Your inner elitist is showing, Clarence.

I guess we should have expected this sooner or later, given how media professionals across the fruited plain are bemoaning the rise of blogs and the fall of newspapers and other traditional media. Still, though, it's infuriatingly elitist. First it's "Authorized Journalists," and now it's "Authorized Critics"?

Sorry, but I fail to understand what exactly qualifies a film, book or music critic to decide for the rest of us what's good and what isn't. And I understand even less why the lack of them is going to make us slide into the world depicted in the film Idiocracy. I can't speak for the film reviews, but the music reviews I have seen on Amazon.com are for the most part pretty well-written; and they have the added benefit of being written by people who are fans of the genre as well as the artist. Contrast that with the review I commented on here, and ask yourself: ARE professional critics really any more qualified than the common man (or woman) to judge what's worthy and what isn't? I certainly don't think so.

I should note as well that even though I do read the reviews at Amazon.com before I buy music, I ultimately make the judgment based on what I've heard from that album before as well as the band's reputation for quality work. I have yet to be disappointed.