'Best lists' never a hit with everyone

Whenever a "best list" is compiled, it always manages to stir up some conversation. It is impossible to find a best list that is indisputable -- everyone has an opinion. Following the American Film Institute's disastrous "100 Greatest Movies" list, MTV and Rolling Stone magazine collectively came up with their own controversial ranking of "100 Greatest Pop Songs." \nHow is a pop song defined? The MTV and Rolling Stone list consists of so many different genres that it's impossible to distinguish what makes one song better than the other. While the majority of songs that end up on the list probably do deserve their place in the music history, the criteria for ranking of these songs is completely questionable. \nIs Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" really a better song than John Lennon's "Imagine"? Is Britney Spears' "…Baby One More Time" better than Janet Jackson's "Nasty"? Is Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" better than U2's "One"? The answer according to this critic is no, no and no. No matter how MTV and Rolling Stone have come up with the ranking, a recount seems much needed. What is up with MTV and Rolling Stone's fixation on Nirvana, anyway? Ranking the band among The Beatles and The Rolling Stones seems like a joke. Will anyone be listening to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in 10 years?\nThe "Greatest Pop Songs" list has a tendency to give undeserved credit to those pop songs that haven't really stood the test of time (for example, Blink 182's "All the Small Things"). And if Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC and Britney Spears have made the list, don't we think New Kids on the Block or Boyz II Men also deserve a spot? And if Eminem's "My Name Is" has made the list, then where are 2Pac's "California Love," Juvenile's "Back That Thang Up" or Master P's "Make 'em Say Uhh?"\nAnother tendency of the chart is to underestimate the R&B and rap genres. Many rock songs end up receiving better rankings than their R&B counterparts. Maybe Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean" (No. 5) doesn't measure up to Beatles' "Yesterday" (No. 1), but it is a much more influential song than The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (No. 2) and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (No. 3). \nBecause of so many questionable choices, MTV and Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Pop Songs" list becomes another list no one really cares about. Despite star-studded appearances of Backstreet Boys, Destiny's Child and Jennifer Lopez, the countdown show on MTV is nearly as boring as the rerun of "Undressed"