Preamble

I make lists.  Mostly, I make "best of" music lists.  I am not alone.  People like lists.  VH1 knows this and so does the New York Times.  Some people make lists of bad things or "worst of" lists, but most lists are good things or "best of" lists.  There are lists of best bands, best records, best CDs, best performances, and best songs just to name of few of the most popular (best?) lists of music bests.

The simple list is a pure ranking, sometimes with no words (or few words) to justify the order.  There is always much with which one may wish to quibble.  I wish to quibble.  I wish for others who wish to quibble to have fresh fodder for quibbling.  The Nothing But Good Things blog will be dedicated to popular and unpopular music "best of" lists of all types.  Some lists will be critics' lists, while others will be chart lists or radio station lists, and some will be individual lists, including some of my own.

Most of my own lists are lists of the best CDs of the year and lists of the best songs of the decade.  I've posted some of these lists elsewhere, but never in a spot where public comments would be possible.  Time will tell if the public wishes to comment, and, in doing so, prove or disprove my theory of a pent up demand for quibbling.

Most list, inlcuding my own, are "best of" lists, but some are not.  Some of my lists are iTunes playlists, which become mix CDs.  Since 1998, I've been making a series of mix CDs called Nothing But Good Things.  As of the beginning of 2011, I was up to Nothing But Good Things #45.  The ordering of the tracks on these CDs follows free form radio conventions rather than the conventions of ranking a best of list.  Nonetheless, mix tapes and mix CDs are a unique form of music lists and will also get some attention here (probably not right away, but eventually).

As Casey Kasem would say "keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars."