I'm sorry to have left such a long delay with the unveiling of the top 10. Life has a way of getting in the way, you know? In any case, the top ten will be celebrated over the next few days, tops. See Part 3 here!

The story so far:

100. LCD Soundsystem
99. Wu-Tang Clan
98. Pearl Jam
97. Portishead
96. Queen
95. Frank Sinatra
94. The Strokes
93. The Stooges
92. Television
91. James Brown
90. Cocteau Twins
89. Love
88. The Zombies
87. Kraftwerk
86. Buddy Holly
85. Public Enemy
84. Lou Reed
83. Coldplay
82. Neutral Milk Hotel
81. John Lennon
80. Pulp
79. Guided by Voices
78. New Order
77. Beastie Boys
76. OutKast
75. Ramones
74. Chuck Berry
73. Super Furry Animals
72. Otis Redding
71. Nick Cave
70. Creedence Clearwater Revival
69. The Doors
68. Sufjan Stevens
67. Roxy Music
66. Brian Eno
65. Big Star
64. Sly and the Family Stone
63. Depeche Mode
62. Frank Zappa
61. Hüsker Dü
60. The Band
59. John Coltrane
58. The Replacements
57. Michael Jackson
56. Hank Williams
55. Van Morrison
54. Pavement
53. Leonard Cohen
52. The Byrds
51. Bob Marley & The Wailers
50. Sonic Youth
49. The Flaming Lips
48. Scott Walker
47. Elvis Presley
46. Marvin Gaye
45. Massive Attack
44. Joy Division
43. Oasis
42. Joni Mitchell
41. The White Stripes
40. PJ Harvey
39. Simon & Garfunkel
38. Steely Dan
37. The Smashing Pumpkins
36. Elliott Smith
35. Wilco
34. Johnny Cash
33. Arcade Fire
32. Jimi Hendrix
31. Belle and Sebastian
30. Björk
29. The Cure
28. Nick Drake
27. Miles Davis
26. Led Zeppelin
25. Tom Waits
24. Blur
23. Beck
22. Nirvana
21. Talking Heads
20. Pink Floyd
19. Elvis Costello
18. The Kinks
17. The Smiths
16. Pixies
15. The Clash
14. Stevie Wonder
13. U2
12. Bruce Springsteen
11. The Who

10. Prince

AM Rank: 7
Survivor Rank: 12
Polls Rank: 10

Total Points: 970.62
Appears on: 24 ballots:

Moonbeam (1)
Rocky Raccoon (2)
Sonofsamiam (6)
BillAdama (
Vgrd (
Henrik (9)
Toni (9)
Depeche Mode (12)
Stephan (12)
Honorio (14)
Nicolas (14)
Harold Wexler (21)
John (22)
Mitchell Sterling (23)
Jonah (24)
Tim (30)
Greg (32)
Schleuse (33)
Damosuzuki (40)
Miguel (51)
Fred (55)
Rune (55)
Daniel (61)
Pop Elton (84)

Quotable:

Moonbeam: What more can I say that I haven’t already repeated 100 times on the forum already? Prince has captured my attention since I was 9, and a cursory glance at my posting history here at AM reveals that 19 years later, I’m still shouting his graces to the rooftops to anyone who will listen. I really can not imagine how enormously different my life would be without him. For one, I wouldn’t be married to my wife or living in Australia. However, to limit his impact to mere life-changing events would be a disservice. You see, his music has provided me with my very own journey through life, acting as a soundtrack of my own personal underdog tale. If a 5’2”, shy black man who was mercilessly teased could come up with as bold of a statement of kickass musical wizardry as 1999, I could get through my life without a scratch. Come to think of it, there isn’t a single nuance or emotion that I have experienced in my idiosyncratic and wildly intense way that Prince hasn’t expounded upon and injected with his own sense of overwhelming magic. I could provide a nauseating synopsis of the many things that he has taught me and all of the ways that he has changed my life, but suffice it to say that I feel unreservedly blessed by God for opening up my ears and my heart to the limitless wonder of music thanks to one Prince Rogers Nelson.

Albums in the Top 1000 Poll:

Purple Rain (39)
Sign o’ the Times (6
1999 (11
Lovesexy (400)
Dirty Mind (502)
The Gold Experience (53
Parade (553)
Around the World in a Day (55
Symbol (669)
Controversy (786)
Come (846)

Songs in the Top 1000 Poll:

When Doves Cry (49)
1999 (69)
Let’s Go Crazy (137)
Little Red Corvette (161)
Kiss (166)
Sign o’ the Times (169)
Purple Rain (235)
Something in the Water (Does Not Compute) (351)
The Cross (409)
Crystal Ball (49
Peach (554)
Controversy (592)
Anna Stesia (639)
I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man (64
Raspberry Beret (685)
Sometimes It Snows in April (756)
Moonbeam Levels (81
3 Chains o’ Gold (906)
Computer Blue (967)

Path to the Top 100:

9. The Beach Boys

AM Rank: 11
Survivor Rank: 8
Polls Rank: 7

Total Points: 1076.29
Appears on: 26 ballots:

Dumbangel (1)
Miguel (5)
Paul (5)
Honorio (6)
Vgrd (7)
Jonah (9)
Stephan (9)
Georgie (10)
Penguin (13)
Fred (14)
John (14)
Sonofsamiam (14)
BillAdama (16)
Mitchell Sterling (21)
Andre (24)
Daniel (26)
Greg (26)
Slush (26)
Rocky Raccoon (29)
Harold Wexler (33)
Nicolas (33)
Rune (34)
Toni (3
Kevin (50)
Henrik (52)
Damosuzuki (99)

