This is the time of year when most publications put out top ten lists. “The most glaring trend in these lists is the lack of agreement as to what constituted the best music of the past year, not only among critics but also – especially – between critics and popular tastes (as judged by album sales and radio airplay). Comparing the 10 best albums as ranked by the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, and Amazon.com, one finds that exactly half of the albums mentioned appear only once among the lists. Only one record – Kanye West’s “The College Dropout” – appeared on all of the lists; no other album appeared more than twice.”