lately i've been working on a top 3 list for itunes. this list has a limit of 3 songs from any given artist. i can change what the 3 songs are at any time--this is not stagnant. there simply should be no more than 3 per artist. the idea is an ultimate favorites list where i won't be skipping songs. if when i listen to the list and i skip a song, then that song probably doesn't belong in the top 3. other restrictions include for the most part, unless they are outstandingly good, no live songs, no instrumentals, no remixes, no covers, no long intros or outros, and no songs that were my favorite way back when. afterall, i want this to be non-stop fun.

some artists have a large catalogue to choose from and i thought it would be quite difficult to narrow their songs down to merely 3 but i think those were the easiest to pick. i noticed though that i tended to pick songs from the most recent releases as i have played everything else to death. the toughest to pick from were albums that i like as a whole. typically these were by artists were i own only 1-3 of their albums. for some reason, when there are fewer songs to chose between, it is harder to chose only 3.

naturally there are some 1 hit wonder types. or artists where i have only 3 songs or less because they are from compilation albums. these type of songs that i like but am not completely in love with might get removed from the top 3 list. then there are the artists where i have difficulty choosing songs because i don't really like them that much. this then begs the question, should these songs even be in itunes at all? should those albums even be in my collection at all? no, of course not. eventually these will be identified, deleted, and sold.

as i refine my top 3 list (860 songs at the moment), i'm realizing while it's a good mix overall when listened to randomly, black metal just doesn't fit. it's a very abrupt change that just doesn't work. i'm not really into that type of vocal style anymore, thus i have removed many such songs from itunes, freeing up space that i will need later this year to add cds i will be buying. the more i refine itunes in general, the more it becomes a collection of my overall favorites. itunes and ipod are not meant to be a digital replica of my music collection. they simply allow me to have a small, portable means of accessing all my favorites.