I apologize for the delay…it’s time for the top 20 of the Unscrabble list.

First, a recap of where we’ve been. Remember, the Unscrabble list rewards artists who:

- recorded in relatively under-represented periods (roughly, pre-1964 and post-1977).

- had relatively long careers.


100. Aerosmith (new)
99. Leonard Cohen (down)
98. The Smashing Pumpkins (new)
97. Sly and the Family Stone (down)
96. Art Blakey (new)
95. Pavement (down)
94. Brian Eno (down)
93. Bill Evans (new)
92. Wilco (new)
91. The Everly Brothers (new)
90. Jay-Z (new)
89. Primal Scream (down)
88. Charlie Parker (new)
87. Hüsker Dü (new)
86. Massive Attack (down)
85. Ornette Coleman (new)
84. Creedence Clearwater Revival (down)
83. Parliament/Funkadelic (down)
82. Al Green (down)
81. The Doors (down)
80. Buddy Holly (up)
79. Count Basie (new)
78. The Chemical Brothers (new)
77. Stan Getz (new)
76. Simon and Garfunkel (down)
75. John Lennon (down)
74. The White Stripes (down)
73. Missy Elliott (up)
72. AC/DC (up)
71. Metallica (up)
70. Ella Fitzgerald (new)
69. Michael Jackson (down)
68. Ramones (down)
67. Muddy Waters (new)
66. Otis Redding (down)
65. Oasis (down)
64. Pet Shop Boys (up)
63. Sonny Rollins (new)
62. James Brown (down)
61. Steely Dan (up)
60. Aretha Franklin (down)
59. The Police (up)
58. The Kinks (down)
57. Kraftwerk (same)
56. Joni Mitchell (down)
55. The Jam (up)
54. Nick Cave (up)
53. Eminem (up)
52. OutKast (up)
51. Charles Mingus (new)
50. Lou Reed (down)
49. Tom Waits (up)
48. Pixies (down)
47. Roxy Music (down)
46. The Cure (up)
45. Johnny Cash (down)
44. Chuck Berry (up)
43. Van Morrison (down)
42. Jimi Hendrix (down)
41. Marvin Gaye (down)
40. Björk (up)
39. The Byrds (down)
38. PJ Harvey (up)
37. Thelonious Monk (new)
36. Dizzy Gillespie (new)
35. New Order (up)
34. Pink Floyd (down)
33. John Coltrane (up)
32. The Velvet Underground (down)
31. Public Enemy (down)
30. Stevie Wonder (down)
29. The Clash (down)
28. Nirvana (down)
27. Beastie Boys (up)
26. The Beach Boys (down)
25. Sonic Youth (up)
24. Beck (up)
23. Blur (up)
22. Talking Heads (up)
21. Miles Davis (up)

20. THE WHO (down 12 spots)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: The Who Sings My Generation (1965, #6); Tommy (1969, #7); Who’s Next (1971, #3).
TOP 10 SONGS: My Generation (1965, #3); Won’t Get Fooled Again (1971, #7).

19. BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS (up 3 spots)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: Catch a Fire (1973, #7); Natty Dread (1974, #1); Live! (1975, #9); Exodus (1977, #9).
TOP 10 SONGS: Get Up, Stand Up (1973, #5); I Shot the Sheriff (1973, #9); No Woman No Cry (1974, #1).

18. THE SMITHS (up 9 spots)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: The Smiths (1984, #3); The Queen Is Dead (1986, #1); Strangeways, Here We Come (1987, #10).
TOP 10 SONGS: This Charming Man (1983, #3); How Soon Is Now? (1984, #4); There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (1986, #3).

