I mean I absolutely think that way about my fave albums just that I can still recognize flaws or weak moments in them
We obviously use different rating scales though if you completely hated moonsorrow and still gave it a 5, so
What was that record that got a 9.75?
It's all good, I'm not being critical here, just observing, but I think you and I have a fundamental difference when it comes to music. I really enjoy the artist's take on things. I sometimes slip here with terminology, but deep down I don't believe in "good" or "bad" art, only "whether I like it". The one one that can say if it's "good" or not is the artist ("how close did I come to my vision?"). Doesn't mean I like everything they do - just the opposite. Some bands - Queen - are infuriating. But rather than say "It was a mistake to put "Misfire" and "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" on there???" I kind of try to understand why they did. And, like with Iron Maiden on Number of the Beast (or U2 The Joshua Tree) I'll make versions I like (with Total Eclipse for Maiden, and all the b-sides for U2).
I agree with you that in reality, it's all about whether I like it vs "good" or "bad." But when I score something, it's going to be on a scale of how well I like it, rather than the artists intentions. How do you even know what they are? And if you did, it could be anything.
"What was your intention with this record?"
"To kick some ass!"
"Do you feel like you succeeded?"
"Hell yeah!!!!"
"Ok, 10 for you."
Or
"Mr. Gabriel, what were you trying to do with your vocals on Supper's Ready?"
"Why, I wanted to make the listener cringe."
"Well, I did, so, OK, 10 for you..."
If an artist has a vision and meets that vision - that's great. But I'm not sure how I'm even going to know it, but let's say I do - it's not going to make me give them a higher/lower score. Or what if, 2 years after an album's release, they love it and think it did exactly what it set out to do... but 10 years later, they look back and think "you know, we missed the mark on that one." Should I give it a 10 at first and then downgrade it later? If I give a score, it's gotta be based on how I feel about it, even if it's different than how the artist feels.