I know a lot of people judge the music they like in different ways. For some people, the vocals are the most important part. For others, the most powerful component is the lyrics. Still others feel that the music itself is the most important part. And then there are those who aren't partial to any of these, and instead gauge their music most importantly on all of these combined.

How do you judge your music? For me, the most important qualities are vocal quality, rhythm, and the music itself. :P

I can put up with bad vocals, it's off key I can't put up with. As long as the music and vocals seem to flow together and sound good then I'm okay with it. I can't stand when artists play off key or if the singer's voice can't reach keys they are trying to hit. I also can not stand music that sounds more like noise than music.

Typically, its the meshing of the drums, guitar and bass that gets me to like a band. Give me a purely instrumental piece they did, and I will let you know if I will listen to more of their music. 90% of the time I'm listening to music, I tune out the vocals...unless Ive heard it hundreds of times, then I'm singing along to it(if I'm alone that is).

A lot of factors come into play here.

The complexity and originality of the music comes first and foremost. I like pieces that are in awkward or changing time signatures for example. The standard verse-chorus-verse-chorus format of today's pop music doesn't usually cut it for me, and a too-repetitive beat will leave me bored.

Good instrumentation is probably second most crucial. I prefer bluegrass instruments like banjo and violin as well as Latin and African percussion (not necessarily at the same time of course xD). I also like blues and jazz instrumentation. I don't typically care for electronic sounds, although computer generated "noise" has its acceptable uses.

All other things are of lesser importance, but still matter some. Proficiency of instrument are voice matter only to the extent that it can ruin a song if it is really, horribly bad. Lyrical flow and word choice are things I highly appreciate but I can still enjoy a song with simple lyrics.

I can't classify what I like that well. :gonk:

I know I like songs that have interesting/clever lyrics, catchy/impressive harmonies and rhythms, and nice vocal work. I'm sure there's more to me that I can classify, because some things that fit these criteria still won't strike me. Language doesn't matter to me, nor does genre. But whatever it is, it can't be boring. I've got to stay interested. :sweat:

I judge it by the sum of all the components: music, lyrics, voice, and so on. If one of these components is at fault, then the music is no good. A good song, for me, needs to have a beautiful melody, an original message whenever possible, and a nice voice singing the vocals. Owl City is an example of the three components working perfectly.

First of all i jugde it by what type of genre it is. I like R n' B, Rap, and hip hop. Second, I check to see if i like the beat or if the lyrics really mean something to me.

i just listen for the overall sound of the music :lol:
if it has a good beat and the lyrics flow well with it then i'll be into it <3

after that,
the meaning and vocals would raise the bar for it even higher

i judge a song by will i listen to it more then just this month