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I rated it a 9.
The show had some problems. Most outstanding one was three minutes of Yuki reading; if I were to recommend this show to other people, that would be the point where I'd cringe to say was "good". Other inexplicable bits (the weird focusing on Kyon's mole in episode 8) made it more "wth?" than "ah, that was subtle". Subtlety in entertainment doesn't quite work when it flies over the head of most of the viewers, with nobody actually knowing the true significance.
The episode shuffling also lost several viewers I know of. It's something that I doubt everyone can really agree on. I think that it was ultimately necessary, but that's an entirely subjective view.
But all in all, I'm hard-pressed to slam the show, largely because everything else was done in a technically perfect manner. I can't fault the animation quality. I certainly can't fault the dedication to following the source. I definitely can't fault the VAs.
So this show gets the highest that it can reasonably get, which is a 9. For the record, a 10 would be the sort of show that would undeniably and immediately convert an anime-hater into an anime-lover, and every single person in the entire world would love it utterly. In other words, a near-impossibility. (I rate episodes more leniently than I rate series, since if I'm watching an episode it's assumed that I can at least tolerate the series.) Even CCS, my all-time favourite anime, gets a 9. (I'm assuming no decimal places, and everything rounded down if there were.)
Like CCS, it gave me a new outlook on like. Now, I can use the term "Haruhiism" to describe my newfound philosophy of always hoping that there are aliens, time-travellers, ESPers, and other interesting things in this world... and that they'll all be willing to be friends.
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