17. MADONNA (up 28 spots)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: Like a Prayer (1989, #7); Ray of Light (1998, #8).
TOP 10 SONGS: Like a Virgin (1984, #3); Into the Groove (1985, #1); Papa Don’t Preach (1986, #8); Like a Prayer (1989, #4); Vogue (1990, #7); Ray of Light (1998, #4); Beautiful Stranger (1999, #7); Music (2000, #6); Hung Up (2005, #3).

schleuse, why does the unscrabble list reward artists who had relatively long careers? Isn't the ranking still only based on the 6 most acclaimed albums and songs?

Yes, Henrik, it is still only the top six.

I don't think I can explain it completely, but it seems to work something like this: since the system is based on year rankings only, it's more likely to reward artists with acclaimed music in more years.

Take two artists, roughly contemporaries: on the official list, Public Enemy is higher than Sonic Youth. On the Unscrabble list, it's the reverse.

Now, their career peaks came at the same time--It Takes a Nation of Millions and Daydream Nation are both from 1988. But PE's career, in terms of what gets counted in the rankings, only runs 5 years, from 1987 to 1991. Sonic Youth's relevant career goes from 1985 to 2006, and they have an acclaimed album in 11 of those years. So they get more shots at racking up points--especially since the competition gets weaker as their career progresses.

That's the best explanation I can come up with...rewarding longer-lived artists isn't something I set out to do with this list. It just worked out that way.

schleuse, perhaps it has to do with the formula and the use of it for different ranges of input numbers. Low-ranked yearly positions are perhaps given relatively high points compared to low-ranked alltime positions. This would mean that with 6 acclaimed albums and songs (=long careers) are rewarded.

Also, in the case of Sonic Youth, they are lucky to be 1988's #1 with "Teenage Riot" despite being only #232 of all time.

Well, I shortened the range of input numbers, so that if an artist only has, say, four albums (like Public Enemy), the "empty" slots have a value of 101 (rather than 3100, as in your original formula). But I was, as they say, flying by the seat of my pants; I just picked a number that seemed about right.

Marley, Smiths and Madonna higher than the Who. I like this list.

I definitely thought Madonna would be higher than that but it's still a big jump. If it wasn't for Bedtime Stories and the great songs during that Madonna era (Secret, Human Nature, Take a Bow, Rain) being underrated she'd probably be top 5 for sure.

16. LED ZEPPELIN (down 11 spots)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: Led Zeppelin II (1969, #5); Led Zeppelin (1969, #8); Led Zeppelin IV (1971, #2); Physical Graffiti (1975, #4).
TOP 10 SONGS: Whole Lotta Love (1969, #4); Stairway to Heaven (1971, #1); Kashmir (1975, #8).

15. ELVIS COSTELLO (up 8 spots)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: My Aim Is True (1977, #5); This Year’s Model (1978, #1); Armed Forces (1979, #10); Get Happy!! (1980, #6); Imperial Bedroom (1982, #4).
TOP 10 SONG: Alison (1977, #10).

14. RAY CHARLES (up 42 spots)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: The Genius of Ray Charles (1959, #7); Genius + Soul = Jazz (1961, #10); Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962, #1).
TOP 10 SONGS: I’ve Got a Woman (1955, #9); What’d I Say (1959, #1); Georgia on My Mind (1960, #6); Hit the Road, Jack (1961, #10); I Can’t Stop Loving You (1962, #6).

13. NEIL YOUNG (up 4 spots)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: After the Gold Rush (1970, #1); Harvest (1972, #5); Tonight’s the Night (1975, #5); Rust Never Sleeps (1979, #4); Ragged Glory (1990, #5).
TOP 10 SONGS: Heart of Gold (1972, #8); Rockin’ in the Free World (1989, #6).

Oh yeah, I forgot that all those artists that stretched the 60's into the late 70's/early 80's to the joy of hippie critics would get bumped up due to those critics not giving anything new a chance. What's even more sad is some of those guys are still stretching the 60's into the late 00's: Still to the joy of hippie critics.

in yrface, dave marsh. zohhhnnn...

Well, I may be a hippie (without the hair, though), but I do like Neil Young, and it's nice to see that Schleuse's scheme doesn't just automatically deduct points from dinosaur acts, but rewards consistent high quality in whichever period.