Albums in the Top 1000 Poll:

Pet Sounds (6)
Surf’s Up (121)
Sunflower (197)
Smiley Smile (495)

Songs in the Top 1000 Poll:

God Only Knows (3)
Good Vibrations (9)
Til I Die (91)
Don’t Worry Baby (9
I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times (204)
I Get Around (241)
Wouldn’t It Be Nice (319)
Sloop John B (48
Forever (492)
Break Away (742)
California Girls (982)

Path to the Top 100:

8. The Velvet Underground

AM Rank: 12
Survivor Rank: 6
Polls Rank: 11

Total Points: 1077.28
Appears on: 30 ballots:

Fred (3)
Kevin (4)
Harold Wexler (6)
Stephan (6)
Rune (7)
John (
Jonah (10)
Michel (10.5)
Stammer (11)
Honorio (16)
Schleuse (16)
BillAdama (20)
Penguin (20)
Slush (22)
Rocky Raccoon (23)
Andre (27)
Nicolas (29)
Moonbeam (30)
Georgie (33)
Pop Elton (3
Henrik (39)
Miguel (40)
Paul (41)
Sonofsamiam (46)
Tim (50)
Toni (50)
Mitchell Sterling (62)
Lonesome Panda (63)
Daniel (71)
Vgrd (74)

Quotable:

Moonbeam: I am grateful to them for teaching me to find the beauty in dissonance and for helping me to forge the path to find 60s music that I could really enjoy. I discovered White Light/White Heat thanks to this forum, and its blistering effect on me was mind-boggling. The diversity and songwriting genius of the debut cemented my fandom, and to a degree, this experience was one of the most important in my own musical development. Any band that can expand my horizons in such a palpable way is worthy of praise.

Lonesome Panda: Favourite Album: The Velvet Underground and Nico, Favourite Song: Sunday Morning

Albums in the Top 1000 Poll:

The Velvet Underground & Nico (5)
The Velvet Underground (113)
Loaded (136)
White Light/White Heat (149)

Songs in the Top 1000 Poll:

Venus in Furs (44)
Sunday Morning (57)
Heroin (87)
Sweet Jane (28
Pale Blue Eyes (296)
Rock and Roll (412)
I Heard Her Call My Name (437)
I’m Waiting for the Man (562)
All Tomorrow’s Parties (575)

Path to the Top 100:

7. Neil Young

AM Rank: 17
Survivor Rank: 7
Polls Rank: 13

Total Points: 1081.92
Appears on: 23 ballots:

Greg (3)
Andre (4)
Miguel (4)
Nicolas (4)
BillAdama (5)
Harold Wexler (7)
Fred (
Honorio (
Stephan (
Kevin (9)
Henrik (11)
Johan (13)
Stammer (17)
Penguin (1
Vgrd (1
Mitchell Sterling (19)
Schleuse (20)
Paul (30)
Daniel (31)
Rocky Raccoon (39)
Dumbangel (66)
John (75)
Sonofsamiam (79)

Quotable:

Mitchell Sterling: I remember picking up Decade to fill large gaps I had after getting three or four albums by 2002 (Harvest, After The Gold Rush, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere and Rust Never Sleeps) and only from "Walk On" and essays written in Mojo et al was excited to get On The Beach on CD. Still one of my favourite albums of all time after the Uncut special for his 60th I ended up buying another five or six albums over the next year or so. I Had taken a bit of time off listening relentlessly with his new work not really all that inspiring to me but a recent gig at the Hop Farm has confirmed that he is one of the all time greats in both my head and my heart.

Albums in the Top 1000 Poll:

After the Gold Rush (45)
Rust Never Sleeps (102)
Harvest (110)
Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere (217)
Tonight’s the Night (239)
Ragged Glory (30
On the Beach (519)
Freedom (67
Zuma (745)
Neil Young (823)
Harvest Moon (971)

Songs in the Top 1000 Poll:

After the Goldrush (62)
Cortez the Killer (14
Rockin’ in the Free World (254)
Like a Hurricane (481)
Heart of Gold (536)
My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) (572)
Old Man (647)
Down By the River (799)
Powderfinger (91

Path to the Top 100:

Wow! I am the biggest fan of the Velvets!

The guitar on "I Heard Her Call My Name" is very much Bambi on ice.

I'd rather see Neil Diamond than Neil Young on here. Don't think I saw him anywhere on the list. I forgot to put him on mine :-(

10-7:
Prince- Had him at #8, sorry I missed the cutoff Moonbeam
Beach Boys- Waving to Dumbangel ...Beach Boys were also my #1. I simply feel Brian Wilson has the biggest gift for melody of any artist ever. When that was combined with top-drawer lyrics ("Surf's Up","'Til I Die") it was hard to beat him. I'm really looking forward to picking up Brian's new THAT LUCKY OLD SUN album when it releases.
Velvets- My ears are starting to appreciate them more but they'll have a long way to go to get to the top 10. They missed my list entirely as I really only like the "banana" album at the moment.
Neil Young- I think the reason everyone else LOVES Young is the same reason I dislike those same albums. I really don't care for political screeds. He seems to get the biggest plaudits when he riffs on politics (critics loved PRAIRIE WIND) while I seem to love his A-political stuff more (HARVEST, HARVEST MOON, a fair amount of ARE YOU PASSIONATE? and THIS NOTE'S FOR YOU).

