Official Metallica top 50 Countdown Thread!! (Top 2 featured!!!!!)

[axeman90210]

My list, those that didn't place bolded:

1   Fade to Black
2   Master of Puppets
3   One
4   Creeping Death
5   Battery
6   To Live Is to Die
7   Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
8   Blackened
9   The Outlaw Torn
10   The Four Horseman
11   For Whom the Bell Tolls
12   Damage Inc
13   Dyers Eve
14   Disposable Heroes
15   Sad But True
16   Bleeding Me
17   Orion
18   Spit Out the Bone
19   The Unforgiven
20   Hero of the Day
21   King Nothing
22   Hit the Lights
23   Leper Messiah
24   Fight Fire with Fire
25   Harvester of Sorrow
26   No Leaf Clover
27   Seek & Destroy
28   ...And Justice for All
29   Until It Sleeps
30   The Unnamed Feeling
31   Enter Sandman
32   Nothing Else Matters
33   My Friend of Misery
34   The God That Failed
35   The Call of Ktulu
36   The House That Jack Built
37   All Nightmare Long
38   Halo on Fire
39   Fixxxer
40   Sweet Amber
41   Devil's Dance
42   Fuel
43   The Memory Remains
44   Ride the Lightning
45   Some Kind of Monster
46   The Unforgiven III
47   The Day That Never Comes
48   Wherever I May Roam
49   Mama Said
50   Trapped Under Ice

[DTwwbwMP]

50 The Outlaw Torn
49 Until It Sleeps
48 The Memory Remains
47 The Day That Never Comes
46 Attitude
45 Hardwired
44 The Unnamed Feeling
43 My Apocalypse
42 The Judas Kiss
41 Shoot Me Again
40 The End of the Line
39 Moth into Flame
38 Devil's Dance
37 All Nightmare Long
36 Frantic
35 Broken, Beat & Scarred
34 2 X 4
33 Atlas, Rise!
32 Through the Never
31 Wasting My Hate
30 The Unforgiven II
29 The Frayed Ends of Sanity
28 Nothing Else Matters
27 Carpe Diem Baby
26 Ain't My Bitch
25 Hero of the Day
24 Fuel
23 Creeping Death
22 Sad But True
21 The Four Horseman
20 The Shortest Straw
19 Wherever I May Roam
18 The Unforgiven
17 Cyanide
16 Enter Sandman
15 Bleeding Me
14 The Struggle Within
13 Battery
12 Thorn Within
11 The Thing That Should Not Be
10 Blackened
09 Harvester of Sorrow
08 King Nothing
07 Leper Messiah
06 Fade to Black
05 …And Justice for All
04 Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
03 For Whom the Bell Tolls
02 One
01 Master of Puppets

[jammindude]

My list:


1   Master of Puppets
2   Creeping Death
3   …And Justice For All
4   Ride the Lightning
5   Battery
6   Leper Messiah
7   The Thing That Should Not Be
8   The Four Horseman
9   Blackened
10   Damage Inc.
11   For Whom the Bell Tolls
12   Orion
13   One
14   Fight Fire With Fire
15   The Frayed Ends of Sanity
16   (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth
17   Trapped Under Ice
18   No Remorse
19   Some Kind of Monster
20   Whiplash
21   Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
22   Fade to Black
23   Disposable Heroes
24   Sad But True
25   Hardwired
26   Jump in the Fire
27   The Call of Ktulu
28   Of Wolf and Man
29   My World
30   Eye of the Beholder
31   Enter Sandman
32   Fuel
33   King Nothing
34   The Shortest Straw
35   Lords of Summer
36   Dirty Window
37   Harvester of Sorrow
38   That Was Just Your Life
39   Broken, Beat & Scarred
40   Hit the Lights
41   Seek and Destroy
42   All Nightmare Long
43   Motorbreath
44   Escape
45   Ain’t My Bitch
46   Dyers Eve
47   Moth Into Flame
48   Atlas, Rise!
49   Spit Out the Bone
50   Sweet Amber

[Dream Team]

This was entertaining. Thanks, Kev. Since Maiden is done I doubt there will be anymore I get to partake in, but I dug this.

