Question 1

What is RankMyMusic?

Accepted Answer

RankMyMusic is a place to rank the music you know and care about — song by song, album by album, and artist by artist.  Instead of giving an album one overall score and stopping there, you rate the individual tracks. RankMyMusic uses those ratings to build your personal album and artist rankings over time.  The goal is simple: to discover what your music taste actually looks like.

Question 2

How do I start?

Accepted Answer

Choose an artist, open an album, and rate every rankable track from 1 to 5 stars.  When you finish an album, RankMyMusic calculates its score from your track ratings and places it within your personal ranking for that artist.  The more albums you complete, the clearer your personal artist ranking becomes.

Question 3

What do the star ratings mean?

Accepted Answer

Use the scale in whatever way feels natural to you.  1★ — I don't like it 2★ — Weak for me 3★ — Good 4★ — Excellent 5★ — One of the best  There is no correct answer.  It is your ranking.

Question 4

Do I rate the album itself?

Accepted Answer

Not directly.  RankMyMusic calculates the album score from the ratings you gave its tracks.  That way, the album result reflects what you actually thought about the music inside it, rather than one overall score chosen in a single moment.

Question 5

Why does RankMyMusic sometimes ask me to choose between songs or albums?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes two or more items end up tied.  Within an album, a tie in the Top 3 may need to be resolved before that album is complete.  At the artist level, ties in your Top Albums or Top Tracks never stop the artist from being Completed. Once all required albums are completed, those ties become an optional Fine-tune step.  We try to ask for as few extra decisions as possible. If a tie does not affect a meaningful top position, there is usually no reason to make you do more work.

Question 6

Can I change a rating later?

Accepted Answer

Yes.  Music taste changes. Mistakes happen. Sometimes you simply hear a song differently six months later.  You can return to your ratings and update them. If your change affects an album or artist result, RankMyMusic recalculates the ranking.

Question 7

What happens when I finish every album by an artist?

Accepted Answer

The artist is Completed.  An artist is complete once you have completed all of its required albums. Unresolved ties in your Top Albums or Top Tracks do not change that — you can settle them afterward with Fine-tune.  You then have a full personal view of that artist, including your album ranking, top tracks, #1 album, community comparison, and other insights generated from your ratings.

Question 8

What does “Fine-tune” mean?

Accepted Answer

Fine-tune appears when you have already Completed an artist, but tied albums or tracks still affect the order of your Top Albums or Top Tracks.  Fine-tuning lets you settle those ties.  It is optional and does not affect whether the artist is considered Completed.

Question 9

Which albums are included in an artist's discography?

Accepted Answer

RankMyMusic focuses primarily on canonical studio albums.  We generally exclude greatest-hits collections, compilations, live albums, bootlegs, duplicate editions, remasters that are not meaningfully separate musical works, and unnecessary reissues.  The aim is to give each artist a clean, sensible discography that can actually be completed.

Question 10

Why are some Deluxe Editions, remasters, or bonus tracks missing?

Accepted Answer

Because duplication makes ranking worse.  When the same musical work exists in several editions, RankMyMusic selects a canonical version so you are not asked to rank almost the same album more than once.  Bonus tracks and alternate editions may therefore be excluded even if they exist elsewhere.

Question 11

Why doesn't RankMyMusic include every release in the world?

Accepted Answer

Because catalog quality matters more than raw quantity.  We want to avoid duplicate albums, incorrect editions, wrong tracklists, unnecessary reissues, and messy discographies.  RankMyMusic is designed for ranking, not for becoming the largest possible music encyclopedia.

Question 12

What happens if an artist I already completed releases a new album?

Accepted Answer

The artist may move from Complete to Update Required.  Your previous ratings remain intact.  You only need to rank the newly added album. Once you finish it, RankMyMusic updates your artist ranking and returns the artist to Complete.

Question 13

What if the artist I want is not on RankMyMusic yet?

Accepted Answer

The catalog is growing over time.  If an artist is not available yet, you can request that we add them. Requests help us understand which artists the community wants next.

Question 14

What is the Community Ranking?

Accepted Answer

Community Ranking is built from ratings submitted by RankMyMusic users.  It lets you see how the community ranks albums and tracks, and compare those results with your own.  The interesting part is often not where everyone agrees.  It is where you absolutely do not.

