Content types and the Content Query Web Part are not new in SharePoint 2010, and the “ratings” functionality were available as a codeplex download in 2007. (I use them) Now they are baked into SharePoint 2010 and can serve as a key part of presenting your users with quality focused content as needed.

Combining these 3 great pieces can offer a tremendously useful way to provide your users with a quick view of key content throughout your site collection. 

Lets look at an example:

I have done similar setups for our internal SharePoint implementation (only in SharePoint 2007) We created different pages for each content type based on what information people are looking for.  This effort has paid off very well for us in not only setting people up to easily find content but also pays off for a good information architecture.