The Joy of Listing

I just love making lists and ranking stuff.

Category: Lists (ranked)

  • My Top 10 favorite podcasts

    on the request of one of my readers
    (that sounds so fancy. I love it!)

    The list consists mostly of true crime podcasts because that’s my favorite genre and what I know about most.

    1. H3 Podcast

    Wouldn’t recommend it at this time, but I haven’t invested anywhere near as much time into a podcast as I have with this one, so it’s gotta be no. 1 per default.

    2. Your own Backyard

    One of the best true crime podcasts there is and most famous for being extremely influential in the reopening and later solving of the cold case it is about. It’s about an (at the time) unsolved disappearance/murder of a young woman at a party.
    TW sexual assault(s)

    3. S-Town

    Probably the only podcast I have listened to over and over again.
    It’s about the (real) life story of a guy named John B. McLemore. He’s very eccentric, sad and sympathetic. Major themes of the story are mental health, obsession, queerness and feeling stuck in a shitty life unable to change or move forward. The podcast is considered to be kind of controversial for multiple reasons, one being that a lot of people consider it voyeuristic and explorative.
    I totally get the critiques, but it still means a lot to me.

    4. The Shrink Next Door

    Very strange and interesting story about a very fucked up therapist who exploited the trust of his patients to enrich himself. Extremely captivating and just bizarre in a very entertaining way.

    5. Serial (Season 1)

    THE true crime podcast and one of the firsts that really got me into the genre. Unfortunately it still bugs me a lot that there still isn’t that much clarity on the case despite all the time that has passed and the massive amount of attention it got due to the success of the podcast.

    6. Musicalsplaining

    A podcast that Lindsay Ellis, one of my favorite youtubers started about 5 years ago. The premise of it is that she loves and knows a lot about musicals and her co-host and friend Kaveh hates them.
    Every episode they watch another musical together, review it and share their knowledge about it. I really wasn’t that interested in the topic when I started the podcast but then I started watching all the shows they talked about and really got into it for a while. The enthusiasm is contagious!

    7. Uncover (The first 10? seasons)

    Very well made canadian true crime podcast where the subject changes every season. I’ve listened to the first 10-11 seasons (I think) and it took a long time til I got bored and stopped listening, so I think that kind of speaks for itself. Seasons 1, 3 and 6 were my favorite if I remember correctly.

    8. Chameleon (Seasons 1 and 3)

    Another anthology true crime podcast, but about less gruesome crimes. Every season is about a different scammer case. Unfortunately the quality of the seasons differs a lot, so I would only recommend season 1 (queen of the con) and season 3 (wild boys). I really really liked those.

    9. Monster (Seasons 1-3)

    Anthology true crime podcast about serial killers. The first season is about a case I have been very interested in for years, the Atlanta child murders. That’s how I first got into it. At the time I listened to all the seasons that were available and never followed up on it again. Now that I’m making this list I’ve discovered that there are 3 more seasons I have yet to listen to. So, yay!!
    Thanks, person who asked me to make this list. I can listen to the 3 new seasons now. \o/

    10. In The Dark (Season 1+2)

    Another canadian true crime anthology podcast. I don’t remember a lot about the first season (except that I liked it), but the second one made a lasting impression. It’s about a man who’s been wrongfully convicted of murder, which would normally be the type of story I’d avoid because it’s so depressing and happens way too often, but the show is so well made and captivating that I couldn’t stop listening. Spoiler: it ends with the guy getting out of prison (after decades!!) and I remember crying all the way through the last 1-2 episodes. Really really good.

    Honorable mentions: Truer Crime, Devil in the Dorm, Bear Brook (S1), The Thing About Pam, The Teachers Pet, That Chapter Podcast, Rotten Mango, The Dropout, Finding Samantha, oh and this really obscure one, I don’t know if you’ve heard of it…it’s called “This American Life”. 🙃

    Fediverse Reactions

  • My Top 10 favorite Binding of Isaac characters

    Ranked by how fun they are to play.

    1. Tainted Lilith
    2. Judas
    3. Tainted Apollyon
    4. Azazel
    5. Samson
    6. Cain
    7. Isaac
    8. Tainted Cain
    9. Eden
    10. Apollyon
    Fediverse Reactions

  • Top 10 sad girls in bathtubs

    movie scenes only.

    1. Margot in “The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001)

    2. Pauline and Juliette in “Heavenly Creatures” (1994)

    3. Justine in “Melancholia” (2011)

    4. Susanna in “Girl, Interrupted” (1999)

    5. Suzy in “Moonrise Kingdom” (2012)

      6. Charlotte in “Lost in Translation” (2003)

      7. Cecilia in “The Virgin Suicides” (1999)

      no picture because the scene is very graphic and might be triggering to some.

