Five Elastic Years of infosthetics.com — On the occasion of the recent fifth birthday of infosthetics.com, they thought a bit about the archival nature of the whole enterprise. With (almost) daily updates about fresh projects from visualization and information aesthetics, about 1950 different projects have been described and documented. This is a first step towards making this growing archive more accessible: a custom adaptation of the elastic lists principle for the 1950 posts of infosthetics.com. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Dec 15, 2009 - 2 comments

Rolling Stone's Top 100 Albums/Songs of the decade
posted by Brodiggitty on Dec 10, 2009 - 141 comments

The Noughtie List. A meta-list of "best of" lists for the 2000s decade. A similar meta-list for best of 2009.
posted by stbalbach on Dec 9, 2009 - 58 comments

The A.V. Club's Best of the Decade: Films. Performances. Scenes. Bad Movies. Books. Short Story Collections. Comics. Video Games Music. Metal. Electronic Music. Comedy Albums. Television Series. Television Episodes. Reality Series/Competitions. Made-For-TV Movies/Miniseries. Late-Night Comedy/Talk Shows. One-Season Wonders. And the orphans.
posted by Navelgazer on Dec 3, 2009 - 68 comments

50 Practical tips to save you half a lifetime. Such as the indispensible: "If you think you might be about to be sick, you are about to be sick: run to the loo."
posted by grapefruitmoon on Nov 20, 2009 - 142 comments

We Like Lists Because We Don't Want to Die — Umberto Eco "like[s] lists for the same reason other people like football or pedophilia"
posted by blasdelf on Nov 19, 2009 - 99 comments

Punctuality, privacy, dead time, concentration: all dead or dying at the hands of the Internet, according to this list in the Daily Telegraph.

Only at festivals with no Wi-Fi signals can the gullible be tricked into believing that David Hasslehoff [sic] has passed away. [more inside]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Sep 5, 2009 - 55 comments

The 10 Best Top Ten Food Lists: the most erotic food scenes in movies, the creepiest fast food mascots, Tony Bourdain's nastiest snipes at fellow TV chefs, and more. via
posted by CunningLinguist on Jun 3, 2009 - 36 comments

20 movies which make you wish you'd gone to college from UK flim critic Jo Berry. [more inside]
posted by needled on Apr 11, 2009 - 64 comments

Those of Love(+), those of Sex(+), those of Hearbreak(+), those of People and Places (+), those of Politics and Protest (+). The Guardian's journalists purloin you with "1,000 Songs You Must Hear". The plus links lead to people's outraged suggestions of those that are missing from each category. Perfect for when 10, 100, 500 or 3,000 are just the wrong numbers.
posted by rongorongo on Mar 18, 2009 - 20 comments

Acclaimed Music: The 3000 most recommended albums and songs of all time. [more inside]
posted by not_on_display on Mar 9, 2009 - 43 comments

"Do you like fiction and mathematics? Are you interested in what our society thinks about mathematicians?" [more inside]
posted by Minus215Cee on Feb 27, 2009 - 15 comments

1000 novels worth reading [about], from the Guardian. Part of its ongoing 1000 series: 1000 albums, 1000 films, 1000 artworks. More than a list, it includes sub-articles and paragraph long write-ups of each.
posted by stbalbach on Jan 22, 2009 - 45 comments

In a time of top 10 lists, there are those who aim higher: They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? maintains an annually updated list of the 1,000 greatest films ever made, as well as the 250 greatest of the 21st century. Kevin B. Lee wants to see them all. How many have you seen? (via)
posted by Horace Rumpole on Dec 29, 2008 - 55 comments

The Top Ten Top Ten Top Ten of 2008; NY Times blog, Social Citizens, Swan Fungus, lifehacker, PC World, Tynan, Something Else, The Exploding Barrel, Technorati, Google, Toptentopten.
posted by twoleftfeet on Dec 27, 2008 - 13 comments

It's that meta-time again: Metafilter's own rex's still-growing Fimoculous List of Lists for 2008. Previously on Metafilter: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken on Dec 14, 2008 - 24 comments

