Well, it's all come down to this. What began with 1,024 songs has now been narrowed down to only four songs. Here is the final bracket for Bracketology 2009-2010. Voting is now open, and you have until 11:59 PM Pacific time on Saturday, November 20 to vote. That's right, you have almost two weeks to vote.

#1. "Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
#130. "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones
#331. "Living for the City" - Stevie Wonder
#356. "B.O.B." - OutKast

REMINDER: You must comment on ALL the songs in order for your ballot to count.

It's strange. None of these songs are, by far, songs I really admire. And none of the four are, for me, the better of each artists.

#331. "Living for the City" - Stevie Wonder
Win this final easily. I prefer thousands of songs, but, in this game, it's the only one I can put in the first place.
#130. "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones
Very good song. And easy second.
#356. "B.O.B." - OutKast
I dislike.
#1. "Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
I hate.

I agree with Romain. What a strange group to be in the final. None of the tracks, bar maybe Dylan, in my opinion, are the artists' best (in Stevie's case it's not even top 5) but here we are:

1/ Outkast - B.O.B.

Like a runaway freight train, it is unstoppable. Hey Ya and Ms Jackson pip it for me but its power, potency and sheer innovative genius are undeniable.

2/ Stevie Wonder - Livin' For The City

Great track, although not even the best on the album (!!)

3/ The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter

Close with Stevie, but ultimately third. Cracking rock track but personally I see the Stones as overrated...

4/ Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone

...but not as overrated as this man. Okay, I need to listen to him more and okay, this is actually a really good song BUT he's not my favourite by a long shot.

Wow. I have no idea what to put first. I love Outkast (and especially B.O.B.), and have recently got into the Stones. And of course LARS is one of the greatest songs of all time. So by process of elimination Stevie is fourth? Surely not...

#130. "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones
Voted for Sympathy over Rolling Stone, and I'm voting for this too. I really like this song and I'm glad it's the Stones song that made it to the final.
#1. "Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
Amazing song with amazing lyrics, just slightly out of first.
#331. "Living for the City" - Stevie Wonder
Great song, but a drop down from the top two.
#356. "B.O.B." - OutKast
A perfectly decent song. Probably in my top 100 of the 00s. But, not remotely top 4 material. I don't know how it wound up here.

#1. "Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
I can't pretend this isn't my number one of these four, but I would be secretly pleased if one of the others won through.
#356. "B.O.B." - OutKast
This one has won me over so much through the course of the game, now I can't get enough of it.
#130. "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones
The perfect sound of The Stones, a worthy third.
#331. "Living for the City" - Stevie Wonder
Of course I feel entirely responsible for this getting in over God Only Knows, since I might have put this fourth in the semi with God Only Knows first, but I still like it and on collective opinion it deserves to be here. I'm not guilty about placing it last though.

#1. "Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
#67. "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones
~#700. "B.O.B." - OutKast
~#1500. "Living for the City" - Stevie Wonder

I've added my (approximate) rankings to the songs, so for me the choices here aren't hard at all. The best song ever against one of the best by the best band ever, and way behind those two we've got OutKast's magnum opus and one of Stevie Wonder's good songs that's incredibly outclassed here.

Screw it, LARS is first.

1. Like A Rolling Stone

Dylan's magnum opus, and better than the magnum opus of anybody else. So much has been said about it, it's very hard to be original. Oh well, top class lyrics, top class vocals (I love it when Dylan sneers), top class songwriting, and top class execution.

2. Gimme Shelter

It wasn't too tight between this and Dylan, but even so it feels awful putting a momentous track like this second. C'est la vie, becasue it really is the epitome of the single to me.

3. B.O.B.
I posit that there are only two people in the world capable of conceiving B.O.B. from start to finish - Andre 3000 and Big Boi. It's a perfect meshing of their two varying styles, executed to PERFECTION.

4. Living For the City
Probably in my top 100, but still last. I think this was up against God Only Knows in the last round - while it is refreshing to see Stevie here, the Beach Boys would be far more apt and deserving, and could possibly put up resistance against LARS. Oh well. Putting this last means that it is merely an awesome song, while the others are f*?**@!* incredible songs.

First and foremost, a job well done Matt. This tournament has been one of the best parts of my 8 months on this forum.
#331. "Living for the City" - Stevie Wonder (An excellent song, one of Stevie's finest works. Overall, it's got some of his best lyrics, and of course, the classic middle part, with the studio's janitor saying "get in that cell"
#130. "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones (Another epic, spellbinding song. This one uses some of Richard's best riffs, combined with dark yet beautiful vocals from Merry Clayton. And, like most songs of it's time, it's about Vietnam.)
#1. "Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan (Another classic. It definately deserves it's title of "Greatest Song of All Time", but that's doesn't amke it my favorite. But who doesn't love that Hooooow does it feeel? (Moonbeam!))
#356. "B.O.B." - OutKast (Surprising, all 4 songs in the final are eligable to be in my top 200. Ironically, back in round 2, I voted in second byt shear coincidence, I was thinking "all right, Billie Jean is good, but I don't like any of the other 3.")