Hey man I still think we'd love to see you post a top 50 in the Maiden thread. I know you're an old-school fan who loves Killers so I imagine there would be songs on your list getting some love that maybe don't much love elsewhere.

[jammindude]

Did you guys know that the Rush top 75 was almost a year ago?

I think that’s the most overdue. And I’ll bet someone a lunch at the reasonably priced restaurant of their choice that Subdivisions doesn’t repeat its #1 appearance.

[Stadler]

This was entertaining. Thanks, Kev. Since Maiden is done I doubt there will be anymore I get to partake in, but I dug this.

Hey man I still think we'd love to see you post a top 50 in the Maiden thread. I know you're an old-school fan who loves Killers so I imagine there would be songs on your list getting some love that maybe don't much love elsewhere.

I'd second that; that would be something of interest.

[Mladen]

I would also be interested in a Rush countdown. Especially since I honestly have no idea what my favorite songs are, it would be a surprise for me as well. 

[billboy73]

What's everyone's top 3 that didn't make the list, that they really wish had?

I'll start...

Mine were No Leaf Clover, The Unforgiven III and Hit the Lights.

The S&M No Leaf Clover performance is so good, and I've always loved the song. I've never heard them play it live but as there's no studio version, I think I'd find any performance without an orchestra would be lacking.

The Unforgiven III, I thought was generally more loved than the second one, but I was proven wrong here. It's definitely a highlight on Death Magnetic and I think it rounds off the Unforgiven trilogy nicely.

Hit the Lights, well it all starts here doesn't it. I love it as an I tro track. OK, they wrote better album openers, but this is a great statement of intent.

If you'd asked me if these three would make the top 50 before we started I'd have said yes to all three.

I would say Devil's Dance (26), Judas Kiss (30), and That Was Just Your Life (34).

I was pretty sure That Was Just Your Life was making the list.  I was thinking Devil's Dance would slip in there.  I was right that Judas probably wouldn't make it, but these are 3 great Metallica songs in my book.

[pg1067]

Did you guys know that the Rush top 75 was almost a year ago?

I think that’s the most overdue. And I’ll bet someone a lunch at the reasonably priced restaurant of their choice that Subdivisions doesn’t repeat its #1 appearance.

I was surprised when Kev said the DT countdown was from 2021.

[Animal]

Thanks for all the thanks (already said or still coming, so I don't have to say it again ).

Thanks Kev!!!! Fantastic job, as always.  These are exceedingly fun for me, even when I'm not 100% invested in the band.  I deeply regret not participating in the Dream Theater one, now, in hindsight.  Wanna run it again? 

I have already been considering it. We did the top 100 at the end of 2021, but A View... was not used, and I think doing it again would be fun with that included, and I think a lot more people would participate now than did then, so it could be interesting to see how different it turns out.

I'm all in, and I've not looked at the previous list (and WON'T) to make sure mine is a fresh perspective.  I don't need to look at the list to know I can guarantee you I will have at least two songs in my top 10 that are head scratchers to most of the group.

I am still a noob but I have known about your reputation - and after this thread, I have to say that any countdown without your perspective" would be considerably less interesting. I really enjoy hot takes.
 ( Although on a further reflection,I would actually propose that from now on, a term "Stadler's perspective" should be used when a simple "hot take" feels insufficient:)

[KevShmev]

I was surprised when Kev said the DT countdown was from 2021.

It started on 12/27/2021.   So, technically 2021-2022.

I think that one will be much more interesting to redo simply because of the new addition of the new songs and a lot more people likely to do it (25 people did that, as it was the first). 

[Animal]

Thanks to Kev for running this one.

Looking at the final results, I had an inkling that Master of Puppets might be the most unanimously loved countdown winner so far, so I calculated so called "victory score" - and Master Puppets really is n. 1, even ahead of Learning to Live, Stairway to Heaven or Hallowed Be Thy Name. (Victory score of 100 means the song would be n. 1 on everyone's list)


The list of the coundown winners so far with their victory scores:


Master of Puppets - 89.8
Learning to Live - 89.1
Stairway to Heaven - 88.1
Hallowed Be Thy Name - 88.0
Arriving Somewhere but Not Here - 84.9
The Eleventh Hour  - 84
Subdivisions - 83.3
Eyes of a Stranger - 79.3
Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love - 73.4
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant - 69.7

[Stadler]

Thanks to Kev for running this one.

