"Reviews though IMHO are worthless unless you and the writer have everything in common"

I can understand that attitude. But I think it's symptomatic of how rubbish most music criticism is. I'm willing to bet that if you read a review that really impressed you as good writing: a review that made you think, or made you laugh, or even moved you, you would be keen to check out the album in question.

The trouble is, those kind of reviews are hardly ever written. I don't think it occurs to the majority of music writers to even try. They just want to give a mark out of ten, or make a list.

NME in the 1970s and early 80s was worth reading even if you weren't interested in the music it was covering. The Wire magazine sometimes is too.