1. Why 2. So 3. Many 4. God 5. Damn 6. Lists 7. ???

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There's been a couple of threads recently dealing with some absurd lists of things like "Coolest Records" and "Greatest Literary Characters". Why do these things exist? Personally, I like lists, but only when I'm already really familiar with the general outlook/tastes of the person/group/publication who are making it; sort of a "You are intrigued by the worldview we hold, here is a way to further explore it"-type thing. But these lists don't seem to be expressions of any particularly unusual perspective and they trade on cultural markers that are for the most part already well known. So why the need to rank them? What's the point of saying Holden Caulfield is #2, while Winnie the Pooh is #29? Are these things that can even usefully be compared outside their original contexts?

Do you like lists? In what ways do you find them useful? What do they say about their makers? Are they often (as I suspect the above are) just sloppy journalism, a last ditch resort to fill column inches? What sort of things can be listed? And what can't?

― xerxes, Wednesday, 20 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Please list your answers in descending order from most flippant to most obscene.

― xerxes, Wednesday, 20 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

It's all ego. We all love to assert that our subjective opinions are actually important. People like to polarize and lists provide concentrated opportunities to do so. Every item provokes either 'damn right' or 'bullshit!'

― Ron, Wednesday, 20 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

When it comes to the intenet, maybe sometimes people post such lists in a with very non-egotistical intent. Rather, they just do it in an attempt to participate in some way, to try to be part of an interaction, 'to spark debate' when perhaps they don't feel able to make interesting points themselves. This is esp. the case when people don't annotate the list.

― N., Thursday, 21 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

1. taramasalata
2. the ross ice shelf
3. eeyore's back-stitching
4. adverts for audis
5. enjambement

― mark s, Thursday, 21 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Top Ten Reasons for Magazine Lists

5. An excuse for ageing editors to flaunt appreciation for everything from Public Enemy to *gasp* Gram Parsons - a desire to appear eclectic and groovy that backfires because all the magazines use the same siginifiers of eclecticism.

4. An excuse to put a current critical favourite in a "timeless" context to justify all the press they've gotten - eg "The Strokes aren't just a flavour of the month they're Q Magazine's #18 Most Well- hyped Band of All Time!"

3. Cheap! No new reporting neccessary! Can be tossed off in a couple of hours and will generate reader interest - "eg Dear Mojo, While you're still tops in my book, I have to register my utter dismay at seeing the exclusion of Status Quo punters from your Top 500 Rock Armies."

2. Our relentless and futile quest to impose order on a chaotic universe.

1. IT'S A 3-WAY TIE!!! Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, Pet Sounds and Never Mind The Bollocks!

― fritz, Thursday, 21 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

six years pass...

Entertainment Weekly devote their latest issue to listing the best EVERYTHING from the past 25 years.

― Alba, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 13:34 (seventeen years ago)

1. Why 2. Don't 3. People 4. Post 5. Like 6. This 7. All 8. The 9. Time 10. ???

― some dude, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 13:41 (seventeen years ago)

Just so tht ayou don't have to:

