Angie’s List referrals

Commonly accepted wisdom says that referral business is the best business there is. Angie's List is a company that has formalized the process of publishing customer ratings and referrals, and the companies reviewed are included without company involvement or input. But what is the value of a very high rating such as Zerorez commonly receives? How does this type of referral compare to a "friend-to-friend" recommendation? We are still trying to evaluate that, because in spite of high ratings on the list, jobs generated from this type of formalized publication are still few and far between. Maybe someone out there can provide some feedback regarding their experience.