I use a system for rating music similar to that of iloveradio.org. After downloading the track, I edit the MP3-tag so it contains the site where the track is from (this is crucial now that I have been through around 2000 tunes). I then put the newly downloaded songs in my “download” category in iTunes, give one star to uninteresting songs, three stars for good tracks (one smart playlist; exactly three stars and in my “download” category) and four/five star tunes are put in another smart playlist. Rating is mostly done while on the move with the iPod. This way I went through all of the 750+ tracks of the SXSW showcasing artist roster in a couple of weeks.

I also have “download fresh” category which only contains tracks downloaded over the last 14 days, this to give new songs a second chance to pass quality control.

One star tracks are simply deleted. I do not keep track of them. I might run the risk of downloading them again (the free and legal tracks have a tendency to turn up on several sites), but that’s not a real problem.

The next show (after my dark electronic special) will be based on SXSW 2005 tracks only (10 tracks or so, but I will also be sharing my complete list of tracks worth downloading from the showcase).

A bit of reciprocal linkage for you (as Acecast is listed as recommended listening) — Marvin Suicide is doing podcasts featuring free and legal MP3s only (just like Acecast).

Mainly electronic music is played, but there is the odd non-electronic tune as well. What is really odd though is Marvin’s (not real name I suspect) voice — it is treated with a vocoder effect so Marvin sounds a bit like Cher mixed with Future Pilot AKA. There’s a fair bit of swearing on Marvin’s shows, so PG certified.

My recommended artist found via Marvin is Ecoplan.