Having not heard of Angie's List before I decided to check their website out. If anyone working on that is reading HN, you might find it interesting that I didn't understand at all what the website was for until reading all the way down to the testimonials.
Until then it was all about how happy users are and how many solutions it provides.
Might be a good idea to put a one-liner explanation somewhere very visible.
It's a sales funneling technique. By the time the user has reached the bottom, he has been prepped with all the glowing testimonials and ready to sign up. For a casual visitor, as blunt as it is, you are not their target audience.
They do a huge amount of radio advertising -- so most visitors are likely coming from radio ads that explain what they do. People that visit AL already know why they're there.
Until then it was all about how happy users are and how many solutions it provides.
Might be a good idea to put a one-liner explanation somewhere very visible.