I plan to write (at least) one other post where I’ll critique Rolling Stone’s methodology. But in short, they abandoned the spirit of the 2004 list.

That list, which wasn’t without its faults, did capture much of what makes a song great: its popularity, its composition, its execution (the performance) and its influence.

This year’s list (along with contemporary music in general) doesn’t prioritize songwriting--which is why most hits today are just cribbed versions of other songs.