And Ye Shall Hear of Lists, and Lists of Lists

Perhaps you were looking at the same lists I was.  In a year with so much solid music, there seemed to be a pretty small consensus when it came time for all the blog-folk to compile their best-o’-the-year.  Was everyone listening to the same twenty records?

Why hasn’t someone, I complained to bunches of people, done what David Poland does at Movie City News?  Every year, he compiles all the published Top 10 lists from movie critics into one big, easy-to-digest chart.  It’s a valuable tool:  Not only does it help to define a consensus, if any; it highlights favorites, and lets you find like-minded folk to whom you might want to pay better attention.  To wit:  Last year’s chart showed me that four other people in the nation liked Gozu about as much as I did, and gave me newfound respect for Matt Zoller Seitz of the New York Press.

I know what you’re thinking:  Pazz & Jop.  Every year, the Village Voice solicits lists from tons of critics – 793 voted in last year’s list.  Every participant is given 100 points to distribute among albums as they wish; votes are compiled, and a huge mega-list is amassed.  There are a couple problems with this, though.  First, people respond differently when they know their list is going to be put through a voting process; suddenly, it’s political, and why waste your vote on Nader?

The bigger problem is:  No one asked me.  Or, probably, you.  When this week’s list appears, next week, Cloud Cult will be at least 30 points short.  Bah.

Metacritic?   Their scoring process is arcane, they limit results to the top thirty vote-getters, and they have the gall to separate critics and users, as if one group’s better than the other.

So I went accounting for peoples’ tastes, and made my own damn list.  I give you...

Yes, I was looking for a heinous-sounding word that smacked of political scandal.  Thanks.

So far – that’s right, so far – it’s a list that compiles and weighs the lists from 122 blogs/online sources, a list that has 349 different albums.  And a quick peak at the top shows us...

That’s right:  Sufjan.  Wolf Parade.  Bloc Party.

Which is fine.  Because while the only thing this all absolutely, empirically proves is that I need to get a life – do some volunteer work, perhaps – it’s not science, and not really about adding consensus to the consensus*.  It’s about creating a resource.

What was important to me was finding good, new music.  And good, new sources for it.

There are a ton of music blogs out there generously supplying new bands and old bands and MP3s every single day; they do a great job... but I just can’t process that much music.  It’s overwhelming.  Year-end lists offer a good highlight reel.  Assuming we’re not out here playing obscurer-than-thou – and I’ll happily make that assumption – a blogger’s top ten list represents the music from the past year about which they’re most passionate.

And to answer the question I asked at the top of the page:  No, of course it’s not just the same twenty records.

So what I’ve got – here – is a spreadsheet through which you can browse or search other people’s passions.  Across the top are the sources, and links back to all the sources’ lovingly-crafted top ten lists; do go to see what they have to say about these records, because this isn’t all a numbers game.  And when you find someone whose taste is akin to your own, make them a regular stop.  Down the side, ranked by point value, are the recordings, with links to buy ‘em.  (For those who can’t open an Excel file, an image-only page with the chart is here).

I’ve already found some stuff I’m excited about while compiling this.  I noticed that i (heart) music's list featured a couple CDs I really liked from this past year, The Most Serene Republic’s Underwater Cinematographer and OKGo’s wildly underrated Oh No.  Also on their list was an album I’d never heard of – The Diableros’ You Can’t Break the Strings in Our Olympic Hearts.  And at first listen, they sound like the missing link between Wolf Parade and Arcade Fire.  A yummy find, and a reminder to stop by (heart) a little more regularly.  It’s already made this whole process worth it.

As for my other question – Why hasn’t someone done this? – again, a couple answers:  First, someone did, sort of.  Indie for Dummies surveyed 100 international bloggers and published a Top 100 List tabulating their choices and collecting their comments.  It’s a great list, and certainly more attractive than my big unwieldy spreadsheet.  But not exactly what I was looking for.

And second:  Because it’s a royal pain in the ass.  I went in thinking that I’d mostly be tabulating votes, doing simple searches and plugging in numbers.  But almost every single list offered up a new listening suggestion.  While it would have been easier to compile had I started back when these lists started appearing – I’ll do that, next year – taking it all at once was a bit much.  Lesson learned:  You get what you ask for.

And I’m still asking:  This includes only 122 sources, only 349 albums.  There’s plenty more out there, and I’m willing to add them.  This is an ongoing project.  I’ve made a fairly good start, I think, but couldn’t look everywhere.  So if you have made a list you want included, or notice someone else’s that’s missing, e-mail me the link to that entry and I’ll include it on the next update.  The e-mail address is heartonastick(at)gmail(dot)com; put “Top 10” in the subject heading.  Lists either need to be ranked or limited to ten unranked albums; reasons for this are on the main page. 

Ready?

Go to The 2005 Music Bloggregate.

*But it is sort of fun to make note of it.  Of the 122 lists, Sufjan’s on 67 of them; almost a third of those lists have him at #1; his average rank on those lists is 2.8

Also:  Despite the constant moaning about pack of lupine band names, only one made the list (unless you include Patrick Wolf); on the other hand, three albums have the animal in their title – and two of them are called Raised by Wolves.

tags: best of 2005  2005 music bloggregate  best of lists  

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