NOTE: There is a LOT of text here. If you want a cliffs notes version, go here.
A year ago, I embarked on perhaps the biggest undertaking I've ever encountered on ATRL. I had no idea what I was in for when I made my first post in the
Top 100 Songs of the 20th Century thread. Dozens of lists came in and surprised me greatly with the amount of quality songs on each personal list. The overall top 100 is one of the greatest lists in terms of quality music that ATRL has ever produced. Sure, there were a few questionable choices, but there are questionable choices in EVERY thread of its ilk. It's the nature of the beast.
I've always wanted to try another big idea, but real life forced its way into the equation and, eventually, pushed me off of ATRL for a while. But I've got some free time right now, and I feel like now is as good of a time as any to embark on my next big ATRL project/countdown. I've always been interested in the history of American chart toppers. You can trace nearly every major moment in music history to the top of the Billboard Hot 100: Beatlemania, Flower Power, Disco, New Wave, the Era of the Diva, Teen Pop, The Latin Movement, the Early 2000's Rap/Hip Hop Dynasty, the Later 2000's Dance Pop Craze, and...whatever the hell this era is. Some of the songs to top the Hot 100 are legendary tunes, among the most beloved sogns of all time. Others are a product of their era, songs that only would have topped the charts during that particular period. And then, there are others that defy description, songs that hit the top of the Hot 100 despite being in an era dominated by another sound. Regardless of where your favorite #1 fits, it still topped the charts in the most fiercely competitive music market on the planet.
And that's where this countdown comes in. From the start of the Hot 100 to today, you, the ATRL member, are going to help to decide ATRL's Top 100 Billboard Hot 100 #1s. And I'm not restricting this to "The 20th Century". This is an "all-time" list. That means that this list is going to include songs from 2000 on. Yes, that means that songs from 2013 can make the list, as well. But don't just think that there's no ground rules...because of course there are. It wouldn't be a Red countdown without some rules, after all.
- Unlike the last big countdown, where I limited the amount of songs per artist that you could vote for to two, I'm being even more restrictive for this countdown, given that there's less songs to work with and less artists. As such,
I am limiting the amount of songs per artist that you are allowed to vote for to one. That's right, one song per artist. Not only does this stress creativity on your part, but it also ensures (at least I hope) that this list will not be absolutely DOMINATED by either the all-time big artists or the big ATRL artists (though I do expect big support for both).
- Despite this,
there will be no limit on the amount of times an artist can appear on this list. As with the 20th Century countdown, the only time that a limit will be considered is if a few artists make up the majority of the top 100 (ie. Artists that have 10+ #1s, such as Mariah, The Beatles, Michael, Rihanna, Whitney, Janet, etc). I doubt this will occur, though, given the first rule.
-
Any song to hit #1 on the Hot 100 since its inception in 1958 can be placed on your lists. That means that EVERY #1 song, from Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool" to Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines", is eligible. Now, this does mean that
songs from 1955 to 1958 (aka the birth of Rock N' Roll) are omitted. This means no Elvis #1s from the pre-Hot 100 days, this means no "Rock Around the Clock", and so on. There are still other Elvis songs to vote for, though, so it's not a total loss.
- Now, these next two are the big ones, the rules that are going to inspire at least some controversy. I understand that, for some of you, you only really know songs from the 90's onward. I get that and understand it. However, with a list like this that spans music from seven different decades, I would hope that you could include music from before the 90's. I will not force you to list songs from decades you're not familiar with, though, so if you only know music from the 90's on, you can list songs from the 90's and 2000's. But there is one thing that I am doing that some of you probably won't like.
I am forbidding the act of limiting your lists to just one decade of music. This means that you are NOT allowed to limit your list to only songs from the 2000's, or only songs from the 90's, or only songs from the 80's, and so on. You have to have songs on your list from (at the very least) two different decades. And before somebody freaks out,
I'm counting the 2000's and 2010's as one whole decade, given that the 2010's is only a couple of years old.
- Also, while you are allowed to vote for songs in at least two different decades, this does not mean that you're allowed to vote for, say, 19 songs from the 2000's and only one from the 90's.
The maximum amount of songs allowed for a single decade on your lists is twelve. I went back and forth on the number allowed, but I decided that anything less than twelve is a bit too restrictive. This means that, if you do limit your voting to two decades, at the absolute most, you can vote for, say, twelve 2000's songs, while you'd then have to vote for eight songs from the 90's or whatever other decade you prefer. Of course, this limit also applies if you include #1s from more than two decades. The important thing to note is this:
You are allowed to vote for, at the most, twelve songs for any given decade. That's it.
I must stress that these rules are subject to change. NONE of these rules are set in stone until the list begins. Feel free to offer suggestions on improving or even adding to the ground rules. ANY way to improve this top 100 is a way I'm willing to listen to.
And now, the most important part: the voting itself. If you didn't already guess, as with the 20th Century countdown,
I'm going to ask for top 20s, ranked 1 to 20, with 1 being your favorite, 2 being your second favorite, and so on.
I need you to send your top 20s to me via PM by no later than Wednesday, July 10th at 11:59pm EDT. As with the last countdown, the date and time are subject to change, but I doubt it will, so do not hesitate to send in your top 20s.
With all of that said (and boy, was it ever a lot to type), let the Hot 100 madness (and rankings) commence!
(One final note: The banner is coming soon. I did have one ready, but it doesn't look very good, trust me.)
Opening Post/Rules
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