This has nothing to do with my personal life, but...is it a Beach Boys song that has the lyrics "and my living felt like dying"? and in case, what song is it?

I'm surprised The Plaintiff didn't make it even higher. I thought he might be higher than the only 80's band now left.

It's pretty obvious what's left by now. Nothing unexpected, a few I might not have expected quite that high.

Fred,

I did a Google search on those lyrics and came up with "To You" by Manhattan Transfer. I listened on Amazon and the harmonies sound very Beach-Boys-like. Maybe that's it?

Thanks, Paul. That's the one. Funny how the mind works. I listened a lot to "Anthology" some ten years ago, and recently it surfaced..."To You"...actually MT has some very fine pop songs, check out "Danny Bailey", "Why Not", "Birdland" etc. Then there is always "Operator" (used in "Phone Booth"), "Chanson d'Amour" and "Tuxedo Junction". The latter ones good for a listen or two.

6. David Bowie

AM Rank: 4
Survivor Rank: 4
Polls Rank: 5

Total Points: 1121.14
Appears on: 28 ballots:

Vgrd (1)
Honorio (3)
Fred (4)
Mitchell Sterling (6)
Henrik (7)
Schleuse (7)
Moonbeam (
Andre (11)
Stephan (15)
Nicolas (17)
Depeche Mode (1
Daniel (19)
Lonesome Panda (19)
Pop Elton (19)
Greg (22)
Harold Wexler (23)
BillAdama (25)
Kevin (26)
Michel (26)
Sonofsamiam (29)
Miguel (30)
Jonah (35)
John (39)
Penguin (46)
Stammer (47)
Slush (51)
Tim (65)
Rune (73)

Quotable:

Mitchell Sterling: The thing about David Bowie, like Stevie Wonder, he totally owned an entire decade. Nowadays artists have periods that spread over the cusp of decade end but Bowie put out a run of 11 albums in a row, none of which I'd rate as being as low as 6.5 A run that Dylan can't match for me. There's so much variety in this period as well from Ziggy, Young Americans, The Thin White Duke and of course the Berlin period. Im not knocking his work since 1980 either, a lot of that stands up well to my ears too. When you factor in the acting and business mind he has he remains just about one of the coolest motherfuckers on the planet.

Moonbeam: The idea of music as art is best embodied by David Bowie, in my mind. Incorporating theatre and pantomime into his live show and understanding how vital and captivating a companion that a strong visual presence can be, he electrified the stage, the screen, and the vinyl on which his brilliant music was laid. The sheer depth and diversity of his work is staggering, and he pulls it off with such panache that I can’t help but love him. Scary Monsters is my favorite, but he really did no wrong from 1969 to 1983 and again from 1993 to the present.

Lonesome Panda: Favorite Album: Ziggy Stardust, Favourite Song: Moonage Daydream

Albums in the Top 1000 Poll:

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (11)
Low (52)
Hunky Dory (60)
Station to Station (18
Aladdin Sane (226)
“Heroes” (29
Scary Monsters (331)
Diamond Dogs (381)
The Man Who Sold the World (654)
Lodger (917)
Earthling (970)

Songs in the Top 1000 Poll:

“Heroes” (16)
Life on Mars? (42)
Ashes to Ashes (132)
Station to Station (140)
Space Oddity (156)
Sound and Vision (29
Changes (303)
Moonage Daydream (32
Starman (655)
Golden Years (740)
Ziggy Stardust (770)
Rebel, Rebel (805)
Oh, You Pretty Things (963)
Suffragette City (986)

Path to the Top 100:

5. R.E.M.

AM Rank: 13
Survivor Rank: 10
Polls Rank: 6

Total Points: 1207.86
Appears on: 27 ballots:

Andre (1)
Schleuse (1)
Stammer (1)
Jonah (6)
Toni (6)
Michel (6.5)
Stephan (7)
Rocky Raccoon (
Slush (9)
Harold Wexler (13)
BillAdama (14)
Depeche Mode (14)
Vgrd (14)
Honorio (17)
Pop Elton (17)
Kevin (1
Greg (19)
Miguel (22)
Penguin (22)
Daniel (29)
John (35)
Nicolas (43)
Paul (45)
Fred (61)
Henrik (75)
Rune (7
Mitchell Sterling (91)

Albums in the Top 1000 Poll:

Automatic for the People (21)
Murmur (4
Life’s Rich Pageant (166)
Document (176)
Out of Time (205)
Green (292)
New Adventures in Hi-Fi (321)
Reckoning (517)
Reconstruction of the Fables (820)

Songs in the Top 1000 Poll:

Losing My Religion (26)
Fall on Me (80)
Radio Free Europe (123)
World Leader Pretend (145)
It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) (151)
Drive (172)
Nightswimming (226)
Man on the Moon (249)
Stand (352)
Perfect Circle (393)
Maps and Legends (436)
What’s the Frequency, Kenneth? (917)
So. Central Rain (929)
The One I Love (939)
Orange Crush (956)
Swan Swan H (999)

Path to the Top 100:

4. The Rolling Stones

AM Rank: 2
Survivor Rank: 3
Polls Rank: 4

Total Points: 1255.96
Appears on: 25 ballots:

BillAdama (2)
Slush (2)
Stammer (3)
Stephan (3)
Damosuzuki (4)
Greg (4)
Harold Wexler (4)
Rocky Raccoon (4)
Honorio (5)
Kevin (6)
Penguin (7)
Andre (
Daniel (9)
Schleuse (12)
Nicolas (16)
Henrik (22)
Sonofsamiam (31)
Michel (35)
Fred (37)
Mitchell Sterling (44)
Rune (49)
Paul (50)
Jonah (61)
John (82)
Vgrd (95)

Quotable:

Slush: They are rock and roll: the music, the swagger, the attitude and the growing old and selling out. I guess I'll always like them more than the Beatles because they would show up to the party to do coke and have fun, which is really what I want out of my rock and roll.

