Agreed, but it is still good to find a reviewer whose opinion you can trust; and in my opinion Britain's newspapers and magazines do have reviewers of all types of music whose opinion I respect. I often read reviews which alert me to music that I might otherwise miss. My first move after I read a review that interests me is to seek websites, MySpace, etc. so that I can sample the music and see if I agree, so I think that reviews and internet access to music samples go hand in hand. There is so much good music out there that it is easy to miss some if you don't keep yourself informed - and that should be the role of the good reviewer.

Similarly, if I came across a reviewer who was too fond of his abil(i)ty to excel with purple prose ,doing a hatchet job - and I cannot think of one who is - I would again listen to samples, make my own opinion and ignore that reviewer in future.