Kong's 100 Greatest 100 Greatest Lists

[Kong Wen]

Alright folks, this thread is inspired by the discussion that has been taking place in Liu Yuante's 100 Greatest Guitarists thread, which is in turn inspired by Rolling Stone's list.

Since "greatest" lists like this are completely subjective and the criteria used to judge and rank entries aren't set in stone, I've decided to put this in the AE&I subforum as a form of acknowledgement of the fact that my own lists are basically made-up and not objective measures of quality at all. Long sentence!

What I'm going to do in this thread is create a number of "X Greatest" lists based on music. I'll try to make them manageable sizes (they may not all be Top 100), and I'll try to describe how I created the lists so they're not just in some mysterious order.

EDIT: One important thing to bear in mind is that you guys are very free to disagree with my taste in music. I'm going to try to have the first couple of lists create themselves with as little input from me as possible (e.g. they'll be based on play count, number of tracks per album, etc.). For those lists, I will also try to include some numbers so you can see exactly what's going on.

[Ricky]

Great when will you do all of this?

[Kong Wen]

Great when will you do all of this?

I'm working on one right now. I'm going to start with an easy one while I figure out how I want to compile the others.

The first one I am going to do is Kong's Top 100 Most Played Songs. Bear in mind that this list is merely going to be based on how many times I have played each song, and is not a ranking of how good or important I think these songs are. As such, the ranking of the songs will be heavily skewed towards albums that I listen to a lot (in my car, for example). Like I said, though, this is an easy start because I only have to use my iTunes stats to create the list.

In an attempt to counter-balance the effect of the play count, I am going to try to take my star-ratings of the songs into account as well. This way, songs with higher ratings will get a boost and songs with lower ratings will be bumped down the list. A ***** rating could boost a song's play count by 25% and **** by 10%, while a ** would reduce it by 10% and * by 25%. This way my own perceived quality of the song will have some influence on the final ranks.

[RocketPower]

Sounds fair. Can't wait to see one.

[Ricky]

Sounds fair. Can't wait to see one.

Yep, I've been waiting for a while. I hope it's almost done!

[Shi Tong]

Good idea for a thread.

Can I request that you do Kong's top 100 SGYY topcis next? That way we'll have a lot to talk about!

[RocketPower]

That's a really great idea....

[Ricky]

Good idea for a thread.

Can I request that you do Kong's top 100 SGYY topcis next? That way we'll have a lot to talk about!

Now thats an idea, we would talk about for hours.

[Kong Wen]

Alright guys, thanks for your patience! The first list is here. As expected, the first installment in this series is Kong Wen's 100 Most Played Songs, adjusted for my iTunes rating. This list is current as of 01 July 2007 at 12:00 AM.

As I mentioned before, the primary ranking criterion is the number of times I've listened to a song (iTunes play count, defined as playing a song from start to finish). The songs are then adjusted for my iTunes rating as follows: * (0.75), ** (0.90), *** (1.00), **** (1.10), ***** (1.25).

In the case of a play count tie, the song that reached the play count first gains rank priority. In the case of a tie between a song with a higher play count and a song with a lower play count but higher rating, priority goes to the song with the higher rating (this didn't happen in this list, though).

Here they are in reverse order so they read like a count-down (the winner is at the bottom of the list). I hope you guys enjoy! Maybe you'll find some new tunes you'd be interested in listening to. As always, discussion of the list and the songs in the list is more than welcome!

Rank. Artist - "Song Title" - Album Title (Year): Play Count x My Rating Modifier = Adjusted Score

100. The Kinks - "This Time Tomorrow" - Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970): 34 x 1.10 = 37.40
99. The Kinks - "The Village Green Preservation Society" - The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968): 34 x 1.10 = 37.40
98. Cat Stevens - "But I Might Die Tonight" - Tea for the Tillerman (1970): 34 x 1.10 = 37.40
97. The Beatles - "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" - The Beatles (1968): 34 x 1.10 = 37.40
96. Paul McCartney - "No Other Baby" - Run Devil Run (1999): 30 x 1.25 = 37.50
95. Cream - "Tales of Brave Ulysses" - Disraeli Gears (1967): 30 x 1.25 = 37.50
94. Fleetwood Mac - "My Dream" - Then Play On (1969): 38 x 1.00 = 38.00
93. Cat Stevens - "Maybe You're Right" - Mona Bone Jakon (1970): 38 x 1.00 = 38.00
92. Ringo Starr - "Choose Love" - Choose Love (2005): 35 x 1.10 = 38.50
91. The Kinks - "Have a Cuppa Tea" - Muswell Hillbillies (1971): 35 x 1.10 = 38.50