Albums in the Top 1000 Poll:

Exile on Main St. (1
Beggar’s Banquet (41)
Let It Bleed (50)
Sticky Fingers (56)
Aftermath (245)
Some Girls (793)

Songs in the Top 1000 Poll:

Gimme Shelter (
Sympathy for the Devil (27)
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (52)
Paint It, Black (54)
Dead Flowers (209)
Tumbling Dice (24
Angie (263)
Rocks Off (361)
Street Fighting Man (413)
You Can’t Always Get What You Want (451)
Let’s Spend the Night Together (662)
Ruby Tuesday (675)
Jumpin’ Jack Flash (73
Happy (741)
Can’t You Hear Me Knocking (775)
No Expectations (785)

Path to the Top 100:

I have some more correlation-type stats that I'm really excited to present when the countdown has ended.

R.E.M. at no. 5 is a huge surprise to me. I thought the AM top 4 only could be beaten by Radiohead.

Still an awesome work, Moonbeam!

A little disappointed all these giants were beaten by Radiohead, but I suppose that's how it goes nowadays. Fantastic list though, and I'm surprised at the high R.E.M. ranking too.

Imagine Bowie releasing an album every second year! The songs Space Oddity and Man Who Sold The World on "Hunky Dory". Ziggy Stardust empowered with a few songs from "Aladdinsane", Young Americans including "Golden Years", Low-Heroes starting with "Station To Station", Bowie waiting with the release of Lodger until "Scary Monsters"...sure many artists could do this but not to the same effect. Nowadays an album every second year is good work.

Bowie 1977 was insane. Two albums on his own and two with Iggy Pop. All good.

Neil Young is my role model. If I was harmonic I would be him. And I would kick Bob Dylan's ass.

Also very surprised that R.E.M. beat Bowie, and I'm speaking as one of the people who ranked them higher.

What's more surprising: that R.E.M. made the top 5, that they were on more ballots than the Rolling Stones, or that The World's Greatest Rock 'N' Roll Band didn't get a single #1 ranking?

I found it stranger that R.E.M. with 3 number one votes had no comments at all.

A few more comments: If I voted again, Bowie probably doesn't make my Top 50. Also, I'm hoping Radiohead somehow leaps ahead of Dylan (and hoping Dylan isn't number one)...

So down to Beatles, Dylan and Radiohead. I'm not surprised Radiohead got this high since I honestly think they have the best album two decades in a row. But I hope they don't beat either of the other two.

It is true Dylan never matched Bowie's run of consecutive great albums. Dylan has had multiple, shorter runs of great albums. (Of course, nobody else had one while over 60).

I wonder what we'd think of Dylan now had he died in his motorcycle accident in '67. Or, how he would have evolved musically if he never had the accident.

Well my top 3 favourite are the top 3. Does that mean I have great taste?. Yep...lol. But I hope Radiohead wins.
Like the previous guy stated. Radiohead would have record of the decade two decades in a row if the Decade ended tomorrow. Seeing how I think KidA is the greatest album ever made, I doubt anything in the next few years is gunna change my mind of that fact.

1990's
OK COMPUTER (1)
THE BENDS (6)
PABLO HONEY (112)

2000'2
KID A (1)
IN RAINBOWS (3)
AMNESIAC (6)
HAIL TO THE THIEF (11)

Don't get me wrong, The beatles and dylan both hold Decade bests (Rubber Soul, Blood on the tracks) they just havent got the body of work to match Radiohead, and radiohead are still going. In Fact, they still have a chance at taking the number 1 spot in 2010'S if they dont retire.

Prediction

3 Dylan (A great career, but likely overshadowed by the long running popularity of the beatles, and the recent surge of interest in Radiohead)

2 radiohead (On the heals of a great record, popularity may have pushed them passed dyaln. But like I've always said. "Everybody LIKES the beatles, but only lots of people LOVE RADIOHEAD)

1 The Beatles (Just too many fans But like I've always said. "Everybody LIKES the beatles, but only lots of people LOVE RADIOHEAD"

No predictions from my side, but what a fantastic list of 100 artists that is!

I think you might be right Kevin.

I hope that Kevin's rankings are right. I like Dylan, but I don't think he's as good as the other two.

I'm rooting for Dylan, but I don't think he's as popular on this board as Radiohead.

Kevin, not everybody likes The Beatles.

Just to take one example, Pop hates the Beatles.

From the 1960s U.S. comedian Allan Sherman, best known for the fluke hit novelty summer-camp single "Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh", here are the lyrics to "Pop Hates the Beatles", recorded during the first flush of Beatlemania in 1964. Sung to the tune of "Pop Goes the Weasel", of course. This one's for you, Moonbeam:

My daughter needs a new phonograph.
She wore out all the needles.
Besides, I broke the old one in half.
I hate the Beatles.

She says they have a Liverpool beat.
She says they used to play there.
Four nice kids from offa the street.
Why didn’t they stay there?

What is all the screaming about?
Fainting and swooning.
Sounds to me like their guitars
Could use a little tuning.

