A recent discussion with a friend caused me to realize I’ve often ranked, on this website, my favorite silent films, my favorite albums of the decade, and qualified itemizations like that. But have I ever just listed my favorites of all time? I don’t think so.
Since it’s tough to compete apples to oranges (or so they say), I won’t do it. I’ll still leave separate categorizations for differing media. I’ll therefore list my favorites in books, music, and video – each one split in half. For books, I’ll list my favorite non-fiction and fiction books. For music, I’ll list my favorite albums and songs. For video, I’ll list my favorite films and TV shows. No explanations. No apologies. Here goes…
Top Ten Non-Fiction Books
10. How to Lie with Statistics (Darrell Huff)
9. Lies My Teacher Told Me (James Loewen)
8. The American Revolution: A History (Gordon Wood)
7. The Elements (Theodore Gray)
6. The Physics of Star Trek (Lawrence Krauss)
5. Crazy English (Richard Lederer)
4. Innumeracy (John Allen Paulos)
3. The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History (Michael Hart)
2. Film and Art (Bruce Hinrichs)
1. A People’s History of the United States (Howard Zinn)
Top Ten Fiction Books
10. Redshirts (John Scalzi)
9. The Hound of the Baskervilles (Arthur Conan Doyle)
8. Ready Player One (Ernest Cline)
7. Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes)
6. Watchmen (Alan Moore)
5. The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Brian Selznick)
4. Einstein’s Dreams (Alan Lightman)
3. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Jonathan Safran Foer)
2. Animal Farm (George Orwell)
1. 1984 (George Orwell)
Top Ten Albums
10. Bookends (Simon & Garfunkel)
9. Stranger to Stranger (Paul Simon)
8. Use Your Voice (Mason Jennings)
7. All the You Can’t Leave Behind (U2)
6. Abbey Road (The Beatles)
5. Achtung Baby! (U2)
4. We Shall Overcome (Bruce Springsteen)
3. Century Spring (Mason Jennings)
2. SMiLE (Brian Wilson)
1. Graceland (Paul Simon)
Top Ten Songs
10. Bullet the Blue Sky (U2)
9. Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow (Brian Wilson)
8. Books are Burning (XTC)
7. Bullet (Mason Jennings)
6. Elevation (U2)
5. Sorry Signs on Cash Machines (Mason Jennings)
4. Southern Cross (Crosby, Stills, and Nash)
3. The Boy in the Bubble (Paul Simon)
2. The Obvious Child (Paul Simon)
1. The Cool, Cool River (live) (Paul Simon)
Top Ten Films
10. The Sting
9. Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run)
8. Rear Window
7. Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amelié Poulain (Amelié)
6. The Princess Bride
5. The Wizard of Oz
4. Memento
3. La Vita é Bella (Life is Beautiful)
2. Rope
1. Psycho
Top Ten Television Shows
10. Seinfeld
9. Star Trek: Voyager
8. Orange is the New Black
7. Pushing Daisies
6. Community
5. Breaking Bad
4. Battlestar Galactica (reimagined)
3. Arrested Development
2. Firefly
1. Star Trek: The Next Generation