Looking at the final results, I had an inkling that Master of Puppets might be the most unanimously loved countdown winner so far, so I calculated so called "victory score" - and Master Puppets really is n. 1, even ahead of Learning to Live, Stairway to Heaven or Hallowed Be Thy Name. (Victory score of 100 means the song would be n. 1 on everyone's list)


The list of the coundown winners so far with their victory scores:


Master of Puppets - 89.8
Learning to Live - 89.1
Stairway to Heaven - 88.1
Hallowed Be Thy Name - 88.0
Arriving Somewhere but Not Here - 84.9
The Eleventh Hour  - 84
Subdivisions - 83.3
Eyes of a Stranger - 79.3
Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love - 73.4
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant - 69.7

HA!  I only have one of those on my lists (Stairway, and it's fucking Stairway to Heaven for god's sake!) 

[nobloodyname]

The fuck?! How could you not have Hallowed on your list?!?!?!

[DragonAttack]

Kev......  any chance you'll be listing the participants and their 'scores' as you did with the Billy Joel countdown?

Also, if you have a few moments, and care to still 'reminisce' on this countdown,.......  I'm curious as to the VOTES the top five or ten songs that did not make the list received.

Thanks in advance.

[pg1067]

The list of the coundown winners so far with their victory scores:


Master of Puppets - 89.8
Learning to Live - 89.1
Stairway to Heaven - 88.1
Hallowed Be Thy Name - 88.0
Arriving Somewhere but Not Here - 84.9
The Eleventh Hour  - 84
Subdivisions - 83.3
Eyes of a Stranger - 79.3
Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love - 73.4
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant - 69.7

What do the numbers represent?

Thanks to Kev for running this one.

Looking at the final results, I had an inkling that Master of Puppets might be the most unanimously loved countdown winner so far, so I calculated so called "victory score" - and Master Puppets really is n. 1, even ahead of Learning to Live, Stairway to Heaven or Hallowed Be Thy Name. (Victory score of 100 means the song would be n. 1 on everyone's list)


The list of the coundown winners so far with their victory scores:


Master of Puppets - 89.8
Learning to Live - 89.1
Stairway to Heaven - 88.1
Hallowed Be Thy Name - 88.0
Arriving Somewhere but Not Here - 84.9
The Eleventh Hour  - 84
Subdivisions - 83.3
Eyes of a Stranger - 79.3
Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love - 73.4
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant - 69.7

HA!  I only have one of those on my lists (Stairway, and it's fucking Stairway to Heaven for god's sake!) 

I think you mean is that only one of the above was your #1 song on your list, not that you didn't have the songs on your list.  Right?  I didn't go back through every countdown, but you had Scenes at #2 on your Bill Joel list (and you didn't participate in the Fates Warning countdown).

[Animal]

To pg1067:

It is the ratio of points the song actually scored/the maximum points a song could theoretically score in a given countdown (if everyone had it as as. n. 1). Expressed as a percentage.   

Case in point: Master of Puppets: it scored 1526 points while the maximum amount of points available was 1700.

 (1526/1700)×100 = 89,8   

[El Barto]

This was entertaining. Thanks, Kev. Since Maiden is done I doubt there will be anymore I get to partake in, but I dug this.

Hey man I still think we'd love to see you post a top 50 in the Maiden thread. I know you're an old-school fan who loves Killers so I imagine there would be songs on your list getting some love that maybe don't much love elsewhere.

That'll take some time. Looks like ~150 songs to sort out, after eliminating most of what I know what wouldn't make the cut. Whole lot of ranking.

What I can tell you is that my Maiden list would look a lot like my Metallica list. Most people's lists favored one era over another, be it thrash, TBA, or the Load/Reload stuff. My top ten came from 7 albums ranging from their first to their most recent. Maiden would probably wind up the same way, with Dianno, Bruce, and Blaze all doing pretty well. I can certainly see songs form Killers to AMoLaD making the top 10.

[pg1067]

To pg1067:

It is the ratio of points the song actually scored/the maximum points a song could theoretically score in a given countdown (if everyone had it as as. n. 1). Expressed as a percentage.   

Case in point: Master of Puppets: it scored 1526 points while the maximum amount of points available was 1700.

 (1526/1700)×100 = 89,8

 

[KevShmev]

Kev......  any chance you'll be listing the participants and their 'scores' as you did with the Billy Joel countdown?

Also, if you have a few moments, and care to still 'reminisce' on this countdown,.......  I'm curious as to the VOTES the top five or ten songs that did not make the list received.

Thanks in advance.

Here we go.  Here is how many songs each person who submitted a list had in their top 50 that also made the cumulative top 50.

I am sure someone will tell me I was off by one on theirs or something , but I eyeballed these just now and it looks right.

Zoom E 44
Tomislav95 42
nobloodyname 42
Adami 42
Duetsch Dream Dates 41
The Realm 40
axeman90210 40
twosuitsluke 40
KevShmev 40
kipkjustm 40
faizoff 39
pg1067 39
billboy73 39
Zydar 39
TheCountOfNYC 39
Mladen 38
cfmoran13 38
wolfking 37
NoFred 37
Deadeye21 37
Animal 37
DTA 36
WardySI 35
Metropolaris 35
WilliamMunny 35
jammindude 34 
Dave_Manchester 33
El Barto 33
TAC 33
Dream Team 33
DragonAttack 31
dtwwbwMP 30
devieira73 28
Stadler 25

[NoFred]

To pg1067:

It is the ratio of points the song actually scored/the maximum points a song could theoretically score in a given countdown (if everyone had it as as. n. 1). Expressed as a percentage.   

Case in point: Master of Puppets: it scored 1526 points while the maximum amount of points available was 1700.

 (1526/1700)×100 = 89,8

This is an easy to grasp metric that’s useful for seeing how close any two songs are, would be cool to have this along with # of lists and highest rank when songs are posted.

[Zydar]

I would definitely participate in a new DT countdown since I wasn't aware of this thing when it originally was run. Same thing with Rush.

[Tomislav95]

Here's my full list:

1   Fade to Black
2   Harvester of Sorrow
3   Blackened
4   Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
5   …And Justice for All
6   For Whom the Bell Tolls
7   Master of Puppets
8   The Four Horseman
9   The Unforgiven
10   One
11   Wherever I May Roam
12   Orion
13   Leper Messiah
14   Nothing Else Matters
15   Battery
16   Eye of the Beholder
17   The God That Failed
18   Damage Inc.
19   Until It Sleeps
20   Sad But True
21   Creeping Death
22   Through the Never
23   Don't Tread On Me
24   The Unforgiven II
25   Dyers Eve
26   Seek & Destroy
27   To Live Is to Die
28   King Nothing
29   The Frayed Ends of Sanity
30   The Call of Ktulu
31   Ride the Lightning
32   The Day That Never Comes
33   The Memory Remains
34   Hit the Lights
35   Fight Fire with Fire
36   No Remorse
37   St. Anger
38   Disposable Heroes
39   The Thing That Should Not Be
40   Escape
41   Trapped Under Ice
42   Now That We're Dead
43   All Nightmare Long
44   Moth into Flame
45   Fuel
46   Bleeding Me
47   No Leaf Clover
48   The Outlaw Torn
49   My Friend of Misery
50   Enter Sandman

[Animal]

To pg1067:

It is the ratio of points the song actually scored/the maximum points a song could theoretically score in a given countdown (if everyone had it as as. n. 1). Expressed as a percentage.   

Case in point: Master of Puppets: it scored 1526 points while the maximum amount of points available was 1700.

 (1526/1700)×100 = 89,8

This is an easy to grasp metric that’s useful for seeing how close any two songs are, would be cool to have this along with # of lists and highest rank when songs are posted.

Not sure how many people would be really interested in having this as a regular countdown feature (not to mention it would be even more work for Kev). But in a group like DTF, you will always have some numbers and statistics loving folks. That's why I put the numbers here. I don't know about others but I always look for big point gaps in an complete list Kev posts. It is just interesting to see those huge leaps of popularity as you move up and down the list.

