How to read TrackMoose scores and tags

Scores rank candidates inside one search. Tags offer a quick orientation. Neither is a verdict, genre law, or promise that you will like an artist.

Author and reviewer: TrackMoose operator
Published: July 14, 2026
Last reviewed: July 14, 2026

Example result set

Seeds: Radiohead, Bon Iver, Phoebe Bridgers

Rank	Artist	Score	Tag	Seed support
01	Thom Yorke	50%	electronic	1 of 3
02	Volcano Choir	50%	indie	1 of 3
03	boygenius	46.9%	indie rock	2 of 3
04	Justin Vernon	41.5%	folk	1 of 3
05	Julien Baker	32.3%	indie	2 of 3
06	Lucy Dacus	32%	indie	1 of 3
07	Better Oblivion Community Center	31.6%	No tag	2 of 3
08	Atoms for Peace	27%	electronic	1 of 3
09	S. Carey	23.8%	No tag	1 of 3
10	Adrianne Lenker	23.6%	singer-songwriter	2 of 3

Captured TrackMoose output from July 14, 2026. Scores can change when cached similarity data refreshes.

What a score measures

A TrackMoose score combines average similarity strength with explicit-seed coverage. A candidate can score well through one exceptionally strong connection or through good support from several seeds. Coverage uses a logarithmic curve so one-seed discoveries remain visible in multi-seed searches.

Scores are calculated from the current search and rounded to one decimal place. A 50% result in one run is not automatically better than a 45% result from another run because the seed counts and candidate pools differ.

Reading ranges without overreading them

60% and above

Very strong within this search

Usually a very close single-seed relationship or broad, strong agreement. Common with side projects and direct collaborators. It can be accurate without being novel.

30% to 59.9%

Useful core results

Often the best balance between connection and discovery. In the example, boygenius at 46.9% has support from two seeds, while Volcano Choir at 50% has one very strong branch.

Below 30%

Weaker, not worthless

Lower results can be the less obvious finds. Atoms for Peace at 27% and Adrianne Lenker at 23.6% still have clear relationships to the example profile.

These ranges are reading aids, not fixed quality bands. Seed count changes score shape, and a niche seed can produce meaningful results at lower values.

What tags tell you

TrackMoose caches up to three usable tags for an artist after filtering known junk labels and tags that simply repeat the artist name. The result list displays the first available cached tag as a quick clue.

Read a tag as orientation, not classification. Electronic, indie, folk, and singer-songwriter help explain the example branches, but one label cannot describe every era, release, or influence. Better Oblivion Community Center and S. Carey have no displayed tag in this captured run, yet remain valid results.

Limits and failure cases

A score is not a listening probability, critic rating, popularity score, or cross-search percentile.
Tags are listener-created and can be broad, inconsistent, dated, or missing.
Popular and well-documented artists tend to have denser signals than new, local, or niche artists.
Name aliases and spelling differences can split signals. Shared artist names can combine them imperfectly.
Use preview links and your own listening judgment. The ranking narrows a search; it does not finish it.

Put the guide into practice

The recommendation method is documented separately and kept aligned with the live scoring code.

Read the methodology

Read scores in a live search