90. The Kinks - "Plastic Man" - Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969): 35 x 1.10 = 38.50
89. John Lennon - "Nobody Told Me" - Working Class Hero (The Definitive Lennon) (1980): 35 x 1.10 = 38.50
88. Fleetwood Mac - "Although the Sun Is Shining" - Then Play On (1969): 35 x 1.10 = 38.50
87. The Beatles - "I'm Only Sleeping" - Revolver (1966): 35 x 1.10 = 38.50
86. The Beatles - "Bad Boy" - Past Masters, Volume One (1965): 31 x 1.25 = 38.75
85. The Beatles - "Getting Better" - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band(1967): 39 x 1.00 = 39.00
84. Quicksilver Messenger Service - "Gold and Silver" - Quicksilver Messenger Service (1968): 36 x 1.10 = 39.60
83. The Kinks - "Complicated Life" - Muswell Hillbillies (1971): 36 x 1.10 = 39.60
82. The Kinks - "Big Sky" - The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968): 36 x 1.10 = 39.60
81. Fleetwood Mac - "Shake Your Moneymaker" - Fleetwood Mac (1968): 36 x 1.10 = 39.60

80. Cat Stevens - "Father and Son" - Tea for the Tillerman (1970): 36 x 1.10 = 39.60
79. The Beatles - "A Day in the Life" - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967): 36 x 1.10 = 39.60
78. The Beatles - "Paperback Writer" - Past Masters, Volume Two (1966): 36 x 1.10 = 39.60
77. The Beatles - "Get Back" - Let It Be... Naked (1969): 36 x 1.10 = 39.60
76. The Beatles - "When I'm Sixty-Four" - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967): 40 x 1.00 = 40.00
75. U2 - "Wake Up Dead Man" - Pop (1997): 37 x 1.10 = 40.70
74. The Kinks - "A Long Way from Home" - Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970): 37 x 1.10 = 40.70
73. The Kinks - "Top of the Pops" - Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970): 37 x 1.10 = 40.70
72. The Kinks - "Mr. Churchill Says" - Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969): 37 x 1.10 = 40.70
71. Jethro Tull - "Wond'ring Aloud" - Aqualung (1971): 37 x 1.10 = 40.70

70. Fleetwood Mac - "Something Inside of Me" - The Original Fleetwood Mac (1969): 37 x 1.10 = 40.70
69. Donovan - "Jabberwocky" - H.M.S. Donovan (1971): 37 x 1.10 = 40.70
68. Cream - "Tales of Brave Ulysses" - Live Cream Volume II (1968): 37 x 1.10 = 40.70
67. Scott Walker - "The Old Man's Back Again (Dedicated to the Neo-Stalinist Regime)" - Scott 4 (1969): 38 x 1.10 = 41.80
66. Fleetwood Mac - "Like Crying" - Then Play On (1969): 38 x 1.10 = 41.80
65. The Beatles - "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967): 38 x 1.10 = 41.80
64. The Beatles - "Blackbird" - The Beatles (1968): 38 x 1.10 = 41.80
63. The Beatles - "I'm So Tired" - The Beatles (1968): 38 x 1.10 = 41.80
62. The Beatles - "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" - Abbey Road (1969): 38 x 1.10 = 41.80
61. Fleetwood Mac - "Before the Beginning" - Then Play On(1969): 39 x 1.10 = 42.90

60. The Beatles - "All I've Got to Do" - With the Beatles (1963): 39 x 1.10 = 42.90
59. The Beatles - "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967): 39 x 1.10 = 42.90
58. The Beatles - "For You Blue" - Let It Be... Naked (1969): 39 x 1.10 = 42.90
57. Hawksley Workman - "Striptease" - (Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves (2001): 35 x 1.25 = 43.75
56. Blind Faith - "Can't Find My Way Home" - Blind Faith (1969): 35 x 1.25 = 43.75
55. of Montreal - "Eros' Entropic Tundra" - Satanic Panic in the Attic (2004): 40 x 1.10 = 44.00
54. Donovan - "Riki Tiki Tavi" - Open Road (1970): 40 x 1.10 = 44.00
53. The Beatles - "I Me Mine" - Let It Be... Naked (1969): 40 x 1.10 = 44.00
52. Cat Stevens - "Tea for the Tillerman" - Tea for the Tillerman (1970): 41 x 1.10 = 45.10
51. The Beatles - "With a Little Help from My Friends" - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967): 41 x 1.10 = 45.10

50. The Pretty Things - "S.F. Sorrow is Born" - S.F. Sorrow (1968): 42 x 1.10 = 46.20
49. The Kinks - "Rosie Won't You Please Come Home" - Face to Face (1966): 42 x 1.10 = 46.20
48. Fleetwood Mac - "Long Grey Mare" - Fleetwood Mac (1968): 42 x 1.10 = 46.20
47. Jethro Tull - "Bourée" - Stand Up (1969): 38 x 1.25 = 47.50
46. The Beatles - "Piggies" - The Beatles (1968): 44 x 1.10 = 48.40
45. Fleetwood Mac - "Show-Biz Blues" - Then Play On (1969): 45 x 1.10 = 49.50
44. Chuck Berry - "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man" - The Great Twenty-Eight (1956): 45 x 1.10 = 49.50
43. The Who - "Behind Blue Eyes" - Who's Next (1971): 40 x 1.25 = 50.00
42. Fleetwood Mac - "The Green Manalishi" - Live in Boston (1970): 40 x 1.25 = 50.00
41. The Kinks - "Mr. Songbird" - The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968): 46 x 1.10 = 50.60