On a related note, I would be definitely in for a new DT countdown.

[SomeoneLikeHim]

Thanks to Kev for running this one.

Looking at the final results, I had an inkling that Master of Puppets might be the most unanimously loved countdown winner so far, so I calculated so called "victory score" - and Master Puppets really is n. 1, even ahead of Learning to Live, Stairway to Heaven or Hallowed Be Thy Name. (Victory score of 100 means the song would be n. 1 on everyone's list)


The list of the coundown winners so far with their victory scores:


Master of Puppets - 89.8
Learning to Live - 89.1
Stairway to Heaven - 88.1
Hallowed Be Thy Name - 88.0
Arriving Somewhere but Not Here - 84.9
The Eleventh Hour  - 84
Subdivisions - 83.3
Eyes of a Stranger - 79.3
Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love - 73.4
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant - 69.7

I like the stats but I think this metric is biased towards the songs that featured in larger countdowns.

For example, let's say we have 5 participants and a song finishes 1st, 2nd, 5th, 20th and 60th on these five lists. If the countdown was a top 25 (like the Billy Joel one), the song would score 25+24+21+6 = 86 out of 125 maximum, so (86/125)*100 = 68.8 victory score.

If the countdown was instead a top 100 (like the DT one) the song would score 100+99+96+81+41 = 417 out of 500 maximum, so (417/500)*100 = 83.4. This is because scores are relatively closer at the top in a big countdown.

So if this was to be a fair measurement I think that Learning to Live would be significantly lower and Scenes from an Italian Restaurant would be significantly higher. One way to come closer to this could be to score every song as if it was a top 100 (100p for first etc.). This would instead put the small list songs at a slight disadvantage as all placements outside the original list scope would still be 0 but nothing is perfect.

Maybe the most fair would actually be to calculate them all in accordance with the smallest list, so making everything a top 25.

Statistics rant over. I really appreciate all the extra stats and discussions in all of these threads. Makes it really fun to read even when I'm not participating myself!

[Stadler]

The fuck?! How could you not have Hallowed on your list?!?!?!

Not as Number One. 

My Maiden top five:
5. Hallowed Be Thy Name
4. Journeyman
3. Total Eclipse
2. Another Life
1. The Number Of The Beast

I just think "Number" is their most iconic song.  I watched them torch the place in Hartford on the first leg of the Legacy tour; you could feel the building shaking during that song, and you could feel the heat from the pyro on stage and I was easily 20 rows back. 

I think you mean is that only one of the above was your #1 song on your list, not that you didn't have the songs on your list.  Right?  I didn't go back through every countdown, but you had Scenes at #2 on your Bill Joel list (and you didn't participate in the Fates Warning countdown).

Yes, this is correct. I had:

Master of Puppets - 65
Learning to Live - Did not participate (I will in a redo; I estimate it will be somewhere in the 5 to 15 range)
Stairway to Heaven - 1
Hallowed Be Thy Name - 5
Arriving Somewhere but Not Here - Did not participate (I don't know who this is)
The Eleventh Hour  - Did not participate (I don't know who this is)
Subdivisions - 4
Eyes of a Stranger - 5
Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love - 16
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant - 2

[Stadler]

Zoom E 44
Tomislav95 42
nobloodyname 42
Adami 42
Duetsch Dream Dates 41
The Realm 40
axeman90210 40
twosuitsluke 40
KevShmev 40
kipkjustm 40
faizoff 39
pg1067 39
billboy73 39
Zydar 39
TheCountOfNYC 39
Mladen 38
cfmoran13 38
wolfking 37
NoFred 37
Deadeye21 37
Animal 37
DTA 36
WardySI 35
Metropolaris 35
WilliamMunny 35
jammindude 34 
Dave_Manchester 33
El Barto 33
TAC 33
Dream Team 33
DragonAttack 31
dtwwbwMP 30
devieira73 28
Stadler 25

What did I ever do to you?  I put the list in reverse order.  I don't duplicate.   

(I'm kidding; I'm not proud of it, but I own it). 

