I have over the past six months or so been slowly working my way through the Bach cantatas, after having purchased a low priced (but high quality) complete set of Bach's music. Early on in this project, I decided that I wanted to know what the scripture readings that tied into each cantata were, so that I could read them before I listened and thus enrich the experience. Easily enough I found a website that offered just that for each cantata, together with capsule descriptions/reviews. Unfortunately, the author of this site also saw fit to provide "helpful" ratings of each cantata, 1+ representing the highest, with the lowest I have seen so far being 3. How very irritating.
I would not deny that a numbered or starred (or otherwise bulleted) ratings system is helpful if you are searching for a good restaurant, hotel or resort. To have a poor dining experience, to be forced to endure inadequate accomodation or dreadful customer service, are great inconveniences, not to mention requiring significant outlays of time and money. To listen to a few minutes of music that proves to be less than top-notch is hardly in the same category; nor is viewing a bad movie or reading a dull book. None of these experiences cost more than a few dollars, and can often be had for free. I gather, too, that tourist ratings systems are somewhat objectively arrived at, whereas a starred review is just one person's sometimes dyspeptic reaction.
A low rating predisposes you to think less of the work in question, no matter how much you may try to pretend otherwise. Or you will valiantly pretend to like it better than in fact you did. In either case, your ability to appreciate it has been compromised. And if you do not enjoy the highly rated work as much as you think you should, you will be disappointed, as opposed to recognizing that you enjoyed the work somewhat.
