Mine are largely based around pre-release singles:
Too many singles before release. I think it should be 2 as an absolute maximum, 1 preferably. Don’t like to feel as if I’ve heard half the album before it’s out (Obvious response to this is that I don’t HAVE to listen to them).
Pre release singles that are all bunched around the start of the album. I think a brave choice is to preview songs from across the album, indicating it’s strong from back to front.
Length. Anything over 40 minutes makes me give a bit of a unless it’s a only got about 4 tracks in which case I would presume it’s some sort of slow-burning soundscape sort of thing.
(I also don’t care about length for movie score albums I guess.)
‘posthumous’. I know there are one or two good ones but 90% of the time its a cynical cash grab with demos and dreck that the artist never wanted to see the light of day. No thanks.
12 is, I think, the holy grail of ‘number of tracks on an album’. Loads of 9 track albums these days, are you getting your money’s worth? 12 tracks allows for a narrative, ebb and flow, love a good 12 track album.
unless it’s a only got about 4 tracks in which case I would presume it’s some sort of slow-burning soundscape sort of thing.