1. Purple Rain Prince and the Revolution (1984)
2. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Lauryn Hill (1998)
3. Achtung Baby U2 (1991)
4. The College Dropout Kanye West (2004)
5. Madonna Madonna (1983)
6. American Idiot Green Day (2004)
7. The Blueprint Jay-Z (2001)
8. Graceland Paul Simon (1986)
9. Back to Black Amy Winehouse (2007)
10. In Rainbows Radiohead (2007)
11. MTV Unplugged in New York Nirvana (1994)
12. Stankonia OutKast (2000)
13. You Are Free Cat Power (2003)
14. Disintegration The Cure (1989)
15. The Marshall Mathers LP Eminem (2000)
16. Rain Dogs Tom Waits (1985)
17. Odelay Beck (1996)
18. People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm A Tribe Called Quest (1990)
19. Dangerously in Love Beyoncé (2003)
20. Tidal Fiona Apple (1996)
21. The Emancipation of Mimi Mariah Carey (2005)
22. 3 Feet High and Rising De La Soul (1989)
23. The Soft Bulletin The Flaming Lips (1999)
24. Come On Over Shania Twain (1997)
25. Turn On the Bright Lights Interpol (2002)
26. Time Out of Mind Bob Dylan (1997)
27. Funeral Arcade Fire (2004)
28. Illmatic Nas (1994)
29. Breakaway Kelly Clarkson (2004)
30. Appetite for Destruction Guns N' Roses (1987)
31. FutureSex/LoveSounds Justin Timberlake (2006)
32. Life's Rich Pageant R.E.M. (1985)
33. As I Am Alicia Keys (2007)
34. Is This It The Strokes (2001)
35. Jagged Little Pill Alanis Morissette (1995)
36. CrazySexyCool TLC (1994)
37. The Moon & Antarctica Modest Mouse (2000)
38. Raising Hell Run-DMC (1986)
39. Sheryl Crow Sheryl Crow (1996)
40. Ready to Die The Notorious B.I.G. (1994)
41. Legend Bob Marley and the Wailers (1984)
42. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) Wu-Tang Clan (1993)
43. Paul's Boutique Beastie Boys (1989)
44. Car Wheels on a Gravel Road Lucinda Williams (1998)
45. If You're Feeling Sinister Belle and Sebastian (1996)
46. Homogenic Björk (1997)
47. Exile in Guyville Liz Phair (1993)
48. American IV: The Man Comes Around Johnny Cash (2002)
49. A Rush of Blood to the Head Coldplay (2002)
50. Sounds of Silver LCD Soundsystem (2007)
51. The Score Fugees (1996)
52. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Spoon (2007)
53. King of America Elvis Costello (1986)
54. Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 Janet Jackson (1989)
55. It Takes a Nation of Millions... Public Enemy (1988)
56. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Wilco (2002)
57. Harvest Moon Neil Young (1992)
58. Surfer Rosa The Pixies (1988)
59. Ray of Light Madonna (1998)
60. Crooked Rain Crooked Rain Pavement (1994)
61. Paid in Full Eric B. & Rakim (1987)
62. OK Computer Radiohead (1997)
63. The Joshua Tree U2 (1987)
64. Mama's Gun Erykah Badu (2000)
65. Elephant The White Stripes (2003)
66. The Chronic Dr. Dre (1992)
67. Metallica Metallica (1991)
68. Wrecking Ball Emmylou Harris (1995)
69. Give Up The Postal Service (2003)
70. My Life Mary J. Blige (1994)
71. Rock Steady No Doubt (2001)
72. 1984 Van Halen (1984)
73. The Queen is Dead Smiths (1986)
74. Play Moby (1999)
75. Born in the U.S.A. Bruce Springsteen (1984)
76. Heartbreaker Ryan Adams (2000)
77. Dummy Portishead (1994)
78. Vs. Pearl Jam (1991)
79. Let It Be The Replacements (1984)
80. Back to Basics Christina Aguilera (2006)
81. The Downward Spiral Nine Inch Nails (1994)
82. Grace Jeff Buckley (1994)
83. Learning to Crawl The Pretenders (1984)
84. Low-Life New Order (1985)
85. Home Dixie Chicks (2002)
86. Loveless My Bloody Valentine (1991)
87. All Eyez on Me 2Pac (1996)
88. So Peter Gabriel (1986)
89. Bachelor No. 2 Aimee Mann (2000)
90. Toxicity System of a Down (2001)
91. Siamese Dream Smashing Pumpkins (1993)
92. The Writing's on the Wall Destiny’s Child (1999)
93. Either/Or Elliott Smith (1997)
94. Synchronicity The Police (1983)
95. Trap Muzik T.I. (2003)
96. Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea PJ Harvey (2000)
97. Britney Britney Spears (2001)
98. Transatlanticism Death Cab for Cutie (2003)
99. Live Through This Hole (1994)
100. Faith George Michael (1987)

― baaderonixx, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 13:45 (seventeen years ago)

This is such a weird list.

― baaderonixx, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 13:47 (seventeen years ago)

If the album was actually called Live Through This Hole...

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 13:47 (seventeen years ago)

What would be the No.1 best EVERYTHING ?

― Ste, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 13:47 (seventeen years ago)

Although if it was reversed, it could easily be some random ILMer's all time faves

― baaderonixx, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 13:48 (seventeen years ago)

What would be the No.1 best EVERYTHING ?

I LOVE EVERYTHING.

― Alba, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 13:48 (seventeen years ago)

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/The_Official_List_of_the_Best_Things_in_Existence

# 1 Timeline of the Best Things Ever

* 1.1 Bacon
* 1.2 God
* 1.3 Oxygen
* 1.4 Humans
* 1.5 Language
o 1.5.1 Punctuation
o 1.5.2 Singing
o 1.5.3 Saying Things While Belching
* 1.6 The Wheel
* 1.7 Evolution
* 1.8 Beer
* 1.9 Boats
* 1.10 Getting Boats Right
* 1.11 Sandals
* 1.12 Caesar's Mom
* 1.13 Sandals 2: With a Vengeance
* 1.14 Jesus of Nazareth
* 1.15 Shapes in the Clouds
* 1.16 The Printing Press
* 1.17 Columbus, America, and Other Assorted Bullshit
* 1.18 Steven Spielberg
* 1.19 Every Piece of Southern Literature Ever Written
* 1.20 1927
* 1.21 Sliced Bread
* 1.22 Professional Wrestling
* 1.23 Eminem (Disputed)
o 1.23.1 The Dispute

― onimo, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 14:43 (seventeen years ago)

was that list compiled in like 1974?

― Ste, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 14:56 (seventeen years ago)

(apart from the Eminem entry)

― Ste, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 14:57 (seventeen years ago)

but bacon is a good answer

― Ste, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 14:58 (seventeen years ago)

It was compiled on the 57 bus from Kingston to Streatham Hill during school run hours.

― Dingbod Kesterson, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 14:58 (seventeen years ago)

it's by the same dudes who created hit TV show A Mars Life

― blueski, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 14:58 (seventeen years ago)

altho, not butt bacon.

― Ste, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 14:58 (seventeen years ago)

was that list compiled in like 1974?
Sliced bread covers 1927 - 1997

― onimo, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 14:59 (seventeen years ago)

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