With the advent of December comes the annual ranking of the book industry's over-saturated market. Along with the garden variety Best Books of 2008 lists, niche critics weigh in on the best cookbooks (baking and regular), most trustworthy business publications, best children's book illustrations, safest bets for literary holiday gifts, and, of course, the prettiest book covers.
posted by zoomorphic on Dec 1, 2008 - 17 comments

In 2009, a remarkably gifted politician, confronting a remarkably difficult set of challenges, will have to learn to say "No we can't", Guantánamo will prove a moral minefield, economic recovery will be invisible to the naked eye, governments must prepare for the day they stop financial guarantees, we will judge our commitment to sustainability, scientists should research the causes of religion, we will all be potential online paparazzi, English will have more words than any other language (but it's meaningless), Afghanistan will see a surge of Western (read: American) troops, Iran will continue its nuclear quest while diplomacy lies in shambles, the sea floor is the new frontier, we should rethink aging, (non-)voters will continue to thwart the European project -- but cheap travel will continue to buoy it -- though it has some unfinished business to attend to, and a Nordic defence bond will blossom.

The Economist: The World in 2009. [more inside]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Nov 27, 2008 - 31 comments

I often find myself asking, "Who wants to kill me and how can I avoid them?"
It seems that the list is pretty long. There are a whole batch of international threats out to get me. There also appear to be a number of street gangs, happy to do the deed as well. What's worse is that they are spreading. However, since I don't travel abroad and I don't live in a fancy-dancy city like Los Angeles, Chicago or Fargo, I'm probably safe right? Nope, sadly it seems hate groups are everywhere -- in my backyard and probably yours. I think this year I'm having Thanksgiving in the bunker.
posted by BeReasonable on Nov 26, 2008 - 43 comments

It’s been said that if you can’t find what you’re looking for, make it yourself. In searching for a list of lists, these guys noticed a lack of sites that aggregate lists, so Listropolis was born. For example, The 10 Worst Places to Get Caught Having Sex. Some of their lists are a little more useful like 20 Essential Sources for Free HD Videos, or the aptly named 7 Big-Ass Holes in the Earth.
posted by netbros on Nov 15, 2008 - 21 comments

Who's wrecked Britain? A three part list from the Daily Mail. [more inside]
posted by debord on Oct 14, 2008 - 47 comments

What can one learn from the design choices of past games? John Harris discusses different game aspects, 20 games at a time, at Game Design Essentials. You can read on 20 Open World Games (where generally the player is left to his own devices to explore a large world), see your destroyed controllers in a new light with 20 Difficult Games or check out 20 Mysterious Games (that rely on algorithmically-generated content or emphasize secret-hunting), 20 Unusual Control Schemes and 20 Atari Games. What about roguelikes, you say? [more inside]
posted by ersatz on Sep 30, 2008 - 51 comments

Radar Magazine Online's Worst Colleges in America including honors for The Most Degenerate Student Body, the Biggest Rip-off, and Most Intolerant.
posted by longsleeves on Aug 23, 2008 - 91 comments

No option to see how many of these you can guess in five minutes, but that's the only thing missing from this list of 80 things that make men cry (includes a link back to the original list of the top 10). No mention of Field of Dreams, strangely.
posted by SportsFan on Aug 8, 2008 - 105 comments

The Greatest Frontmen of Rock
The Greatest Acoustic Guitar Albums
The Greatest Punk Rock Songs
The Greatest Britpop Artists
The Greatest 'Live' Blues Albums
The Top 10 Songs by the Greatest Jazz Artists
The 50 Greatest Classical Tone Poems
The Greatest Glam/Hair Metal Songs
The Greatest Country Love Songs
The Top 100 Songs of 1967
The Greatest Underrated Rock Artists
The Greatest Girl-Group Songs
The Greatest Rap/Hip-Hop Lyricists/Emcees

The World's 50 Best Works of Art (and how to see them) in the opinion of critic Martin Gayford. [more inside]
posted by paduasoy on Mar 9, 2008 - 39 comments

The Best Sandwiches in America Esquire magazine lists the very best examples of many very delicious sandwiches nationwide.
posted by jonson on Feb 12, 2008 - 86 comments

