The Art of Music List-Making a Wonderfully Nebulous One

Recently a reader asked me for a detailed description of my methods and criteria for compiling my Top 10 Songs lists, to which my answer was complicated even when edited significantly. I kept thinking about this over the weekend as I began another series of lists, this time a year-by-year survey of the best albums of the '80s. What I've decided is that the primary beauty of this activity lies in the very fluidity and subjectivity of the process. After all, while a Kajagoogoo LP is unlikely to make even the loopiest list of this kind, the possibilities beyond obviously minor material are wonderfully infinite. So with that in mind, check out my latest list chronicling the Top 10 Albums of 1980. Build up your arguments for what I left out or why I'm a lunatic. Who knows, the ethereal nature of listmaking could mean that a list could change overnight should new evidence surface.

• Top 8 Albums of the '80s: The Essential Eight
• Top 10 Songs of 1980