The boys are from the British Empire.
The British think they’re keen.
If that is what the British desire,
God Save The Queen.

No daughter of mine can push me around.
In my house I’m the master.
But when the British came into town,
Gad, what a disaster!

Little girls in sneakers and jeans.
Destroyed the territory.
‘Twas like some of the gorier scenes
From West Side Story.

Of course my daughter had to go there.
“The tickets are cheap!” she hollers.
I was able to pick up a pair
For forty-seven dollars.

When the Beatles come on the stage,
They scream and shriek and cheer them.
Now I know why they’re such a rage,
It’s impossible to hear them.

Ringo is the one with the drum,
The others all play with him.
It shows you what a boy can become
Without a sense of rhythm.

There’s Beatle books and T-shirts and rings,
And one thing and another.
To buy my daughter all of these things,
I had to sell her brother.

Back in 1776
We fought the British then, folks.
Parents of America,
It’s time to do it again, folks.

When they come back, here’s how we’ll begin,
We’ll throw ‘em in Boston Harbor.
But please, before we toss ‘em all in,
Let’s take ‘em to a barber!

(NOTE: As you might guess, in 1964 $47 was a considerable amount of money.)

lol

#6-4

All of them made my own personal list somewhere with the Stones closest (they landed at #3 for me).

Bowie was my #24 (I like a lot of his songs but so far the only album I want to add to my collection is ZIGGY STARDUST) and R.E.M. lands at #13 (mostly because I'm not as into early R.E.M. as I am GREEN and later.)

3. Radiohead

AM Rank: 19
Survivor Rank: 5
Polls Rank: 3

Total Points: 1410.53
Appears on: 26 ballots:

Kevin (1)
Mitchell Sterling (1)
Pop Elton (1)
BillAdama (3)
Harold Wexler (3)
Michel (3.5)
Anthony (4)
Honorio (4)
Penguin (4)
Jonah (5)
Lonesome Panda (5)
Andre (9)
Daniel (10)
Henrik (13)
Stammer (13)
Rocky Raccoon (16)
John (17)
Vgrd (19)
Slush (21)
Depeche Mode (27)
Toni (27)
Sonofsamiam (2
Dumbangel (53)
Tim (6
Nicolas (79)
Fred (9

Quotable:

Mitchell Sterling: ...In Rainbows which reminded me with it's simultaneous worldwide listening and people experiencing a record coming out like in the old days how much this band means to me. The literal hundred of pounds I've spent on their music across multi formats, concerts, t-shirts, magazines with features in and so on. It helped that the album was a return to form following the disappointing elements of HTTT (not that bad an album when it comes down to it, still top 20 for the year in my book.) Anyway looking back more historically this band is the reason I love music so much, the amount of things I've been turned onto by being aware of their influences and how many of us would have dipped to far into the Warp back catalogue without Thom Yorke's exuberance over it. Same goes for Jeff Buckley, DJ Shadow, Magazine, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Sirgue Ros and many many more. Good band.

Penguin: The ultimate grower. At first, Radiohead is almost certain to annoy just about everyone. When I first heard "OK Computer", I thought it was absolute tuneless garbage with a singer who couldn't sing. After many, many listens, my opinion has been revised over and over again, although I maintain that "Fitter Happier" is still pretty terrible. Perhaps even more than U2, opinion on Radiohead is steeply divided. If you dislike them today, however, I would urge you to reconsider. After a few more listens, the intricate guitar work of Johnny Greenwood becomes more noticeable, and Thom Yorke's voice sounds tremendous. After "Pablo Honey", they haven't produced a single bad album.

Lonesome Panda: I'm a bit surprised that when I compile my song, album and listening lists they arrive 5th… but thinking of it, it is just pure logic, they are brilliant…3 huge albums and great songs in all the others. Favourite Album: OK Computer, Favourite Song: Fake Plastic Trees

John: OK Computer and Kid A are the two most important albums since 1990.

Albums in the Top 1000 Poll:

OK Computer (1)
Kid A (14)
The Bends (43)
In Rainbows (146)
Amnesiac (202)
Hail to the Thief (255)

Songs in the Top 1000 Poll:

Paranoid Android (24)
Let Down (37)
No Surprises (59)
Fake Plastic Trees (77)
How to Disappear Completely (81)
Idioteque (12
Pyramid Song (141)
Everything in Its Right Place (22
Karma Police (281)
Subterranean Homesick Alien (332)
Lucky (392)
Street Spirit (Fade Out) (417)
Creep (41
The National Anthem (707)
Airbag (710)
Optimistic (749)
High and Dry (837)
There There (86

Path to the Top 100:

2. Bob Dylan

AM Rank: 3
Survivor Rank: 2
Polls Rank: 2

Total Points: 1549.29
Appears on: 27 ballots:

BillAdama (1)
Stephan (1)
Damosuzuki (2)
Kevin (2)
Harold Wexler (2)
Honorio (2)
Paul (2)
Sonofsamiam (2)
Rocky Raccoon (3)
John (4)
Mitchell Sterling (5)
Andre (6)
Nicolas (6)
Schleuse (6)
Fred (9)
Slush (10)
Daniel (13)
Stammer (1
Henrik (25)
Jonah (27)
Michel (39)
Penguin (41)
Rune (45)
Vgrd (56)
Greg (5
Tim (61)
Miguel (80)

Quotable:

John: To tell you the truth I only love one of his albums. But I also love about 100 of his songs.

