My Favorite Music

#304: My Favorites, Ranked

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I listen to Radio Paradise, which allows listeners to rank songs from 1 - 10.  I've done this for nearly ten years without really thinking why, until today, when I decided to add up all songs I rated '10', by artist.  Turns out there are 145.  {For artists that appeared in more than one act, I've combined their numbers in a sliding scale.}

After the list below (which includes all artists with at least two songs), I list my favorites that other listeners agree on, and disagree with (the highest and lowest average scores compared to mine).

The Grateful Dead/Jerry Garcia  12 - 15

Bob Marley  10

Joni Mitchell  9

Natalie Merchant/10,000 Maniacs  9 -13

Talking Heads/David Byrne  8 - 11

Santana/Santana Brothers  6 - 7

U2  6

The Rolling Stones  6

Crosby, Stills, Nash/ & Young  5 - 7

Allman Brothers  5

The Beatles  5

Traffic  4 - 5

Steely Dan  4

Aretha Franklin  3

Anna Ternheim  3

Neko Case  3 - 4

Marvin Gaye  3

Bob Dylan  3 - 4

The Pretenders  3

Jimi Hendrix  3

Van Morrison  3

Sarah McLachlan  3 - 4

The Black Keys  2

Led Zeppelin  2 

Fleetwood Mac  2

The Band  2 - 4

Leon Russell  2

Shook Twins  2

Al Green  2

Neil Young  2

David Bowie  2

My Morning Jacket  2

So, here are the songs that, on average, other listeners agree are the best:

(Note: to average a 9.2, nearly everyone has to agree the song is a '10')

Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower ... 9.2

Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata ... 9.1

The Beatles - You Never Give Me / The End ... 9.0

Dave Brubeck - Take Five ... 9.0

Jimi Hendrix - The Wind Cries Mary ... 8.8

Antonio Vivaldi - The Four Seasons - Spring ... 8.7

Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode ... 8.7

Pink Floyd - Speak To Me / In The Sky ... 8.6

Van Morrison - Into The Mystic ... 8.6

Vince Guaraldi - Linus & Lucy ... 8.6

And, compared to my list (that are all '10s'), these rank worst, on average:

Joni Mitchell - Don Juan's Reckless Daughter ... 5.8

Cocteau Twins - Alice ... 5.8

Joni Mitchell - Black Crow ... 5.8

Dave Matthews Band - Don't Drink The Water -- 5.9

The Band - This Wheel's On Fire -- 6.1

David Byrne - Make Believe Mambo -- 6.1

World Party - Hollywood -- 6.1

Tinariwen - Cler Achel -- 6.3

Natalie Merchant -- This House Is On Fire -- 6.3

Talking Heads -- Totally Nude - 6.3

A few things:

* I listen to the legacy version of Radio Paradise.  This is because my internet connection is not particularly good.

* My '10's tend to be songs with which I'm familiar enough to have established a firm opinion.  So, there are many songs that'll probably end up as a '10' once I've heard them enough.  And, so, they're by definition more recent.

* There are currently many bloggers listing their most listened to music, according to their download site, which keeps track.  Frankly, I prefer to hear a really good DJ playing enormous variety.  This means I rarely get tired of my favorites, and when I hear them they're a surprise.  Plus, I'm constantly hearing new music and artists I wouldn't otherwise be exposed to.  While this exposure is also the case for algorithms at streaming sites, I don't like particular kinds of music, I like good music.

* I've written recently about the main lyricist for the Grateful Dead, Robert Hunter, who passed away last year.  I also ranked Jerry Garcia's top 50 this summer to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his passing.

* Five years ago I ranked my favorite musicians, a list I'm unsurprised to find mirrors my unconscious choices, above.  I then updated it.