Question 15

Does anyone else's ranking affect mine?

Accepted Answer

No.  Your personal ranking belongs to you.  Community results are shown for comparison only and never change your ratings or your personal order.

Question 16

Why do I sometimes see “Early community data”?

Accepted Answer

When there are not yet enough rankings, we do not want to present a number as if it represents a broad consensus.  In those cases, RankMyMusic labels the result as Early community data.  As more people rank the artist or album, the community results become more stable and meaningful.

Question 17

What is Community Match?

Accepted Answer

Community Match shows how closely your ratings align with the community.  It is calculated from the difference between your ratings and the community's ratings across the relevant tracks.  A high Match means your taste is close to the community.  A low Match means you may be hearing things very differently.  Neither is better.  The disagreement is often the interesting part.

Question 18

Can I share my ranking?

Accepted Answer

Yes.  You can share things such as an album result, a completed artist ranking, your Top tracks, your favorite album, or your public RankMyMusic profile.  Instead of saying, “This is obviously their best album,” you can send someone your actual ranking.

Question 19

Why share a ranking?

Accepted Answer

Because arguing about music is part of the fun.  A shared ranking turns an opinion into something people can actually see, react to, and compare with their own.

Question 20

Does someone need an account to open a ranking I shared?

Accepted Answer

No.  Public shared ranking pages can be opened without a RankMyMusic account.  Visitors can see the result and start ranking for themselves.  Core ranking does not require registration.

Question 21

What is a Challenge?

Accepted Answer

Challenge turns a music argument into a real comparison.  You can challenge someone to rank a specific album or an artist's full discography.  You send them the Challenge link, they rank it independently, and RankMyMusic reveals the comparison after they finish.

Question 22

Why can't I see the challenger's ranking before I finish?

Accepted Answer

Because Challenges are blind by design.  The sender's ranking stays hidden so it cannot influence your choices.  We want to know what you genuinely think before you see what someone else picked.

Question 23

What happens after a Challenge is completed?

Accepted Answer

Depending on the type of Challenge, RankMyMusic can compare things such as:  overall Match % whether you chose the same #1 Top 3 overlap Top 5 track overlap strongest agreement biggest disagreement  The point is not to decide who is right.  It is to discover how similarly — or differently — you hear the same music.

Question 24

Do I need an account to take part in a Challenge?

Accepted Answer

No.  You can receive and complete a Challenge without creating an account.  If you already started or completed the relevant ranking, RankMyMusic can use your existing progress instead of making you start again.

Question 25

What is the difference between Share and Challenge?

Accepted Answer

Share: “Here is my ranking. What do you think?”  Challenge: “I am not showing you my ranking yet. Rank it yourself first — then we compare.”  Share is about showing.  Challenge is about blind ranking, reveal, and comparison.

Question 26

Do I need an account to rank music?

Accepted Answer

No.  You can start ranking without creating an account.  We want you to experience RankMyMusic before asking you to register.

Question 27

What do I get when I register?

Accepted Answer

Registration is free.  Registered users can receive benefits including:  saved progress tied to their account resume across future visits a personal RankMyMusic profile fewer ads Listen While You Rank Contribution Points achievements richer community and sharing features  The core ranking experience is not locked behind registration.

Question 28

What happens to rankings I made before registering?

Accepted Answer

They are designed to carry over.  When you register or sign in, RankMyMusic attempts to merge eligible anonymous progress from your device into your account so you can continue from where you left off.

Question 29

What are Contribution Points?

Accepted Answer

Contribution Points reward meaningful activity in RankMyMusic.  You may earn them through actions such as rating music, completing albums, completing artists, sharing, and reaching relevant milestones.  The goal is to reward real participation, not meaningless clicks.

Question 30

Can I lose Contribution Points if I change a rating?

Accepted Answer

Not because you normally changed your mind.  The system is designed to prevent duplicate rewards and abuse, but ordinary rating edits are not treated as misconduct.

Question 31

Can I listen to a song while I am rating it?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if you are a registered RankMyMusic user and playback is available for that track.  When available, the Play control opens the official Apple Music player inside RankMyMusic so you can listen without leaving the ranking experience.  Anonymous users can still rank normally, but listening inside RankMyMusic requires a free account.

