Norman Lebrecht raised the issue of "trusting" critics as a kind of
Consumer Reports for recordings and performances and asked which ones
are trusted most and least.

I've almost never looked at a single critic for that reason, so the issue
of trust doesn't come up at all for me.  I read critics for other reasons
- insight into the music or performer, the pleasures of good argumentation,
interest in criticism as a genre.  As far as getting me to plunk down my
money, either a critic convinces me to take a chance or not or a consensus
does, but it's never the same critic or the same consensus.  I never read
a single critic because he's right or wrong, but because he's interesting.

Steve Schwartz