The Reviews Reviewed

Here at Pornreports we try to link to every available online review of a pay-site we can find, and post any comments that are sent to us. But how useful are these other reviews? And how objective?

Porn reviews tend to be distrusted for one simple reason: The people who run them are invariably (that is, in every case) partners (or "affiliates") with the people running the sites they are reviewing. In other words, for every person who joins the site by following a review link, the reviewer gets a cut. We would like to emphasize this point: every review service does this. No one has clean hands. It's how we pay the bills.

Hence the stridency with which all of these review sites claim their objectivity, honesty, and, above all, independence. To some extent, all of these claims are specious.

But . . . that does not mean that we're all the same. Some reviews are more objective, fair-minded, and useful than others.

Another reason reviews are distrusted is because they give out so many high marks. We can sympathize. Starting in 2004 there were new review sites popping up every month, and they were giving everything a score of 80 or better (apparently the scale they use only goes from 80 to 100). But (and this is all we'll say in their defense, because we think all of the new review sites suck) the fact is most Internet porn is a pretty good value compared to what you pay (or used to pay) for magazines and videos/DVDs. Also, most reviews don't want to waste their time covering sites that are obviously sub-standard or just plain rip-offs. Those sites usually shut down within a year anyway, and  then you're left with a bunch of dead links to get rid of. Finally, many reviews come about as the result of adult webmasters contacting the reviewer and requesting a review. You don't initiate contact like that unless you're pretty confident you have a decent site.

Still, when you compare official site reviews with comments made in forums and bulletin boards, it often does seem that reviewers are a bit more generous than the general public (the porn-viewing public, that is). And this is something you have to take into consideration.

Then there is the inherently subjective nature of what we're trying to do. Let's face it, some sites may be well-produced but just not work for a particular reviewer. In many cases we're dealing with very idiosyncratic fetishes and turn-ons. And then there are category biases. For example, Pornreports really admires solo amateur performers. We think most of them are doing a great job (especially when you compare they're doing to the professional pornstars), and we really appreciate the extra personal effort they put into their sites. Does our respect for these people colour our reviews? We're pretty sure it does.

So that's why we try to offer a range of opinion along with each of our reviews. As a rough guide, here's what we think of some of the other available sources.

(Know of a review site that's not on the list? Let us know! We link to everyone.)

Adult Reviews: this is an older, established site with a lot of reviews (and they've added a search function!). The Samples section is a treat. (Note: RevengeWorld licenses their reviews from these guys.)

Adult Site Review: not a lot of stuff, though the individual reviews are quite thorough. A nice all-around site that still needs to grow, but there's clearly a lot of work being put into it.

Adult Site Reviews: not a lot here. 

Adult Site Surfer: well-designed and with a good range of coverage. One of the older, and better, reviews.

Adult Webcam FAQ: news and reviews of webcam sites and girls. Something a little different from the rest of the sites mentioned here, but it definitely fills a niche.

Awful Porn: "A public service to help keep good people from spending money on bad porn." It's really just a blog that rips terrible porn sites you'd never think of joining anyway, but it's funny stuff. 

The Best Porn: a very large, very professional site that provides a lot of information along with some good reviews. Probably the best all-around resource.

Big Boob Links: a "big boob directory" that also has some reviews. Nice site.

Brad's Reviews: gay porn sites rated and reviewed. Attractive layout and good info for this niche.

Buddy's Reviews: Buddy specializes in amateur performer sites, and the number of sites under review is pretty small. He does have some other interesting features though, including personal galleries showing him in action with some of the swingers he has under review. He tends to give out a lot of very high scores. It's hard to fuck a girl and then tell the world her site sucks.

Carnalia: a directory really. Sort of like Jane's Guide.

Creampie4U: just a few reviews specializing in the creampie niche.

Dirty Peter: a lot of links, but very brief perfunctory reviews. Not much help.

Elite Porn Reviews: quite an active review site, with some good commentary.

ePorn Review: covers the "reality" porn scene very nicely, with a special function that allows you to browse by model. The reviews aren't very detailed or all that helpful (most reality sites are pretty much the same anyway, in our opinion), but as a general preview of this niche it's OK.

Fetish Fish: not to be mistaken with Pornofish (below). Good reviews of fetish sites, broken down into "hook," "line," and "sinker." Also has a blog and articles on "the culture and psychology behind the fetish life." 

FreeOnes: FreeOnes is one of the biggest, and best, adult performer indexes on the Net. Their review section isn't quite as developed as the rest of the site (yet), and the reviews themselves are kind of brief, but it's attractively presented and fun to browse.

Gotta be Porn!: just a handful of reviews of the top sites. Not bad, but it's not really active.

Guide2Porn: a British review that focuses on quality porn. Not a lot of reviews, but a very helpful site with lots of interesting extras.

Honest Porn Reviews: certainly covers a lot of ground, and updates several times a day, but it's another one of those sites though where you have to read the review very carefully and ignore the numerical grade. The marks are way too high.

Jane's Guide: not really a review at all, but more of a general index. One of the first sites of its kind though, and still a recognized name. You're probably aware by now that it doesn't take very much to be rated "Quality".

Jack Off Material: more an annotated index than a full review site, but the graphics alone make it worth a visit.

Jaxon Jaganov: smaller, independent review site with a lot of personality. Specializes in some odd fetishes like "contortion porn". Plus he also reviews night clubs!

Johnny's Porn: Johnny (a.k.a. Nenad Nikolic) has an interesting collection of links and reviews. A little cluttered, and hasn't updated in a while, but it's worth a look.