Question 32

Do I need an Apple Music subscription?

Accepted Answer

Not necessarily.  Playback availability is controlled by Apple through its official embedded player.  Depending on your location, Apple session, and account status, you may receive a preview or a longer/full playback experience.  RankMyMusic does not require you to link your Apple Music account to your RankMyMusic account.

Question 33

Why is listening only available to registered users?

Accepted Answer

Because Listen While You Rank is one of the benefits of creating a free account.  We do not block ranking itself.  You can rank music without registering.

Question 34

Why is the Play control greyed out for some songs?

Accepted Answer

RankMyMusic only enables playback when we can confidently match the correct recording to Apple Music and that playback is available.  If the track is unavailable or the match is not reliable enough, the Play control remains visible but disabled.  We would rather not play anything than play the wrong recording.  You can still rate the track normally.

Question 35

Is RankMyMusic a streaming service?

Accepted Answer

No.  RankMyMusic is a music ranking and discovery platform.  Playback exists to help you remember or reconsider a song while ranking.  We are not trying to replace Apple Music, Spotify, or other streaming services.

Question 36

What happens to my privacy when I open the Apple Music player?

Accepted Answer

The Apple Music player is third-party content provided by Apple.  It is loaded only when an eligible user chooses to listen and subject to any privacy consent required in their region.  When you activate the player, Apple may receive technical and interaction information according to Apple's own privacy practices.  RankMyMusic does not ask for or store your Apple Music password.  See our Privacy Policy for more details.

Question 37

Can other people see my rankings?

Accepted Answer

Some music-related activity and rankings may appear on your public RankMyMusic profile and on public RankMyMusic pages where appropriate.  Your public profile is designed around your music identity.

Question 38

What personal information is not shown publicly?

Accepted Answer

RankMyMusic does not publicly display private account information such as:  your email address your date of birth login credentials other private account data not intended for public display  Public profiles focus on rankings, music activity, achievements, and related music information.

Question 39

Can I control my visibility on community leaderboards?

Accepted Answer

Yes.  Registered users can opt out of public leaderboard visibility in Settings.  Your rankings, history, achievements, and Contribution Points remain part of your account even if you choose not to appear publicly on a leaderboard.

Question 40

Is RankMyMusic free?

Accepted Answer

Yes.  RankMyMusic is free to use.  There is no paywall for ranking music, completing albums, or using the core service.

Question 41

Why are there ads?

Accepted Answer

Advertising helps pay for operation, maintenance, and continued development.  Our goal is to use ads sparingly and keep them out of the way of the ranking experience.  Registered users see fewer ads than anonymous users.

Question 42

Is RankMyMusic affiliated with Apple Music, Spotify, artists, or record labels?

Accepted Answer

RankMyMusic is an independent product.  Rankings are created from RankMyMusic user activity.  They are not official rankings from Apple, Spotify, artists, record labels, chart providers, or other third parties.  Where RankMyMusic uses a third-party service, such as the official Apple Music embedded player, that service remains under the ownership and control of its provider.

Question 43

How is RankMyMusic different from Rate Your Music, Album of the Year, Musicboard, and similar services?

Accepted Answer

Many music services let people rate releases, write reviews, build lists, or explore large music databases.  RankMyMusic is built around a different core flow:  Rate tracks → Complete albums → Complete artists → Build your personal rankings → Compare  The goal is not to become the biggest music encyclopedia.  The goal is to become the best place to understand how you actually rank your music.

Question 44

Can I rank music “wrong”?

Accepted Answer

No.  That is the point.  If the album everyone calls a masterpiece ends up last in your ranking, that is your ranking.  If an artist's biggest hit is your least favorite song, that is valid too.  RankMyMusic is not here to tell you what you are supposed to like.  It is here to help you discover what you actually like.

Question 45

How can I contact RankMyMusic?

Accepted Answer

For general questions, privacy matters, legal inquiries, or reports:  contact@rankmymusic.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started

Artists, Albums & Completion

Community Rankings

Sharing

Challenges

Accounts & Registration

Listen While You Rank

Public Profiles & Privacy

Free Service & Advertising

Independence & Third Parties

About the RankMyMusic Approach

Contact