Mitchell Sterling: There are people who go through a Led Zeppelin phase when they are younger, the kind where the burn out on their decade of studio output. Dylan has a much larger studio output and I've done it more than once, it sometimes felt like six months where all I wanted to do is listen to a Dylan album. I couldn't deny him a place on in the top 5 on account of owning all of his albums on CD and a growing collection on vinyl now as well. Like Bowie, SFA and Pixies in the top ten there is a different Dylan for each day of the week from the Greenwich Villages days, the thin wild mercury sound, country crooner, bitter divorcee etc etc. He stands as a colossus in popular music and I can't imagine how different the music world would have been without his influence on three generations of singer-songwriters.

Albums in the Top 1000 Poll:

Highway 61 Revisited (3)
Blonde on Blonde (10)
Blood on the Tracks (25)
Bringing It All Back Home (30)
The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (10
Desire (187)
Live 1966- The “Royal Albert Hall” Concert (235)
Time out of Mind (352)
John Wesley Harding (365)
The Times They Are A-Changin’ (369)
Live 1975 (43
Slow Train Coming (547)
Love and Theft (57

Songs in the Top 1000 Poll:

Like a Rolling Stone (2)
Tangled up in Blue (19)
Subterranean Homesick Blues (51)
Desolation Row (89)
Hurricane (205)
The Girl from North Country (222)
Blind Willie McTell (245)
It’s All Right Ma (I’m Only Bleedin’ (247)
Visions of Johanna (262)
Stuck Inside of Mobile with Memphis Blues Again (33
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (42
Ballad of a Thin Man (490)
Love Minus Zero/No Limit (514)
Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (524)
Highway 61 Revisited (543)
Mr. Tambourine Man (561)
Idiot Wind (576)
Blowin’ in the Wind (674)
Just Like a Woman (70
I Want You (736)
The Times They Are A-Changin’ (866)

Path to the Top 100:

1. The Beatles

AM Rank: 1
Survivor Rank: 1
Polls Rank: 1

Total Points: 2260.61
Appears on: 32 ballots:

Anthony (1)
Daniel (1)
Harold Wexler (1)
Henrik (1)
Honorio (1)
John (1)
Miguel (1)
Penguin (1)
Rocky Raccoon (1)
Andre (2)
Dumbangel (2)
Mitchell Sterling (2)
Toni (2)
Jonah (3)
Damosuzuki (3)
Kevin (3)
Nicolas (3)
Schleuse (3)
Michel (3.5)
BillAdama (4)
Georgie (6)
Sonofsamiam (
Depeche Mode (11)
Rune (22)
Lonesome Panda (23)
Paul (23)
Slush (25)
Fred (27)
Stephan (32)
Tim (35)
Pop Elton (41)
Stammer (6

Quotable:

John: Undisputed champions.

Penguin: What is there to be said about this band that hasn't already been mentioned? I hate adding hyperbole, but this is the band that got me into music. It says a lot that even now, I'm still not tired of these tunes. While their songs don't always blow you away, their albums often are more than the sum of its parts. Both "Revolver" and "Abbey Road" are such examples of perfectly crafted albums. It could be said that if they had come 10 years later, they wouldn't have been as unique or influencial, but in many ways, that's a flawed argument. I only need to say that they're my most listened to artist today, over three decades after they dissolved, to show that they have been and are timeless.

Mitchell Sterling: Because they are The fucking Beatles basically. If they don't win this then basically we have failed. They'd have been my personal number one if it wasn't for the recent release of....(Radiohead’s In Rainbows)

Lonesome Panda: Favourite Album: Sergent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Favourite Song: While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Slush: Yeah, I do like The Beatles, I just don't obsess over them. They really were a great pop music band and the world was richer for them. Now I'm off to listen to the Stones.

Albums in the Top 1000 Poll:

Revolver (2)
The White Album (4)
Abbey Road (
Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (9)
Rubber Soul (23)
Magical Mystery Tour (115)
Help (229)
Beatles for Sale (276)
Let It Be (300)
A Hard Day’s Night (476)

Songs in the Top 1000 Poll:

A Day in the Life (1)
Strawberry Fields Forever (6)
Tomorrow Never Knows (39)
I Am the Walrus (6
Eleanor Rigby (85)
Yesterday (110)
Blackbird (111)
Happiness Is a Warm Gun (175)
Revolution (180)
And Your Bird Can Sing (193)
Dear Prudence (217)
Rain (260)
Hey Jude (274)
Ticket to Ride (313)
Norwegian Wood (316)
Getting Better (324)
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (337)
She’s Leaving Home (357)
She Said She Said (386)
Penny Lane (40
Nowhere Man (427)
Come Together (431)
You’ve Gotta Hide Your Love Away (489)
Savoy Truffle (521)
The Long and Winding Road (522)
In My Life (540)
With a Little Help from My Friends (703)
Rocky Raccoon (743)
Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (744)
Here Comes the Sun (777)
Let It Be (784)
For No One (82
Helter Skelter (829)
You Never Give Me Your Money (867)
Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End (899)

Path to the Top 100:

And just for fun, I thought I'd make a graph of the ultimate grudge match between The Beatles and Bob Dylan, a battle so sacred that its mere mention can bring bouts of nervous tics in internet posters worldwide!

Dylan sprinted out to a good lead, but the consistent running of The Beatles proved to be far too much in the end. What started off as a hotly contested race turned out to be a blowout in the end.

And that, dear AMers, concludes the unveiling of the list! It has been my great pleasure to care for and reveal the list, and I'd like to thank all of those who participated. I will send Henrik the master Excel file so that he can post it if he wishes.

