When it comes to ATRL type artists, I check Meta out of curiosity, but it's not like I'm not gonna listen to a new Britney or Rihanna album because it has a low meta score...that's silly.
The only time I use Metacritic is about once a week or every other week to check new artists/bands that are getting high scores that I haven't heard of. It's a good way to check up-and-comers
Not when you have the internet these days. Just preview songs in Itunes and stream music in youtube. You don't need a reviewer that was probably paid by a label to sweet talk you into buying things you might not end up liking anyway.
