Music magazines are starting their retrospectives of "the noughties" already. It seems there has been a lot of attention recently to Jack White's various bands and other musical projects. (Three bands that he's in now, various collaborations, starring in the rock documentary It Might Get Loud as the rock guitarist of this generation, featured in a new book on major rock musicians by veteran L.A. Times music critic Robert Hilburn, etc.)

Given all that, I wasn't too surprised to see Jack White listed as Uncut magazine's "Man of the Decade" -- along with seven or eight albums by his various bands. (A recent article in American Songwriter also suggested that the title "Artist of the Decade" would fit him. It's hard, offhand, to think of too many musicians who have had a broader and deeper impact on the music being made today.)

I recalled that The White Stripes were for a long time listed in the #1 spot for this decade on your site, and I was curious if that was still the case; especially since they've not been seen for a couple of years now, since their Icky Thump tour got cancelled for medical reasons. (Meg White suffering from acute anxiety.) But I see they're still in the top spot, and Jack's other band, The Raconteurs, are also on the top one hundred list for the decade, now at #69.

However - where's The Dead Weather?

I didn't expect to see them on the list of top bands, since it's such a new band, just starting out this year. (Fronted by Alison Mosshart of The Kills, with Jack White on drums and producing the albums.) But I could not even find the band listed in the alphabetical index -- unless maybe I missed something. (Or is the index listing determined by other factors?)

Their debut album, Horehound, does seem to be getting a lot of rave reviews; and seeing the band in live shows is pretty amazing. I hope you get a chance to check out the band and its album and the reviews they've been getting. (Maybe also some videos of their live shows on youtube or wherever. I know that doesn't count for statistical purposes, but just because they put on some really powerful performances.)

The Dead Weather have already announced that another album is on the way for next year. I expect they may well be one of the major bands of the next decade, if they keep going. I know I'll be watching and listening, and I'll be curious to check the Acclaimed Music site to see how the reviews stack up.

Thanks for your website, by the way. I spent several hours perusing it a while back, and I check in on it from time to time when a new artist or band has been around a while. It's not only a very useful website, but pretty interesting too. You do seem to have a more thorough and careful approach to the statistical challenges than other similar sites.

AM is based on external lists of the best (songs and albums). All that count are the songs and most acclaimed albums, and the combination of this, the best artists.

The Dead Weather To reach the list of the most important artists of the decade is needed:

1 .- That in the lists of journals in 2009 or the entire decade out well worth

2 .- That Henrik, the boss, update the data with all that comes from 2009 and the decade.

However, given that this group has only recorded one album, it is very difficult to approach other artists during the decade have made several albums and songs very well valued by the media: Outkast, Arcade Fire, LCD, Radiohead, Animal Collective, Flaming Lips, Jay-Z, White Stripes, MIA, Antony and the Johnsons, Kanye West, Strokes, Daft Punk, etc, etc, etc.

AM is a tough crowd.

Only The White Stripes, OutKast, Radiohead, Eminem, Missy Elliott, LCD Soundsystem and Wilco make the top 100 artists of this whole decade.

Dead Weather's best bet for instant success is a good hit single combined with great album success. Here are some examples of how an artist can be impeded by either.


When it comes to albums, Wilco is the most acclaimed band around, second only to Radiohead in the past. They have a half a dozen albums on acclaimed, and have a Live Album and another studio album being added in the next few updates. However, Wilco lacks the singles acclaim to be a top 50 or 60 band that their album ranking makes them out to be, and thus, barely has a top 100 spot.

On the Flipside, LCD Soundsystem, who ranks right next to Wilco on the AM top 100, is probably the best singles band since Nirvana. They're the rare band that has more than 5 singles on the AM top 3000. However, they're only ranked 157 for albums, because they only have two.

So there's two artists who have achieved legendary scores in one field, but their score in the other field bogged them down. It would take Dead Weather having a consistent string of singles and albums of note for them to make a big splash at AM.