Well done Moonbeam. I expected it to be closer than that but never doubted the results.

Awesome stuff, Moonbeam. The graphs were a nice touch, and the overall presentation was terrific.

Just kinda upset that NKOTB didn't show up...

Maybe their new album The Block will lure more voters next time...

Big thanks Moonbeam, you have done a lot of good work. I must admit that Dylan today would be my number 1! I know it's strange but he passed Depeche Mode really quickly!

Great work, 'beam.

Fantastic work, Moonbeam. Really stellar.

Yes, really impressive work. Thanks!

So, for the Dylan fans, next time you should just shorten the time for sending in those ballots.

Thanks a lot, Moonbeam. Fantastic job!

The Beatles blowout in the end proves that those who do a more thorough analysis realise that Beatles were greater than Dylan.

I think Dylan's career of work is more impressive, but it was inevitable the Beatles would win. I'm just happy Dylan beat Radiohead.

But I have no use for the Mophead period. I saw Hard Day's Night, it was like a live action Animaniacs.

You say that as if it were a bad thing...

I knew what that video was before I even clicked play Nicolas!

Thanks, Moonbeam! Can't say I'm surprised by these showings, but really, there's a reason why these artists are acclaimed, right?

And here are the top 10 correlations again. The values have become closer to 1, since the agreement between voters is stronger in the top of the list.

1. Daniel & Stephan (r=0.62)
2. Daniel & Nicolas (0.57)
Stephan & Nicolas (0.57)
4. Nicolas & Honorio (0.50)
Harold Wexler & Rocky Raccoon (0.50)
6. Penguin & Slush (0.49)
7. Daniel & Rocky Raccoon (0.47)
8. Stephan & Miguel (0.45)
9. Stephan & Greg (0.44)
Jonah & Slush (0.44)
Harold Wexler & Kevin (0.44)

Looks like a group with a very similar taste!

However, I have also inluded Greg Rumpff in my stats, and then it looks like this...

1. Daniel & Stephan (r=0.62)
2. Daniel & Greg Rumpff (r=0.59)
3. Daniel & Nicolas (0.57)
Stephan & Nicolas (0.57)
Greg Rumpff & Nicolas (0.57)
6. Stephan & Greg Rumpff (0.53)
7. Nicolas & Honorio (0.50)
Harold Wexler & Rocky Raccoon (0.50)
9. Penguin & Slush (0.49)
10. Daniel & Rocky Raccoon (0.47)
Greg Rumpff & Greg (0.47)

Now, that's a really tight group! It would be easy to think that Daniel, Stephan & Co. are the most correlated with the overall list, but they're not. Here are the voters with most artists in the overall top 100.

1. Harold Wexler (73 artists)
2. Honorio (67)
3. BillAdama (64)
Kevin (64)
5. Henrik (61)
6. Greg (50)
7. Mitchell Stirling (48)
8. Fred (47)
Jonah (47)
Rocky Raccoon (47)

I've also made an attempt to show our tastes in a two-dimensional graph. I have used a method to find the two dimensions that best describe our different tastes (of course it's not possible to show all relationships between 36 voters with only two dimensions)

If you can't see the symbols proberly in the image below, you can click it to view it in a bigger size.

Henrik, I could not see the image, even after clicking on it. Perhaps this works:

I'm not sure if that graph made any sense to you. The question you would like to ask is probably "what are those two dimensions?" and to answer that I have - based on each voter's votes and position in the graph above - plotted the top 100 artists as well.

By looking at the images below the x-axis looks almost like a timeline, from Elvis Presley to LCD Soundsystem. The y-axis is a little harder, but I think that if you move upwards in the graph the artists become less and less guitar-based rock. However, this trend does not include jazz, as Miles Davis and John Coltrane are both in the lower region of the chart. An alternative interpretation is that the higher y-value the more the artists become dependent on other personnel, such as backing musicians and producers.

Perhaps you can come up with a better interpretation of the charts, but if I'm correct than the voters to the left are the biggest fans of "old music" while the the voters to the right prefer more recent music. The voters in the bottom (nothing wrong with that) prefer guitar bands while voters in the top are bigger fans of other genres/styles such as soul, rap, synth, etc.

The 10 artists with lowest values on the x-axis:
1. Elvis Presley
2. Chuck Berry
3. The Byrds
4. Van Morrison
5. Creedence Clearwater Revival
6. Neil Young
7. Johnny Cash
8. Hank Williams
9. The Rolling Stones
10. Elvis Costello

The 10 artists with highest values on the x-axis:
1. LCD Soundsystem
2. Massive Attack
3. The Strokes
4. Arcade Fire
5. New Order
6. Portishead
7. Blur
8. The Flaming Lips
9. Pulp
10. Joy Division

The 10 artists with lowest values on the y-axis:
1. R.E.M.
2. Pavement
3. The Clash
4. Talking Heads
5. Pearl Jam
6. Pixies
7. Wilco
8. Beck
9. Nirvana
10. Neutral Milk Hotel

The 10 artists with highest values on the y-axis:
1. Michael Jackson
2. Scott Walker
3. James Brown
4. Steely Dan
5. Prince
6. Kraftwerk
7. The Cure
8. Brian Eno
9. Super Furry Animals
10. Wu-Tang Clan






That's all for now...

Ooops, turn out very big, sorry about that.

I like this purple sun in the centre, that's me very nice. But what does this graph actually mean?

And oops again, there's already the answer to my question.