Li'l Babes: quite detailed (at least from a technical point of view) reviews, and a model index to help you locate individual girls. Nice site.

LLB Reviews: what does the "LLB" mean? Does it stand for something? Leaving that mystery aside, this is a decent new review site. Could stand a bit more personality.

Masturbation Invasion: a husband-and-wife reviewing team from the UK that uses a "double rating system." The "traditional score" is the one based on the usual specific criteria, while the "reviewer's score" is a grade out of 100 that the reviewer thinks the site really deserves. Around here we just use the reviewer's score.

Mike's Porn Site Reviews: not a lot of review up yet, but looks pretty thorough.

Monica's Reviews: brief site reviews (and reviews of sex products) by the "pretty porn hunter." We like the tiger-skin bikini.

Mr. Pink's: only reviews the top sites, without a lot of detail or critical commentary. We'd like to see him write more.

Mr. Web Review: despite the name, Mr. Web Review mostly reviews movies. The site review section isn't that well developed.

Pam's Reviews: describes itself as "adult website reviews with a twist . . . HONESTY!" Well, so much for the rest of us lying whores. Part of being honest, according to Pam, is not comparing a site to other sites. This doesn't make any sense to us. There's nothing unfair or dishonest about comparing MILFHunter with MILFSeeker with MILFRiders or with any of the other MILF sites, is there? Don't you want to know which of these is best? Most of the reviews here are ill-informed and the grading is pretty inconsistent.

Pay Porn List: lots of info here, and well presented, though the reviews are kind of generous. Says it reviews "the best sites only," but still gives out too many high marks.

Planet Climax: a sort of TGP/Review hybrid with lots of preview galleries.

Porn Adept: an adept is an expert or someone trained with a special skill. Honest coverage, with some nice in-depth reviews. Also features interviews with paysite webmasters.

Porn Billy: blog-format site with good coverage and commentary. Very nice presentation.

Porn Inspector: good place to go for samples. Somewhat annoying is the fact that you have to register to view a further selection of previews, but the reviews themselves are quite detailed.

Porn Kangaroo: not sure what a kangaroo has to do with porn, but this is a good resource with some detailed reviews. A bit generous.

PornLiving: one of the originals, and very good. Comprehensive and well written. The criticism is usually quite well-informed and objective. Nicely designed and easy to navigate.

Pornofish: attractive site design and graphics (love the fish), but the reviews are really brief and they haven't added any new reviews in quite a while.

Porn-Lovers.net: some generous reviews (they only review "favourite sites") from a pair of bloggers. Not a lot here yet.

PornReporters: not the most original name is it? Oh well. This site features a lot of preview material for the reality porn niche. The "reviews" are just thumbnails though and you have to subscribe to get all of the previews.

PornSavvy: "PornSavvy.com is not a review site!" Uh-huh. Could have fooled us. Instead it calls itself "an online community of true porn connoisseurs." Whatever. It's actually pretty good. Lots of previews, and a forum for feedback. Put out by the Consumption Junction people.

Porn Site Report: nice-looking site with an interesting layout. The reviews are pretty generous though, and they need to go after the scammers a bit more.

Pornography Review: small site with only a few brief reviews. No special features.

The Porn Review: very brief reviews, with little detail or analysis. Don't bother.

Pudwacker Pete: another niche review/link site by the same people who do Big Boob Links (above). This one specializes in blowjob and facial sites.

Quality Amateur Paysites: meaty reviews of our favourite niche. Oz and Cupie put a lot of effort into reviewing each site and it shows.

Quality Reality Paysites: niche review covering the reality porn scene. Put out by the same team as Quality Amateur Paysites (see above), with a similar layout.

Rabbit's Reviews: has nothing to do with the John Updike novels. Or maybe it does. We don't know. Might not have anything to do with Lewis Carroll either. Pretty generic layout, and some very generous reviews (especially the older ones), but it does offer a lot of coverage.

Richard's Realm: simple layout with a good index of reviews. It does seem like sort of an afterthought coming from these guys, but they've got cred.

Self Lover's World: snappy British site but the reviews are really short. Covers a lot of ground though.

Sex Herald: an adult zine packed with news, op-ed columns, and reviews of sites, videos and even books! The site reviews are well written, but they don't offer any previews and they're skimpy on the details.

Sex is Porn: smaller site with a standard-looking layout and quick reviews.

Sir Rodney's: "the only absolutely objective reviews on the Internet." Uh-huh. An absolutely objective porn reviewer would be a strange creature indeed. In any event, the reviews here are quite brief and don't go into much detail, but the cartoons are funny, the writing is sharp (get a load of the About page here), and some of the feedback is pretty interesting. Rod's "Guide to Erotica" is also worthwhile.

Smut Inspector: sort of generic-looking site with the standard grading format. What's interesting is that while they do give out some tough marks (which is something we like), their written comments are a lot more positive than the site's final grade would seem to indicate. When in doubt, trust the number.

Smut Register: put out by Porn Adept (see above). This site does shorter reviews and doesn't update as much.

Spankmania Reviews: small site featuring a male/female review team (Mr. Spank and Pink Cheeks).

Stroke King: newer review site with good functionality and an information-rich layout.

What Porn Site?: nice-looking site with good coverage. Also includes a FAQ section with tips and advice for anxious porn viewers.

X3 Guide: great coverage, knowledgeable staff, well-informed (and funny) commentary, and a large listing of sites under review. The forums and feedback areas are also useful.