How the score works
Albums, games, films, shows and books
- Critics, 40. The published aggregate from Metacritic, OpenCritic, Album of the Year or Rotten Tomatoes. For books, Book Marks grades every major review rave, positive, mixed or pan; we read those as 100, 75, 50 and 25 and take the average. Almost everything reviewed lands between 70 and 98, so a 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40.
- Audience, 20. What people who paid for it say, from user scores, Steam reviews and, for books, the Goodreads average times 20. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20.
- Track record, 15. Whether the people who made it have made things that lasted before. Debuts start lower on purpose.
- Staying power, 25. What happens after launch week: chart runs, players who stick around, renewals, sales that keep going, prize shortlists.
Tech
- Reviews, 30. The average of the published scores from outlets that score, like Engadget, CNET, PCMag, Tom's Guide and TechRadar. A 60 earns nothing and a 100 earns all 30.
- Updates, 25. Years of software updates, from the maker's promise or, where there isn't one, what its last comparable model got. Seven years earns all 25.
- Repairable, 20. iFixit's repairability score, doubled. Where iFixit hasn't scored it, we read the parts and guides.
- Timing, 25. Where it is in its line's usual refresh cycle, the MacRumors question. Full points for the first half; nothing once the next model is due.
Things
- Warranty, 30. What the company will actually fix or replace, read from their own policy.
- Build, 30. Materials and construction, and whether there's anything to wear out.
- Track record, 20. How long the maker has been making this well.
- Repairable, 20. Whether you can get it fixed instead of replacing it.
A Keeper is our bet on what lasts. Some releases show it right away: the reviews, the players and the people behind them all point the same way, the way they did for Elden Ring. For albums, games, films, shows and books, 85 or above is a Keeper and 75 to 84 is worth your time. Things and tech need 80. We score everything again as time goes by, and a Keeper that fades loses the label. Nobody pays to be here or pays for a score. Every score links to where its numbers came from. Each one has a link to find it on Amazon, and as an Amazon Associate, Keepers earns from qualifying purchases.