Andre, if you click on the image and a new window opens. There you need to click on the image again to maximize it.

(Or I've could have posted the images without resizing, just like you did, but they are too big for my screen...)

Henrik, it doesn't seem to work with Firefox. I just checked with IE, both image in the thread itself as well as popup works there...

My position in the graph matches perfectly, Henrik. I like both old and new music, but the peak lies in the 80's. And as you said, there is nothing wrong with guitar rock.

Thanks Andre!

I'd like to mention again that I'm really interested to hear if anyone has any other interpretation of the chart patterns.

Off to bed.

Hmm... Your interpretation seems pretty good to me, Henrik. It makes a lot of sense; I favor new music a lot more and am slightly on the guitar-based rock side. Cool.

Awesome graphs, Henrik! Could I ask in a little more detail how the x-axis and y-axis positions are determined? You say that the x-axis is a sort of timeline running from oldest to newest, based on artist. How are these artists ranked? Also, is the x-coordinate of each of the poster's positions based on a weighted average of his/her lists? That seems pretty cool.

I'm more unsure of how to interpret the y-axis. It seems to be based on genre, somewhat. How do you quantify something like that?

I'll send you the master list soon, Henrik. You don't have to, of course, but I think it would be really cool to see how it worked out if you included all of the artists rather than those who managed a top 100 place!

Moonbeam, I didn't go into any details of my method since it's a bit complicated, but I knew that you would ask me about it.

Out of all correlations, I took the most negative one (I didn't plan to reveal this, but what the heck, it was between you and Paul (r=-0.25)) and this was the start of the creation of three heterogenous groups; the Moonbeam group, the Paul group and the Inbetween group. The Inbetween group included the remaining 34 voters to begin with. Next step was to move 11 of them into the Moonbeam group and 11 others into the Paul group, so that each group had 12 voters. I moved one voter at a time to each of the groups, using the highest and lowest value of the difference between the 'mean correlation with the voters in the Moonbeam group' and the 'mean correlation with the voters in the Paul group'. When each group had 12 voters, the x-variable was complete; it's these difference values that are plotted in the graphs. And as you can see, in the end Moonbeam and Paul didn't have the most extreme x-values.

For the y-axis I went over this procedure almost in the same way, but I started by looking at negative correlations between voters within the Moonbeam group, within the Paul group and within the Inbetween group. Then I forced the three new y-axis groups to include 4 from each of the former x-axis groups.

I guess this is similar to factor analysis and there's probably a program that could have done this for me, but it was quite fun to do this manually...

What about the artist graphs then? Again I used the difference between the 'mean of the voters in the Moonbeam group' and the 'mean of the voters in the Paul group'. However, this time I used the mean position in our lists. For example, the mean position for Elvis Presley was much lower in the Paul group than in the Moonbeam group, which gave a negative value on the x-axis.

Uhmmm, did anyone understand anything?

I love it! "The Moonbeam Group"- awesome! Maybe I can sway a few more over to my side. Come to the Moonbeam Group.... Come....

I'm in the middle! Next to Sonofsam!

I've loved these graphs!
Now we have a map of all the member's distribution per musical taste. I totally agree with my position, and I'm actually next to people whose taste I consider a bit similar to mine.

As for the artists images, there are some interesting things to note. See that, while all the '60s acts are together (except VU, but that's quite obvious), The Beatles are in the alternative rock group. Maybe that occured because people with all different tastes like them, putting them in the exact middle of the list (and this would be the same case of U2).

Also, note that all the "white" music singer-songwrites are altogether, even though I see not so much similarities between, say, Costello and Dylan, for exemple.

I think that's me almost perfectly in the middle.

I was looking at the full 1,000 artists in order, and saw Curtis Mayfield somewhere in the 700s because it shows Vgrd spelling it Cutis, so Curtis Mayfield is really #97 instead of #101.

Georgie- you're right! Sorry, everyone, and Mr. Superfly!

#3 Radiohead. Does not appear in my list...at all. While I confess that repeated listens to OK COMPUTER and some of their albums have given a BIT more appreciation for Yorke and the lads..and I now actually like "Karma Police", "Fake Plastic Trees" and "House of Cards" (as well as "Creep" which I always liked) I still feel they're VASTLY overrated. Maybe IN RAINBOWS is the album that changes that for me...I'm liking it more than I have any other Radiohead so far.

#2 Dylan was my #11. Right now I only own compilations by him but a copy of BLOOD ON THE TRACKS and HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED (or is it HIGHWAY 51?) are in my future. It seems I like a LOT of his songs.

#1 The Beatles were my #2 just behind the Beach Boys. If you think that's sacrilege, ask Paul McCartney what the best album ever made was. Hint: He will NOT say it was a Beatles album.

The leap from OK Computer to Kid A is possibly the greatest change in the direction of a band, ever. Each of the guys in Radiohead basically had to re-learn their role within the band, which I can't imagine gives a warm-and-fuzzy feeling after you've just struck artistic gold with an album of such immense popularity and acclaim. If that's overrated... well, shit... where does that put all of the bands of the last 15 years who HAVEN'T released a seminal piece of dystopian pop art and then have done a complete one-eighty into apocalyptic electronica?

The Curtis Mayfield correction unfortunately means that LCD Soundsystem gets pushed out of the top 100. So it goes. "When someone great is gone..."

I'm so pleased that Curtis (belatedly) made it! Though it's too bad an important '00s artist like LCD gets dropped? Maybe we can just agree to asterisk Queen out of the list.