Alternative to iOS 10 Music app which is now missing star rating I'm using the phone to categorise my ripped music while I'm on the train or whatever. I sync this with iTunes to have the same information available on my Mac. With iOS 10 I am no longer able to do so, because Apple seems to think like/dis-like is enough choice.

I don't concur with this view.

What iOS Apps are you using on your Mac and iPhone to categorise music ? I'm even open to leave the iTunes universe all-together.

The star system is cumbersome, but still quite ok to classify songs in a simple way:

1 - defect , 2 - like, 3 - party song, 4 - mixtape song, 5 - reserved

This is definitely more information that love and hate.

So what's your take on listening and categorising to your mp3 files on your iOS device and Mac ?
Cesium Music Player includes your iTunes metadata and allows you to change star ratings while listening to music on your iPhone

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cesium-music-player/id924491991?mt=8