I went with artists I listen to now combined with artists I used to listen to a lot more and still go back to from time to time.

hold me

I plucked a few of my favorites and then went through my iTunes alphabetically and stooped at 20.

no mercy

My list was really based on real time interest, but the history I have with a band plays a role. So a newer band could jump in, but really included bands that I have been listening to for decades and bands that I really discovered doing those album journeys. It was about as subjective as it should be is my guess.

:fistbump:

I really love a Burger King Whopper.

I looked at a ton of different artists that have meant a lot to me over the years. Emotional resonance was my biggest consideration. That's how Pearl Jam ends up at number one. As I've said before, no other band/artist has meant as much to me for as long and wide of a stretch of my life as Pearl Jam. Though I go through long phases where I don't listen to any of their music, each time I return to them it feels like coming home. A lot of my formative worldview came from that band -- their work and their politics/worldview.

I wasn't as concerned with length of career or longevity of fandom. I've only been listening to Tom Waits for about a decade now, for example. And I've only listened to Nina Simone regularly and passionately for a couple of years. Ditto Kendrick Lamar. But all three of them have blown my mind. Waits, St. Vincent, Nina Simone and Kendrick all came to me at a time when I thought I was well past being obsessed and overtaken by a band/artist like I was when I was 14. But it was true for each of them. Each was a surprise and a real gift. I probably weighted the fact that I thought I was past that point of discovery in my life into my consideration of them, to be honest. Again, it's all about that emotional impact/resonance.

When I got to a tricky spot like where to include artists I love like Neil Young or Fiona Apple I used frequency (how often do I spin them?) as a sort of loose tie-breaker. Fiona Apple is one of my top 20 favorite artists. But I listen to her far less than Jack White/The White Stripes, for example. Both have had a strong and lasting emotional impact on me, so I went with the one I listen to more often recently. If that makes sense. Neil Young was a similar consideration. I think of him as one of my top 20. But I left him off the list this time because I hardly ever listen to him and I've only heard about half (maybe not even that?) of his catalogue.

For this one, I did not take things like cultural importance into account, really. I thought about it and it affected placement by a spot or two at times but it wasn't one of those things that was a requirement. I didn't think, 'well shit, Dylan HAS to be on my list -- I love him AND he's fucking DYLAN for crying out loud!'

There really wasn't any kind of strict rule or scientific method for me. It was mostly feel. My top 9 was really easy and kind of wrote itself out without me having to think about it:

Spoiler: show

1. Pearl Jam
2. Tom Waits
3. The Beatles
4. Nina Simone
5. The Decemberists
6. St. Vincent
7. David Bowie
8. Alanis Morissette
9. Kendrick Lamar

Going back to cultural relevance: a good example of what I meant is Bowie being below The Decemberist and St. Vincent. Obviously, if I was thinking about cultural impact and hits and "the canon" and all of that shit, he'd be higher. However, on the flip side of that, I did put him one spot above Alanis only *because* he's David Bowie. At that spot in the ranking cultural relevance/impact became the decision maker between the two. On a purely emotional/frequency level, Alanis would be higher for me.

So, some give/take there but, again, nothing super objective or scientific.

After number 9, I went through a dozen or so different variations before PM'ing the "final" list to Argo and posting it here in the thread. Today, honestly, 10-20 would probably be slightly different (Radiohead, Neil Young, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, Sleater-Kinney, Dylan, Fiona Apple and Johnny Cash are all artists I wanted to include and very well might have on any given day).

This stuff is constantly in flux. For me, like for you, it's more about the thinking and discussing than about accuracy or making some lasting definitive artifact. That feels daunting and impossible.

I winged it. I missed some obvious bands and more recent listening was a touch over represented as a result.

I did not know what to do with someone like Adam & The Ants. Kings of the Wild Frontier was and still is a huge album for me, impactful on my life and it never lets me down. But I am not sure if that was enough to include the band as a top 20.

There are a lot of artists that did not make my list that I know are better than the ones that did. I feel bad not putting Miles Davis, Robert Johnson, Black Sabbath and others on my list. There are times in my life where those artists just hit me but not in an everyday kind of way.

I wrote my top twenty artists in a PM message. Then I sent that message

True story - Adam and the Ants Kings of the Wild Frontier is the first ever album I bought with my own money. On vinyl of course.

We're not so different, you and I.

I thought about the 20 albums that have meant the most to me over the past couple of years and mostly picked those artists. Then sent it in late so it wouldn't count.

I never thought we were.

I was surprised to see Alice in Chains at #5 on this year's list -- I feel like that had to have been a result of the frequency-of-apperance ranking scale. It's not surprising to me that they would have been a common thread of interest among users of this board, but somehow it seems unlikely that they would have received many people's heavy hitter points.

Of all the bands I ever loved I think AIC would be among a very few who once would have rated in a top 5 or 10 for me, but now wouldn't even be in my top 100.

Thanks for sharing these -- I enjoy these kinds of glimpses into how people process and sort their own tastes.

I just picked what I've been listening too the most recently.

Is argo ok?

Why would you think that?

An I supposed to believe that there were no ties? Something smells about this whole thing. #ReleaseTheData