BTW, there are thousands of albums on Noisetrade. How does one go about selecting the best?

Here's my very unscientific method which I learned from a friend who has the 2nd largest CD collection of those in my circle.

He used to buy his CD's based on unique album art - prior to listening. His premise was that if the artist didn't care about presenting something interesting on the cover, they were also likely to avoid putting something interesting from a sonic perspective in the music.

I do the same with Noisetrade. My success rate I would say is 10-20% for 'keepers'.

BTW, my favorite album from the past 5 years or so was on Noisetrade for about a year: Josh Garrels' "Love And War And the Sea In Between". That such an epic and expansive true album was written and recorded and produced in a home studio is an example to anyone that thinks they cannot produce grand art in the home.

I'm fairly sure this was the album that I mentioned here back in 2011.