12. FRANK SINATRA (up 62 spots)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: Songs for Young Lovers (1954, #6); Swing Easy! (1954, #10); In the Wee Small Hours (1955, #1); Songs for Swingin’ Lovers (1956, #2); Come Fly with Me (1958, #7); Sings for Only the Lonely (1958, #2).
TOP 10 SONGS: All or Nothing at All (1943, #5); I’ve Got the World on a String (1953, #10).

11. DAVID BOWIE (down 7 spots)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: Hunky Dory (1971, #7); The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972, #2); Station to Station (1976, #5); Low (1977, #6).
TOP 10 SONGS: Space Oddity (1969, #5); Changes (1971, #9); Ziggy Stardust (1972, #5); Young Americans (1975, #10); Heroes (1977, #2).

10. U2 (up 5 spots)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: War (1983, #4); The Unforgettable Fire (1984, #7); The Joshua Tree (1987, #2); Achtung Baby (1991, #5).
TOP 10 SONGS: I Will Follow (1980, #9); Sunday Bloody Sunday (1983, #6); New Year’s Day (1983, #10); Pride (In the Name of Love) (1984, #7); With or Without You (1987, #5); I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (1987, #9); One (1991, #4); Beautiful Day (2000, #9).

So no Hank Williams at all then? I would have expected the no-albums to hurt him, but I thought he might still enter. Or could he have entered the top 10?

... and Springsteen is still in the top 10 !!!!

Big consolation after you threw him out of the Survivor island, and a confirmation of his talent.

No Hank, Stephan. I was disappointed by that, too.

He came closer to the top 100 than he does on the AM list, but there's just no way for him to overcome the no-albums thing, dernit.


I will reveal that one of the top ten artists is not in the AM top 100. You'll find out who in a few hours.

9. RADIOHEAD (up 10 spots)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: The Bends (1995, #2); OK Computer (1997, #1); Kid A (2000, #1); Amnesiac (2001, #5); Hail to the Thief (2003, #4).
TOP 10 SONGS: Creep (1992, #2); Fake Plastic Trees (1995, #4); Paranoid Android (1997, #5); Karma Police (1997, #8); Pyramid Song (2001, #7).

8. DUKE ELLINGTON (up 105 spots)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: Ellington Uptown (1953, #6); Ellington at Newport (1956, #4); Money Jungle (1962, #7); Duke Ellington and John Coltrane (1962, #9).
TOP 10 SONGS: Black and Tan Fantasy (1927, #3); Mood Indigo (1930, #1); Take the “A” Train (1941, #1); Come Sunday (1943, #2); Black, Brown and Beige (1944, #2); In a Sentimental Mood (1945, #4).

7. ELVIS PRESLEY (up 2 spots)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: Elvis Presley (1956, #1); Elvis (1956, #5); Elvis Is Back! (1960, #4).
TOP 10 SONGS: That’s All Right (Mama) (1954, #2); Blue Moon of Kentucky (1954, #8); Mystery Train (1955, #3); Heartbreak Hotel (1956, #1); Hound Dog (1956, #2); Don’t Be Cruel (1956, #4); Jailhouse Rock (1957, #7); Suspicious Minds (1969, #3).

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My favorite thing about the Unscrabble list is that Ellington is in the top ten. That may seem extreme to some of you, but boy, does he deserve it. He's represented on Acclaimed Music in every decade from the 1920s to the 1960s. He covers a wider range of jazz styles than any other single musician, although he preferred to call what he did "American music." He was a hell of an entertainer, and a hell of an artist.

On a list which is intended to evenly represent music from every period, Duke is the perfect musician to carry the flag for the first half of the 20th century.

Yes, excellent indeed. I had a peek at the artists just outside the top 100 and I had a good idea it would be him. I agree, he somehow belongs there even more than other jazz artists.