The 25 Greatest Duets Of All Time (with embedded YouTube videos of each) from retroCRUSH. Duets, by nature, are a corny type of song. Sure, there's a handful that we recognize here that are also some of best tunes ever recorded, but there's something inherently cheesy and fun about duets that make them a fun guilty pleasure for millions to enjoy.
posted by amyms on Jan 26, 2008 - 67 comments

18 stunning bridges from around the world. (via Mira y Calla) [more inside]
posted by madamjujujive on Jan 20, 2008 - 95 comments

Photos of payphones from around the world. More international payphone photos. Stylized payphones from Brazil. Seen enough photos? Then perhaps you'd like to start calling some of them? [more inside]
posted by Effigy2000 on Jan 2, 2008 - 11 comments

Jon Swift asked everyone on his blogroll to pick what they considered their best post of 07-- ...There are posts on politics by liberals, conservatives and moderates, posts on movies, music, television, books, economics, health care, science, sports, religion and history, personal stories and slices of life, poetry, prose, pictures and video. Some are very funny, some are quite serious, some will make you angry and some will make you say "Huh?" ...
posted by amberglow on Dec 28, 2007 - 12 comments

Indiewire put out their second annual film critic's poll recently. There Will Be Blood tops the list, with Zodiac, No Country for Old Men, Syndromes and a Century, and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days following behind. [more inside]
posted by Weebot on Dec 28, 2007 - 40 comments

The best music of 2007 according to Stereogum, Pitchfork, All Music, NME, PopMatters, The A.V. Club, Rolling Stone, TIME, MTV, the Guardian, eMusic, Amazon, Spin Magazine, Q, Largehearted Boy, and more. Among the most frequently listed are Radiohead, Spoon, Arcade Fire, Of Montreal, Feist, and The National.
posted by Soup on Dec 18, 2007 - 68 comments

Lists of Bests. Track your progress through "Best of lists.." of movies, books, etc.. add your own lists, compare your progress with others.
posted by stbalbach on Dec 6, 2007 - 11 comments

In 2008, China will fail to ride the Olympics wave and improve its worldwide image, the US will vote mainly on health (barring a terrorist attack or a recession), usher in a period of pragmatic caution and toast to it over a nice Merlot, the culture wars will go global, Israel may decide that it must act alone against Iran, African gangs will prosper, UK politics will be re-established as a spectator sport, we will finally quit oil - and want yet more of it, the potato will make a comeback, an island will be moved for the sake of the Euro, we will rush to give for free what others charge for, U will HAV CASH, robots will explore the seas of Earth, which is round, by the way, pigs will fly, and we will like totally love it (don't we?).

The Economist: The World in 2008. [more inside]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Nov 28, 2007 - 33 comments

Top 101 Cities Lists (in the US)
posted by graventy on Nov 6, 2007 - 48 comments

The Minor History of Giant Spheres is an illustrated timeline of, well, giant spheres, including the spherical republic of KugelMugel and the great Darwin Twineball. Also online is the Minor History of Miniature Writing, and the related timeline of timelines [prev.].
posted by blahblahblah on Nov 5, 2007 - 26 comments

For those times when MeFi isn't enough on its own: Google Reader has just started showing the number of subscribers to various blogs, adding hard numbers to the existing top blog listings, which use links to measure popularity. Here is a detailed comparison between TechMeme's Top 100 and actual subscribers, as well as a list of top blogs by subscriber in a neat embedded spreadsheet. They offer a good way to find interesting things to read.
posted by blahblahblah on Oct 15, 2007 - 28 comments

These were the times of your life. The genesis of 16 magazine. Legs McNeil starts PUNK magazine. Henry Mancini pens the Pink Panther Theme? The Flaming Lips play Beverly Hills 90210? Pink Floyds performance at Live 8. Gene Autry? Pavarotti? King Sunny Ade? The Archies! Fugazi! WXPN's 885 Most Memorable Musical Moments, in progress now. You can listen to the stream here
posted by SPUTNIK on Oct 2, 2007 - 25 comments