#130. "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones
My 81st favorite of all time. There are 12 Stone songs that I enjoy more than Gimme Shetler, including: Satisfaction, Start Me Up, Sympathy for the Devil, Street Fighting Man, Brown Sugar, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Paint it Black, Honky Tonk Women, Wild Horses, You Can't Always Get What You Want, and Angie. But, among the four finalists, Gimme Shelter wins the finals for me.

#1. "Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
My 113th favorite of all time gets a 5 on my enjoyment scale. This is not a song that I play very often any more for my own listening pleasure. I much prefer Stairway to Heaven, All Along the Watchtower (by Hendrix) and other songs which I find to be much more adventurous and interesting musically. This song clearly fits in the more respected and less enjoyed category for me.

#331. "Living for the City" - Stevie Wonder
My 188th favorite of all time. I prefer the following Wonder songs: As, Another Star, Golden Lady, Superstition, and You Are the Sunshine of My Life. I enjoy the following Wonder songs about the same as I enjoy "Living for the City" - Creepin', For Once In My Life, Superwoman (Where were you when I needed you), and You've Got It Bad Girl.

#356. "B.O.B." - OutKast
My 1801st favorite song. Clearly fourth choice for me. I prefer Ms. Jackson, and Hey Ya over B.O.B. and enjoy Funky Ride just about as much as B.O.B.


Great job Matt!!!

It is very interesting to see how bracketology can provide such interesting and unpredictable results.

#356. "B.O.B." - OutKast
No real competition here for me, one of my top 10 all-time songs pitted against 3 songs that would not make my top 200. "Big things happen everytime we meet" are claiming Big Boi and Andre, that has often been true and peaked during this precious "fuite en avant".
#130. "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones : I guess that has become my favourite Rolling Stones song, not only is it dense and tensed, but it both does not age at all and defines the way I imagine the early 70s (as a whole, not just musically)
#331. "Living for the City" - Stevie Wonder
Great Stevie song, probably the first 70s soul classic I discovered
#1. "Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
I used to dislike it and while I know see it as a great song in its own right, I would like it even more if it was 2 minutes shorter

1. "Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan: And so we come to the end, with a remarkable and remarkably diverse final four which have little in common – other than the fact that they’re all written and sung and played and produced as if there was much, much more at stake than simply making a good record. The main reason “LaRS” deserves to come out on top, as it has on so many other polls and lists, is because it begins at such a righteous pitch of fury and somehow manages to sustain that mood for six minutes without ever getting tiresome. And let’s take a moment here to appreciate the band; obviously, Dylan’s voice and lyrics are what command your attention, but the musicians (particularly drummer Bobby Gregg) do an amazing job of keeping up with him and maybe even pushing him further. Astonishing then, astonishing now, astonishing forever.

2. "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones: Apparently there’s a new surge of interest in this song because of its use in the new CALL OF DUTY video game, yet another example of how Jagger and Richards’ supremely menacing masterpiece has been called upon so often as aural shorthand evocation of “the dark side of the Sixties” that it’s pretty much played out by now. Except that it isn’t, because it genuinely IS the embodiment of that darkness – from the moment Richards’ swampy wall of rhythm guitars begins to fade in, we’re in the middle of a waking nightmare. One that, thanks to the Stones and Jimmy Miller and Nicky Hopkins and Merry Clayton, we don’t want to wake up from.

3. "Living for the City" - Stevie Wonder: The first three-odd minutes are prime Stevie, brilliantly observed and performed but entirely typical of the work he was doing in this period. What happens after the predictable-but-harrowing interlude, though, is something different altogether; Wonder pushes his voice well beyond its limits, sustaining a startlingly urgent and angry tone for the remainder of the song that’s like nothing he’s ever done before or since, and the way the overdubbed choral voices play off the synths is truly exhilarating – and sobering, when you realize how timely the song still is after 37 years.

4. "B.O.B." - OutKast: The newest recording in the final – by 27 years – is in “last place” (truly a relative term considering we started with 1,024 songs) only, and precisely, because it hasn’t stood the same test of time as its companions. I suspect that it will do so quite well. There’s so much going on in this record that one has to assume Andre and Big Boi knew they were creating an instant classic, and what’s amazing is their level of control; the near-constant shifts in style and tone and instrumentation are never jarring.

Matt, this has been quite a ride. Thank you.

Very easy choices in this final!

1. Stevie Wonder - "Living for the City": I've said a ton about this song already, so let me simply add that I believe it would be a worthy champion!

2. OutKast - "B.O.B.": I'm glad that people have united behind such a fun explosion of color such as this, as it is this kind of expression that I generally geek about about most (Prince, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Eurythmics, etc. all have moments of wildly colorful experimentation). This isn't a favorite of mine, but I get why people love it.

3. The Rolling Stones - "Gimme Shelter": It's not a bad song, and I imagine it will match its 3rd place finish from last go around- such consistency across two different times and sets of voters really cements it as a real classic. I just don't love it. Perhaps the next go around, I'll appreciate it more.

4. Bob Dylan - "Like a Rolling Stone": This will win, I'm sure. I don't have a truly acerbic reaction to this song, but it is my least favorite of the bunch.

Can't believe this is finally ending, especially with a refreshing final 4 that no one would have predicted at the start of this madness.

1. "Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan (Top 40 all-time) An anthem for the ages, with a startlingly complex instrumental and lyrics that are immensely fun to sing along with. This song is a simply unimpeachable masterpiece.
2. "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones (Top 100 all-time) Certainly one of the objectively greatest songs ever, "Gimme Shelter" sounds like a true classic from its first five seconds and never lets up or lapses in its sinister, creepy mood.
3. "B.O.B." - OutKast (Top 100 all-time) One of the best jams of the last ten years that packs as many ideas in its first two minutes as many entire rap albums have.
4. "Living for the City" - Stevie Wonder (not in top 500) The surprise of the tournament for me, "Living for the City" is a very good song that I feel somehow could have been better. Parts of it teem with the righteous anger they should, while others seem to lapse into blandness. I don't really like the interlude in the middle either. Still, I have no problem with someone calling this Stevie's best song, even if I prefer "Higher Ground" from the same album.

Amazingly, considering my personal Top 100 only has a small percentage of songs that were in this poll, 3 of 'em are in my Top 50! That's fantastic, but makes this pretty painful. Anyway, it would be wrong to be strategic, so here's my god's honest order...

1. B.O.B. - OutKast: An all-time Top 10 of mine, that I'm feeling is becoming more and more amazing with age -- it still sounds like something from a glorious genre-be-damned future. But, since I mentioned genre, it is pretty neat to see a rap song get this far. But that is not why I have it #1.

2. Living for the City - Stevie Wonder: My favorite track from my all-time favorite non-jazz album. It's just a brilliant opus, and in my all-time Top 20.

3. Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan: All along I assumed I'd be voting this masterpiece as #1 by this stage, and it's in my Top 50, but I never would've guesses the competition it got.

4. Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones: This is still in my all-time Top 1000 (and my Top 5 Stones songs), which is rarefied air for me. But we're at the point in the game when SH2B4 is wholly expected.

My Top Picks in order of preference are:

#130. "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones

Not my favorite song ever, but my favorite one here.

#356. "B.O.B." - OutKast

A huge surprise. I like it, but never would put it among the top 4 all-time.

#331. "Living for the City" - Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder at his finest. That's all I can say.

#1. "Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan

Although I don't hate it, it is not my favorite song here.

1. #130. "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones /
My favorite by the Stones and one of my all-time favorites in general. It doesn't have the competition it deserves here. It's the perfect album opener and the best proof that the Stones are more than rock and roll stars, they are legendary musicians as well. What a genius call to call in the amazing backing singer. Despite of all the doom and gloom in this song (and life in general), love is still just a kiss away!
2. #1. "Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan /
I am content with the AM position of this song, since I appreciate it's acclaim and I enjoy it a lot. I have heard it a lot of times - both in the context of Highway 61 Revisited and on it's own - but I haven't grown tired of it at all. That's quite an achievement and it makes it an easy number two.
3. #356. "B.O.B." - OutKast /
Whereas the the first two picks were easy, this one is a lot tougher. BOB wins because of it's eclecticism and possibly more important, because it's so danceable. But both Gimme Shelter and LARS are out of it's league in my opinion.
4. #331. "Living for the City" - Stevie Wonder /
By now, probably my favorite Wonder song. And it's fourth placement doesn't mean I don't like it, not nearly so. Actually, it could have been third as well. Having said that, I don't think it is a very worthy finalist, but that's just me. The talking part isn't exactly bad or annoying, but it isn't stellar either.

Apparently the results from Bracketology got lost. Here they are again. (Not the joke results I first posted.)

1. "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones (55 points, 6 first-place votes)
2. "Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan (50, 6)
3. "B.O.B." - OutKast (44, 3)
4. "Living for the City" - Stevie Wonder (41, 4)

My favorite song lost, and I find myself still being quite happy with the results. The Stones deserved to finally win something on these forums.

Amazing work throughout all these months Matt, it's been a blast!

Matt, it was a pleasure. I thoroughly enjoyed this game and discovered a ton of new music through it, and that's all I can ask for. Thanks, and job well done.

Yeah, great game, and a truly great but not predictable song won.

My best discovery of Bracketology was "This Charming Man" Beofre that week in round 2, I had only heard the hatful of hallows version, which I didn't like. But, I now love the original.

Brilliant game, Matt, and unexpectedly even better result. The winner wasn't my favourite but as has been said above it was original and I don't know anyone who doesn't like that song at least. I'm grateful that I've been able to discover B.O.B. and listen to it repeatedly.

This has been truly epic throughout. Matt, you have done a saintly job in organizing it all, and I still play Taana Gardner quite regularly- that song has become a real classic in my book! The results were much less predictable this time and it was a blast to participate in (when I had time) or watch (when I didn't). Thanks so much!

Thanks a lot for the organisation Matt. Bracketology turned out to be one of my favorite tournaments on this forum.

Great results as well.