What effect is the likely top 5 position for 2007 of In Rainbows going to have?

Would bump them up at least 2 spots, I can't say how much exactly because I don't know which other artist are in the top 10 but it might end them up all the way #2 behind The Beatles and if they get a song in the top 10, even above the Beatles.

Duke Ellington is the guy kids in jazz band listen when they haven't discovered good jazz yet. I'm not saying he wasn't great and he might have been a giant but his style of jazz is the reason rock and roll was invented and why jazz went a different direction and left Ellington fare to Herb Alpert and Maynard Ferguson. I just would never consider him top 5 when it comes to jazz and I definitely would never consider him top 10 when it comes to modern music.

Nothing against your list Schleuse, I was just venting an opinion.

What I don't like about the list, Schleuse is my favorite band, REM isn't in the top 100

Mitchell, right now, Radiohead has the #2 album of 2007 and the #80 song. If those numbers hold, they would move up to #6 on the list.

John, no offense taken…although I think a definition of “good jazz” that doesn’t include Duke Ellington is one I want no part of. Some musicians are great because they creatively break the rules, and some are great because they establish what the rules are. Ellington did both.

I also think it’s overly simplistic to say that big band music (I assume that’s what you mean) was “the reason rock and roll was invented,” although I guess you were going for hyperbole there.

Funny you should say that, Stammer...

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6. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (no change)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: Born to Run (1975, #1); Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978, #3); The River (1980, #5); Nebraska (1982, #2); Born in the U.S.A. (1984, #2).
TOP 10 SONGS: Born to Run (1975, #1); Thunder Road (1975, #3); Born in the U.S.A. (1984, #5).

5. R.E.M. (up 8 spots)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: Murmur (1983, #1); Document (1987, #5); Green (1988, #8); Out of Time (1991, #8); Automatic for the People (1992, #1).
TOP 10 SONGS: Radio Free Europe (1981, #4); It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) (1987, #6); Losing My Religion (1991, #2); Man on the Moon (1992, #5); Everybody Hurts (1992, #10).

4. PRINCE (up 3 spots)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: Dirty Mind (1980, #10); 1999 (1982, #3); Purple Rain (1984, #1); Sign ‘O’ the Times (1987, #1).
TOP 10 SONGS: Little Red Corvette (1982, #3); 1999 (1982, #8); When Doves Cry (1984, #1); Purple Rain (1984, #8); Kiss (1986, #2); Sign ‘O’ the Times (1987, #2).

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No, I did not have my thumb on the scale.

To be honest, i thought Radiohead would be higher.


And now we all already know who the top three are (and if you don't something is wrong with you ).

Princey! Princey! Princey!

3. BOB DYLAN (no change)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963, #2); The Times They Are A-Changing (1964, #7); Highway 61 Revisited (1965, #1); Bringing It All Back Home (1965, #4); Blonde on Blonde (1966, #3); Blood on the Tracks (1975, #3); Desire (1976, #7); Time Out of Mind (1997, #2); Live 1966: The “Royal Albert Hall” Concert (1998, #7); Love and Theft (2001, #4); Modern Times (2006, #4).
TOP 10 SONGS: Blowin’ in the Wind (1963, #7); Like a Rolling Stone (1965, #1); Tangled Up in Blue (1975, #5).

2. THE ROLLING STONES (no change)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: The Rolling Stones: England’s Newest Hitmakers (1964, #3); The Rolling Stones Now (1965, #10); Aftermath (1966, #4); Beggars Banquet (1968, #4); Let It Bleed (1969, #2); Sticky Fingers (1971, #5); Exile on Main St (1972, #1).
TOP 10 SONGS: (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (1965, #2); Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1968, #5); Sympathy for the Devil (1968, #3); Honky Tonk Women (1969, #7); Gimme Shelter (1969, #8); Brown Sugar (1971, #10); Start Me Up (1981, #8).

