#1 Who created this site and why were these artists chosen?
My name is Steven. I grew up listening to Hip Hop, Country Music, and lots in between. In 2001, a friend
visited me in college and brought me a Jack Johnson burned CD. I was immediately hooked on his music. The
next summer, I saw him in concert for the first time in Norfolk, VA. At the time, he only had two albums and
about 2,000 fans in the audience. Since then, I've enjoyed his concerts with 20-30,000 fans in attendance and watched
his exponential growth. In 2007, I stopped listening to mainstream Hip Hop. No hate. The message was just not for me any more.
The rest of the artists that appear on this site are very talented artists that my family and I enjoy, and each has a generally wholesome
message. I would love to see each of these artists grow with the success of Jack Johnson. I hope to give fans of these artists
a chance to celebrate their favorite songs.
#2 How come I can only rank my Top 20?
We think that 20 is the perfect number. Maybe we are wrong, but we are sticking with it!
Our theory: A Top 10 is not enough for artists that have large or niche following. A Top 25 is very cliche,
but in our opinion, is venturing into "How could I possibly rank this many songs?". A Top 20 feels juuuuuust right!
#3 Will other artists be added? Can I recommend an artist?
We are open to other artists. For a bit, these will be the five featured artists. If you have other suggestions for
artists that might fit the criteria from FAQ #1, please send an email to steven@ranksongs.com.
#4 How are the Global Rankings for each artist calculated?
To avoid songs with very few votes jumping unrealistically high (or low), we use a Bayesian weighted average,
which blends each song's actual data with a neutral “prior” to stabilize the rankings.
Songs ranked 1 receive 20 "points", and songs ranked 20 receive 1 "point". In order for the highest ranked songs to have the highest
score, we use this formula:
Composite Score = 21 - Raw Score
What's Raw Score, you ask?
Raw Score = ((PRIOR_COUNT x PRIOR_AVG) + (timesRanked x avgRank)) ÷ (PRIOR_COUNT + timesRanked)
This method rewards songs that are (1) Highly Ranked and (2) Frequently Ranked
Even under this method, a new song has the chance to move up the rankings as it is ranked, but it
won't quickly jump songs that have a volume of high and frequent rankings.
#5 How often can I vote?
In order to keep the integrity of the rankings, and not require username and login, we ask that users
only submit rankings every 90 days. We've set some parameters for this, but ask that fans join us in our efforts by
not circumventing the intended structure.
#6 Any suggestions on how to create my rankings?
Your ranking is your own, based on your own criteria. A good approach is to click every song that you know is definitely in your top 15.
To round out your list, think about songs that have an impact on you or were old favorites you might not play as often. If you aren't sure
about a song, consider whether you listen to it a lot. Maybe it should be removed. Get your 20 in place and then move songs up and down (using arrows)
based on your criteria. Some criteria to consider: popularity and streams, replay value, significance to you when you first heard, classics, etc. Good luck!