[pg1067]

Yes, this is correct. I had:

Master of Puppets - 65
Learning to Live - Did not participate (I will in a redo; I estimate it will be somewhere in the 5 to 15 range)
Stairway to Heaven - 1
Hallowed Be Thy Name - 5
Arriving Somewhere but Not Here - Did not participate (I don't know who this is)
The Eleventh Hour  - Did not participate (I don't know who this is)
Subdivisions - 4
Eyes of a Stranger - 5
Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love - 16
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant - 2

The highlighted is from the Fates Warning countdown that I ran back in October or so.  If you're not familiar, do yourself a favor and check them out.  I was surprised by a few things, including that 8 albums were represented in the top 15.  The top album in the countdown (by a pretty wide margin) was Parallels (1991).  A Pleasant Shade of Gray (1997) finished 2nd.  It's a concept album and potentially a bit hard to get into, so probably not the place to start.  Theories of Flight (2016) and Inside Out (1994) tied for third.

[nobloodyname]

The fuck?! How could you not have Hallowed on your list?!?!?!

Not as Number One. 

My Maiden top five:
5. Hallowed Be Thy Name
4. Journeyman
3. Total Eclipse
2. Another Life
1. The Number Of The Beast

I just think "Number" is their most iconic song.  I watched them torch the place in Hartford on the first leg of the Legacy tour; you could feel the building shaking during that song, and you could feel the heat from the pyro on stage and I was easily 20 rows back. 

Ah! I thought it meant you hadn't included the song at all. In which case, there's being an edge lord and being an edge lord.

[KevShmev]

What did I ever do to you?  I put the list in reverse order.  I don't duplicate.   

(I'm kidding; I'm not proud of it, but I own it).

No worries, you're a fellow T Swift fan, so I cut you a lot of slack.

[Animal]

Thanks to Kev for running this one.

Looking at the final results, I had an inkling that Master of Puppets might be the most unanimously loved countdown winner so far, so I calculated so called "victory score" - and Master Puppets really is n. 1, even ahead of Learning to Live, Stairway to Heaven or Hallowed Be Thy Name. (Victory score of 100 means the song would be n. 1 on everyone's list)


The list of the coundown winners so far with their victory scores:


Master of Puppets - 89.8
Learning to Live - 89.1
Stairway to Heaven - 88.1
Hallowed Be Thy Name - 88.0
Arriving Somewhere but Not Here - 84.9
The Eleventh Hour  - 84
Subdivisions - 83.3
Eyes of a Stranger - 79.3
Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love - 73.4
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant - 69.7

I like the stats but I think this metric is biased towards the songs that featured in larger countdowns.

For example, let's say we have 5 participants and a song finishes 1st, 2nd, 5th, 20th and 60th on these five lists. If the countdown was a top 25 (like the Billy Joel one), the song would score 25+24+21+6 = 86 out of 125 maximum, so (86/125)*100 = 68.8 victory score.

If the countdown was instead a top 100 (like the DT one) the song would score 100+99+96+81+41 = 417 out of 500 maximum, so (417/500)*100 = 83.4. This is because scores are relatively closer at the top in a big countdown.

So if this was to be a fair measurement I think that Learning to Live would be significantly lower and Scenes from an Italian Restaurant would be significantly higher. One way to come closer to this could be to score every song as if it was a top 100 (100p for first etc.). This would instead put the small list songs at a slight disadvantage as all placements outside the original list scope would still be 0 but nothing is perfect.

Maybe the most fair would actually be to calculate them all in accordance with the smallest list, so making everything a top 25.

Statistics rant over. I really appreciate all the extra stats and discussions in all of these threads. Makes it really fun to read even when I'm not participating myself!

You are right sir. Thanks for pointing that out. I should have noticed the cut-off line issue but I missed it somehow. This flaw becomes rather obvious if you imagine a countdown where only, say, top 3 songs on anyone's list are awarded points as opposed to a Top 100 countdown. Anyway, it is just some additional stats for fun, so finding a perfect scoring system doesn't matter (though I believe a reasonably satisfactory formula to normalize all different-sized the countdowns could be derived).