We're Testing Comments and Reader Scores on Album Reviews

"Since Pitchfork started publishing album reviews nearly 30 years ago, two things have remained constant: no comments section, and no second opinion. That is about to change. Coming in 2026, as Pitchfork celebrates its 30th anniversary, we're finally planning to add a comments section to all of our album reviews. That's over 30,000 pieces of music criticism on which you'll be able to leave your own Pitchfork review for the very first time. We can't wait for your takes to be on our website."

"In addition to commenting, you will also have the opportunity to add your own score to an album review using Pitchfork's rating system. This score will be shown next to your comment and will be aggregated with other readers to form a "reader score" alongside Pitchfork's official score. One album review, our score, your score, followed by some comments. We are currently beta testing these features with 500 readers to make sure that we build the best comments section and reader scoring system possible."

Pitchfork will add a comments section to every album review in 2026 to mark its 30th anniversary. Over 30,000 past reviews will accept reader-submitted Pitchfork reviews and comments on the website. Readers will be able to assign numeric scores using Pitchfork's rating system; those scores will appear next to comments and be aggregated into a "reader score" displayed alongside Pitchfork's official score. Each review page will show the editorial score, the aggregated reader score, and reader comments. The features are now in beta with 500 readers before a full rollout.

Read at Pitchfork