40. George Harrison - "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" - Brainwashed (2002): 46 x 1.10 = 50.60
39. Derek & the Dominos - "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad" - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970): 46 x 1.10 = 50.60
38. The Beatles - "Soldier of Love" - Live at the BBC (1963): 46 x 1.10 = 50.60
37. The Beatles - "Eight Days a Week" - Beatles for Sale (1964): 46 x 1.10 = 50.60
36. The Beatles - "I've Just Seen a Face" - Help! (1965): 41 x 1.25 = 51.25
35. The Beatles - "Lovely Rita" - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967): 47 x 1.10 = 51.70
34. The Beatles - "Fixing a Hole" - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967): 47 x 1.10 = 51.70
33. The Kinks - "Harry Rag" - Something Else by the Kinks (1967): 48 x 1.10 = 52.80
32. The Beatles - "Long, Long, Long" - The Beatles (1968): 48 x 1.10 = 52.80
31. The Who - "The Real Me" - Quadrophenia (1973): 43 x 1.25 = 53.75

30. The Kinks - "The Contenders" - Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970): 50 x 1.10 = 55.00
29. Scott Walker - "30 Century Man" - Scott 3 (1969): 52 x 1.10 = 57.20
28. The Kinks - "Lola" - Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970): 46 x 1.25 = 57.50
27. Fleetwood Mac - "The World Keep on Turning" - Fleetwood Mac(1968): 53 x 1.10 = 58.30
26. The Beatles - "Please Mr. Postman" - With the Beatles (1963): 48 x 1.25 = 60.00
25. Fleetwood Mac - "Coming Your Way" - Then Play On (1969): 55 x 1.10 = 60.50
24. The Kinks - "Strangers" - Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970): 57 x 1.10 = 62.70
23. The Beatles - "Don't Bother Me" - With the Beatles (1963): 58 x 1.10 = 63.80
22. The Pretty Things - "Loneliest Person" - S.F. Sorrow (1968): 59 x 1.10 = 64.90
21. Fleetwood Mac - "Closing My Eyes" - Then Play On (1969): 59 x 1.10 = 64.90

20. Wings - "Wild Life" - Wild Life (1971): 54 x 1.25 = 67.50
19. The Kinks - "Shangri-La" - Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969): 62 x 1.10 = 68.20
18. The Beatles - "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967): 65 x 1.10 = 71.50
17. John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers - "The Supernatural" - A Hard Road (1967): 58 x 1.25 = 72.50
16. Donovan - "Atlantis" - Barabajagal (1969): 67 x 1.10 = 73.70
15. Cat Stevens - "Sitting" - Catch Bull at Four (1972): 60 x 1.25 = 75.00
14. Traffic - "Forty Thousand Headmen" - Gold (1968): 69 x 1.10 = 75.90
13. Fleetwood Mac - "Jewel Eyed Judy" - Kiln House (1970): 72 x 1.10 = 79.20
12. Fleetwood Mac - "I Loved Another Woman" - Fleetwood Mac (1968): 65 x 1.25 = 81.25
11. Fleetwood Mac - "Oh Well" - Then Play On (1969): 68 x 1.25 = 85.00

10. David Crosby - "What Are Their Names" - If I Could Only Remember My Name (1970): 68 x 1.25 = 85.00
9. The Small Faces - "Mad John" - Ultimate Collection (1968): 78 x 1.10 = 85.80
8. Fleetwood Mac - "Hang on to a Dream" - Live at the BBC (1968): 81 x 1.10 = 89.10
7. George Harrison - "Pisces Fish" - Brainwashed (2002): 74 x 1.25 = 92.50
6. The Kinks - "Picture Book" - The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968): 76 x 1.25 = 95.00
5. The Kinks - "20th Century Man" - Muswell Hillbillies (1971): 81 x 1.25 = 101.25
4. George Harrison - "Apple Scruffs" - All Things Must Pass (1970): 86 x 1.25 = 107.50
3. Fleetwood Mac - "Man of the World" - Greatest Hits (1969): 89 x 1.25 = 111.25
2. The Beatles - "Hey Bulldog" - Yellow Submarine Songtrack (1969): 95 x 1.25 = 118.75
1. The Kinks - "Apeman" - Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970): 116 x 1.25 = 145.00

Most Represented Artist: The Beatles (28% of all entries)
Most Represented Album: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (9% of all entries)
Most Represented Year: 1969 (22% of all entries)

Remarkably, one song (Cream's "Tales of Brave Ulysses") made the Top 100 twice (owing to the appearance of live and studio versions)!

[Lady Wu]

I'm quite amused that "Apeman" is leading, and leading by so much. I would have thought "Hey Bulldog" would at least come closer, if not be at the top.

Just curious, what decides on what goes on your playlist? How often do you re-pick the items for the list?