What.Music: A Community-Driven Top 1000 Music Ranking Platform

Music has always been a central part of my life, and over the years I've been part of a dedicated group of music enthusiasts who share a passion for ranking and discussing our favorite songs. This led to the creation of What.Music, a web application available at music.nostdahl.com that serves as a community-driven platform for ranking the top 1000 songs of all time.

The Concept

What.Music is built around a simple but engaging concept: a panel of judges votes on songs through weekly and monthly voting rounds. Each song receives points based on how judges rank them, and over time these points accumulate to create an all-time ranking. Songs can reappear in voting rounds across different years, giving them the opportunity to climb or fall in the rankings based on continued appreciation.

Impressive Statistics

The platform has grown significantly over the years:

• 1,140 unique artists in the database
• 3,312 songs have been ranked
• Top 1000 positions tracked with historical data
• Multiple voting categories including weekly rounds, monthly rounds, and qualification rounds

The All-Time Top 10

After years of voting, here are the songs that have risen to the top:

1. Paint it Black (1966) - Rolling Stones - 288 points
2. Shine on you Crazy Diamond (pt 6-9) - Pink Floyd - 286 points
3. Bohemian Rhapsody (1975) - Queen - 270 points
4. Immigrant Song (1970) - Led Zeppelin - 250 points
5. Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd - 246 points
6. Purple Haze (1967) - Jimi Hendrix - 244 points
7. Hey You - Pink Floyd - 234 points
8. I Put a Spell on You (1968) - Creedence Clearwater Revival - 230 points
9. Child in Time (1970) - Deep Purple - 220 points
10. Heart of Gold / Heroes - Neil Young / David Bowie - 214 points

Classic rock dominates the top rankings, with Pink Floyd appearing an impressive three times in the top 10. This reflects the enduring appreciation our voting panel has for the progressive rock era.

Technical Implementation

The What.Music frontend is built using modern web technologies:

• React with TypeScript for a robust, type-safe codebase
• Material UI (MUI) for Google Material Design aesthetics
• Dark theme with a sleek black background for that music app feel
• Mobile-first responsive design for access on any device

The application features lazy loading of music data, infinite scroll pagination for the Top 1000 list, and skeleton loading states for a smooth user experience.

Features

Public Features (No Login Required)

• Browse the complete Top 1000 rankings
• View detailed song information and rating history
• Search songs and artists
• Read articles and blog posts about music

Authenticated Features

• Facebook login integration for registered voters
• Participate in voting rounds

External Links

Each song displays links to external platforms including Wikipedia, Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and KaraFun (for karaoke enthusiasts). Links that don't exist are displayed as grey and disabled.

Voting Categories

The platform organizes voting into several categories:

• Grøn/Blå (Green/Blue): Mixed category songs
• Blå (Blue): Main category songs
• Orange: Alternative category songs
• Kvalik 1/2 (Qualification 1/2): Songs competing to advance to main rounds

Each week features 6-8 songs to vote on, with different judges participating based on availability.

Artist Highlights

Some artists have an impressive presence in the database:

• AC/DC leads with 36 songs ranked, including classics like "Hells Bells" (86 points), "Back in Black" (78 points), and "For Those About to Rock" (78 points)
• ABBA has 9 songs with "Winner Takes It All" (39 points) and "Dancing Queen" (35 points) reaching #1 positions
• A-ha shows strong representation with "The Sun Always Shines on TV" (41 points) and "Living Daylights" (37 points)

Looking Forward

What.Music represents years of collaborative music appreciation. The platform continues to evolve with weekly voting rounds keeping the rankings dynamic and reflecting our community's current musical tastes alongside timeless classics.

If you share our passion for music and want to explore decades worth of curated rankings, visit music.nostdahl.com and discover songs you might have forgotten or never knew existed. Who knows - you might find your new favorite song among our Top 1000! 🎵