Why stop at one great undiscovered site when you can have 100? PC Magazine released its top 100 undiscovered websites for 2007 which you can view as a slideshow or download as bookmarks. There are some cool new sites that would be postworthy in themselves, such as: Footnote, which has digitized millions of national archive documents; WebsiteGrader, which automatically tells you how good your website is (MeFi gets a 98%); Rentometer, which compares your rent to others in the neighborhood; and Yapta, which lets you take advantage of airline policies that refund part of your ticket when prices drop. Many others have been covered on the blue, but are still worth revisiting such as OldVersions.com for finding software before the bloat, the video how-to site VideoJug, and Zamzar for conversion between file formats. If you can't get enough, check out the 100 classic websites.
posted by blahblahblah on Aug 30, 2007 - 22 comments

100 Sites TED thinks you need to know about TED (Technology Entertainment Design) is an annual conference held in Monterey, California and recently, semi-annually in other cities around the world. TED describes itself as a "group of remarkable people that gather to exchange ideas of incalculable value". These are the sites that it thinks you should know about.
posted by psmealey on Aug 4, 2007 - 25 comments

Best (or Worst) Pickup Lines Ever. Other useful lists on this site include: Things nobody can like, Why I hate implants, Petite phrases that pack a punch, How to tell if your boyfriend is cheating and everyone's favorite, my favorite sex blogs
posted by psmealey on Jul 21, 2007 - 44 comments

Essentalist explanations. Maintained by John Cowan, this list boils down dozens of languages, real, invented, and imaginary, to their pithy essences. "Japanese is essentially 16th-century Chinese, 17th-century Portuguese, 18th-century Dutch, 19th-century French and 20th-century English with an abhorrence of consonant clusters." "Esperanto is essentially Spanish with extra 'x's and 'k's." "Klingon is essentially Arabic spoken through a set of bulky false teeth." "English is essentially a half dozen other languages locked in a small room. They fight."
posted by escabeche on Jun 25, 2007 - 37 comments

50 Things You Need to Know by 50
By Kirk Douglas, Donald Trump, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,
Suze Orman, Henry Winkler, Kathy Ireland, Al Roker,
Wolf Blitzer, Engelbert Humperdinck…and more
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Jun 7, 2007 - 66 comments

Hey! Isn't that the guy from that movie? The 20 best "that guys" of all time -- according to Cracked. (via)
posted by fallenposters on May 30, 2007 - 157 comments

I am inspired by YesButNoButYes's 2006 List of Lists of Lists, which rightfully includes Fimoculous' List of Lists and The list of McSweeney's Lists, but missed BestWeekEver's 10 Best Lists (ironically only #7 of their 10 Best 10 Best Lists) and Alternet's (less political than usual) Ten Best Top-Ten Lists. I would have put these in numerical order, but you all would have killed me for it. There's also the perennial (Not Necessarily Canonical) List of Canonical Lists, and while not thoroughly Meta, I loved Valleywag's Top Ten Rules for a Top Ten List (ironically under-Digged) and Letterman's Top Ten Signs You Are Not One Of The Most Fascinating People Of 2006 (of which, only #4 applies to me) via Miss C. who also compiled the first list and who I am NOT cyberstalking, honest!
posted by wendell on Jan 2, 2007 - 19 comments

Long before 2006 you could probably make a convincing argument that the music video has outlived its purpose; however, musicblogger docopenhagen's list of the top 50 music videos of 2006 has some excellent inclusions, and hopefully something for even the most jaded viewer. My threefavorites.
posted by jonson on Dec 7, 2006 - 19 comments

In 2007 there will be lots of anniversaries, the web will keep killing the television star, the popcorn will taste familiar, humankind will come closer still to achieving immortality, and text messaging will conquer Africa. And although the spread of democracy is stalling (don't worry however - the Swedes still win (pdf)), it's still down to George Bush.

The Economist: The World in 2007.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Dec 2, 2006 - 38 comments

Why is Miss Congeniality the most frequently rated DVD on Netflix? Database magic reveals the most contentious movies ever.
posted by muckster on Oct 26, 2006 - 52 comments

101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived is a book chronicling the most impactful (non-religious) fictional characters throughout history. While they only tease with the first 50 characters on the book's homepage, the hard hitting investigative journalists at USA Today have uncovered the entire 101 for your arguing enjoyment.
posted by jonson on Oct 25, 2006 - 101 comments