1. THE BEATLES (no change)
TOP 10 ALBUMS: With the Beatles (1963, #3); Please Please Me (1963, #6); A Hard Day’s Night (1964, #1); Beatles for Sale (1964, #8); Rubber Soul (1965, #2); Revolver (1966, #2); Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967, #2); The Beatles (“The White Album”) (1968, #2); Abbey Road (1969, #1).
TOP 10 SONGS: I Want to Hold Your Hand (1963, #3); She Loves You (1963, #4); Yesterday (1965, #10); Tomorrow Never Knows (1966, #8); Strawberry Fields Forever (1967, #2), A Day in the Life (1967, #3); Hey Jude (1968, #4).

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And that's it. It may seem anticlimactic or even perverse that, after completely reshuffling the list to make sure artists from the 1960's don't have an unfair advantage, we still end up with the same top three, and in the same order.

But them's the breaks, and, to be honest, I don't have a problem with it. By creating this list, I had hoped to demote the truly overrated--Zeppelin, the Eagles, Grateful Dead, the Doors (imo). I have no desire to somehow "prove" that the Beatles, Stones, and Dylan aren't really as good as everyone says they are. Because, for the most part, they are.

Hope y'all enjoyed the list!

Excellent as always.. although I do kinda miss The Eagles.

I think if anything it's even more interesting that the top 3 remain where they are after changing the rules. Forget time bias, they ARE actually that good. Great work Schleuse!

I think Duke Ellington deserves a little more credit than John is giving him. Listen to Money Jungle (with Charles Mingus), for starters, and Duke Ellington & John Coltrane, Duke Ellington meets Coleman Hawkins (all released in 1962). Although Ellington would be a giant for his compositions alone, these records show that he could also play "good jazz."

I am not a jazz guy, so take what I have to say with a tiny little grain of salt.

But if you look over the whole history of twentieth century jazz music, the only possible rival to Ellington for excellence and influence is Louis Armstrong. They are the Beatles and Dylan of jazz. (Cringe-worthy analogy, but I'll stick with it.) Sure, monumental, evolutionary work was to follow, but I like how Schleuse puts it... they both broke and established the mold.

How is it, then, that Armstrong is so under-represented on the AM list. Is it because all of the critics who might be inclined to consider jazz from the 20's and 30's gravitate to "West End Blues," to the exclusion of all of his other early, groundbreaking work?

Thanks, schleuse, for yet another fine piece of work!

Indeed a fine piece of work, Schleuse.

Interesting that not only do Huey, Dewey and Louie (so to speak) still rule the top three, but even in the same order. I'd expected Bob's acclaimed output outside of "the golden years" to perhaps boost him relative to the Beatles & Stones, even if all three of them collectively went down a few notches. Surprisingly, none of the two happened.

I assume they just bloody well deserve their ranking.

But there are a few artists I'll give a more intense listen after seeing their ranking in the "Schleuse top 100".

Alright, I'll concede that Ellington was really good. I'll listen to some of those albums you mentioned. His catalog is so huge and I've listened to a lot of it and all I've heard is standard 40's and 50's jazz fare and when I went to parties where jazz was playing it was always "that" jazz. Maybe those who play jazz appreciate that style more. Whenever I went to jazz band concerts in high school and college the bill consisted mainly of that kind of jazz except for a couple guys who always did something completely different and that's what I bought a ticket for.

I had a jazz band roommate freshman year of college and when I showed up with my 200 disc changer he took out his 20 cd folder and inserted his cds in. No problem. Ended up they were all Maynard Ferguson.

Nice work, schleuse. Your inventiveness has no limits. Some surprises here (apart from Ellington, the most obvious), particularly Bowie getting out of the Top 10 and three “80s” artists (Prince, R.E.M. and U2) reaching the Top 10. So, after all, it was true that the 60s counted triple. Or at least the 80s were much less considered.

Awesome work, Schleuse! I like this list a LOT more than the real one, which should come as no surprise!