audio drama receives are also personal to me and are sometimes arbritrary.

Starting in February 2022—when dealing with a X.5 star (6.5, 7.5, 8.5 and 9.5), I’ll include a plus (+) or minus (-) at the end to qualify whether I think it includes a tier above or below the base rating. All ratings can also include elements of any tier below it. Typically these are reflected in the review text itself. I hope this allows for some fluidity and discourages exclusion on everyone’s part, including my own. Just because a show isn’t “ground breaking does’t mean it automatically has issues in the “Noticeably Negative” issues category. See below for an explanation on what each base rating means. Reviews written before February 2022 don’t follow this rating system.

X.5 Star Examples

9.5/10+ Stars = between 9 and 10 stars and is what I consider a “Repeat Listen.”

8.5/10- Stars = between 8 and 9 stars, but isn’t “Ground Breaking”

Base Ratings for 2022-Present

10/10 Stars: Repeat Listen

This rating tier is for shows that I listen to again once in a while. It doesn’t mean I have listened multiple times after finishing, but there’s a stronge urge to go back.

9/10 Stars: Ground Breaking

A story that utilizes the strengths of the medium or has a story that blew me out of the water.

8/10 Stars: Internally Consistent

For this tier, if the story being reviewed is internally consistent. For what it wants to do, it succeeds.

7/10 Stars: Noticeably Neutral

A story who has issues that don’t affect the overall story enjoyability. Most common are odd volume levels or unintentional strange noises that are constant throughout a majority of the story. Can also include external factors like themes and controversial topics.

6/10 Stars: Noticeably Negative

A story with issues that affect the enjoyment of the story. These can include odd audio quirks like the tier above, but often it’s when the artists do something controversial and try to hide it unsuccessfully.

5/10 Stars and Below: Not Worth a Review/Didn’t Catch Interest

Typically these reviews don’t see the light of day because of personal taste.

Old Rating System

5 Stars: Loved it.

For the shows that gave me a pleasant emotional reaction.

4.5 Stars: Liked it.

For the shows that didn’t quite give me an emotional reaction, but still deserve more than a four star rating.

4 Stars: Very Good.

For the shows that are well done, but didn’t work for me personally.

3.5: Good.

For the shows that fall in between three and four stars and have attributes of both.

3 Stars: Enjoyed it.

For the shows that didn’t win me, but are still worth sampling.

I will rarely go below 3 stars, unless it’s something that doesn’t have any saving grace. The only way I see that happening is if a troll creates an audio drama and asks me to review it.