There was an excellent (paywalled) article on N+1 about pitchfork. It really is separate from other sites (Lack of comments, 100 different possible ratings [0.0 to 10.0)], extreme &quot;hipster&quot; snottiness).<p>The website really has, and continues to shape &quot;alternative&#x2F;indie&quot; music tastes. It is probably the biggest indicator, and perhaps driver, of an alternative album&#x27;s commercial success. Sites like these regardless of their merit (which is really low IMO), are indispensable in the saturated music market.