5 Sites Like Rotten Tomatoes to Find Average Ratings and Reviews for Anything

Track reviews from top critics to find the best-reviewed books, music, gadgets, games, and cryptocurrencies.

Rotten Tomatoes is great for movies, but what about the rest? These sites track reviews from top critics to find the best-reviewed books, music, gadgets, games, and cryptocurrencies.

With so many newspapers, magazines, websites, and YouTube channels, there are reviews everywhere and about everything. Rotten Tomatoes solved the problem for films by aggregating all reviews for a movie and assigning it an average rating. You can now use the same system for a bunch of other fields, and in turn, discover what you should try next.

1. Book Marks (Web): Rotten Tomatoes for Books

Book Marks started as a side project by the folks at Lit Hub, and has turned into its own entity. It's one of those fuss-free sites to find books to read, giving you a quick idea of what several critics think of a book.

The team at Book Marks scours 70 different publications known for their literary reviews (newspapers, magazines, and websites). Each book gets its reviews sorted into Rave, Positive, Mixed, and Pan, to give you an overall understanding of how it was received. For each review, you'll find a notable blurb as well as a link back to the full review.

Apart from a robust search engine, Book Marks also makes it easy to discover books worth reading. For instance, the Biggest New Books section is a hand-picked collection of trending books receiving awards and many reviews. You can also sort books by fiction, non-fiction, and other sub-genres. And you can check out the latest releases as well as the Best Reviewed books to find your next novel.

2. Any Decent Music? (Web): Rotten Tomatoes for Music

Any Decent Music? (ADM) collects reviews about the latest albums from the 50 top publications around the world, but mostly from the USA and the UK. The idea is to become the Billboard charts for the most critically acclaimed music and artists at any moment.

The site succinctly explains its philosophy in a small blurb. The Recent Releases chart is where you need to concentrate. It brings together critical reactions to new albums and is updated daily. Albums qualify with five reviews and drop out after six weeks.

Once they're out of Recent Releases, you'll find the albums under other headings once you click Customise Your Chart. Here, you can set the duration (last 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, or all time) and choose among popular genres. A drop-down menu at the top of the site gives you a much larger selection of genres. Another similar menu lets you sort reviews by publication.

Apart from this simple rating system, ADM lists a few fresh and upcoming albums you should check out, the latest music album reviews, and an all-time top-ten list. Kendrick Lamar is ruling the roost there. With its use of real-world reviewers and lack of algorithms, Any Decent Music is one of the best ways to discover music recommended by real people.

3. RecoRank (Web): Rotten Tomatoes for Tech Products and Gadgets

You'd think that with so many technology and gadget reviewers, there would already be something like Rotten Tomatoes for tech, right? Well, there wasn't, so developer Tavis Lochhead made one during the lockdown. RecoRank is functional, beautiful, and gets the job done.

Search the site for a tech product you're already interested in, or browse through categories to find the best-rated products. There is a robust filter system to add the specifications, price, or rating level you're looking for.

Each product shows you an overall aggregate rating, as well as the list of reviews on YouTube and websites it's sourced from. The product page also includes a price tracker to see its price fluctuations on Amazon. There's really nothing more you could want.

Also, if you have the time, scroll to the bottom of the page for RecoRank's Secret Content section. It has a few best and worst lists, popular comparisons between products, and the "best deals" section to find top-rated tech that's available at a deep discount.

4. OpenCritic (Web): Rotten Tomatoes for Video Games

You must have heard of Metacritic, the review aggregator website for video games. It takes all reviews and presents an average, which some people thought wasn't the best way to represent how video game journalism currently works. OpenCritic offers a different take to provide a more holistic view.

The review aggregate of Top Critics will give a game one of four recommendation levels: Mighty, Strong, Fair, and Weak. OpenCritic's claim to fame is to use non-rating cues from reviewers. For example, even if a game has ranked 7/10, it can understand verdicts like Eurogamer's "Essential" and GameXplain's "Loved" to get a better sense of the game's rating.

The site itself keeps it simple for those who want to know a game's overall rating and read its reviews from various trusted publications. The annual Hall of Fame shows you the best games of the year, and you can further sort and browse by platform or genre.

5. Keysheet (Web): Rotten Tomatoes for Cryptocurrency

You can't escape conversations about cryptocurrency, and you might have thought about investing in it yourself. But how do you find reliable information in a nascent field where a lot of people have their own agendas? Keysheet is trying to fix that by rating cryptocurrencies, wallets, and other services around the industry.

You can't really get a traditional "review" of cryptocurrency like you can with games or books. So how does Keysheet work? The website has a panel of experts who are contributors to major crypto projects or are well-established voices in the community. The site tracks their blog posts, tweets, and other publications to find out what they think about any coin or product, and assigns a percentage.

For you, the reader, all this boils down to a simple interface. Click a coin to see its rating, filter the reviews by positive or negative, and choose which experts you want to read. Apart from coins, Keysheet also reviews products like cryptocurrency wallets, rewards programs, and other tools. You'll also find guides with expert advice in case you're out of your depth.

Rely on Experts, But Also Check User Reviews

These review aggregators are a fantastic way to quickly find a consensus among various critics. Plus, given that these sites take it seriously as to who they allow as experts and who they don't, you're assured of a certain quality.

That said, you shouldn't rely on expert reviews alone. There can be a considerable gap between the time the review was written and the time you are checking these sites. Opinions change, other products come in, and longevity does matter. It's a good idea to always check user reviews as well. Don't rely solely on them either, and make sure you filter out fake reviews on Amazon too. A healthy balance between experts and common users will lead you to the right choice.

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