      8. Mima in “Perfect Blue” (1997) and Marion in “Requiem for a Dream” (2000)

      9. Layla in “Buffalo 66” (1998)

      10. Amy in “Gone Girl” (2014)

      Honorable Mentions: “Priscilla” (2023), “Fatal Attraction” (1987), “American Beauty” (1999), “The Dreamers” (2003)

    1. My Top 10 Favorite Youtubers

      1. Jenny Nicholson – queen of the nerds. <3 I have seen most of her videos a ridiculous amount of times. my subscription to her patreon is honestly the best money I spend each year for how much joy I get out of it.
        She’s funny, smart, original. The perfect youtuber.
      2. Contrapoints – again, rewatching her videos every couple of months (for many years at this point) has become kind of a ritual of mine. Her sense of style and aesthetics in unmatched (on yt at least) and in a time where so many video essays just feel like AI slop with zero effort put in, the amount of research she puts in hers becomes increasingly more impressive.
      3. H3 Podcast – I know he’s far from perfect. Very messy and kind of unlikeable at some points. But when the podcast’s good, it’s sooo good. The show really lives off of its crew and community. And the more time you’ve spent watching it (for me ~12 hours a week, for years) the more attached you become. I cannot bring myself to quit even though it has become increasingly hard to watch in the last year or so.
      4. Lindsay Ellis – RIP. I miss her so much (she’s not dead, she just quit youtube). I feel like if I were a youtuber, I’d make the same type of content she does. Witty, well researched video essays for film and pop culture nerds about kind of random topics she’s passionate about. Also I credit my relatively newfound love of musicals completely to her.
      5. Mike’s Mic – immediate click every time he uploads. He’s so funny and likeable. It’s ridiculous. I want to be his friend sooo bad!!
      6. Todd in the Shadows – If it’s a crime to have a huge crush on a guy who’s entire youtube persona is built on the fact that he doesn’t show what he looks like, so your crush is just based on his voice, wit, knowledge of music history and how much of a hater he is…well, then lock me up.
      7. D’Angelo Wallace – Best. Commentary. YouTuber. Ever. I hope his mental health allows him to return to making content soon. I really miss him. Also I feel like the youtube-sphere needs his takes on things more than ever right now.
      8. Hbomberguy – Again, I’m very biased because of a huge parasocial crush I have on him, but come on, you can’t tell me he isn’t the sweetest guy to have ever existed. His energy is so likeable and non-threatening. And his last couple of videos were top tier level quality. I hope he drops another one soon. We’re overdue for a hbomb return.
      9. Mila Tequila – Probably the least known youtuber on this list with the fewest videos. I randomly discovered her years ago at the beginning of her youtube career and have watched all of her videos she made since, immediately after release.
        She’s very unabashedly girly and obsessed with Y2K popculture and drama. Which I love.
      10. You suck at cooking – Most unpretentious silly cooking channel that just lives off of editing tricks, running jokes and a mysterious narrator with a very attractive voice. Also he has cute dogs, which are featured in a lot of the videos.

      Honorable Mentions: all the true crime youtubers I haven’t watched much recently because I didn’t feel like listening to stuff about violent crime as much as I used to: That Chapter, Stephanie Soo, JCS and many more.
      Emily Susanah (my favorite nail art youtuber) , Down the rabbit hole/Frederik Knudsen, my guilty pleasure Filthy Frank, FD Signifier and The Tofu Guru (very obscure vegan cooking channel from ages ago).

    2. My Top 10 Favorite little treats

      1. Cherry Coke Zero or Cherry Pepsi Max
        (It’s my favorite drink and it’s almost always out of stock, which makes it feel even more special)
      2. Höllinger Apfel-Kirsch Mini juice boxes
        (I love all mini juice boxes, but this one is especially delicious and also hard to get)
      3. vegetarian Extrawurst slices, specifically the Hofer brand one and only the classic flavor
      4. Kirsch Dreh und Drink (and only Kirsch)
      5. Fruchtikus (only Rote Früchte or Himbeer-Pfirsich)
      6. Freshly squeezed orange juice (from those self service machines that some supermarkets have)
      7. Alpro Iced Coffee Style – Karamell Soya flavor only
      8. Schärdinger Schokomilch (the yellow one that has a llama on it)
      9. Mini Babybel – High Protein
      10. Diet Coke (not Coke Zero!!!) in a can

    3. Ranking of all the Stephen King movie adaptions I’ve seen

      1. The Shining (1980)
      2. Carrie (1976)
      3. Misery (1990)
      4. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
      5. Stand by Me (1986)
      6. It (2017)
      7. Cat’s Eyes (1985)
      8. Christine (1983)

    4. My Top 10 Favorite Comic books/Graphic Novels

      1. All of Liv Strömquist’s comics. I really can’t pin it down to one. Some of my favorites include “Prince Charles’ Feelings”(2010), “In the Hall of Mirrors”(2021) and her most recent one “Pythian pratar” (2024)
      2. “Ghost World” (1993-1997) by Daniel Clowes
      3. “Persepolis 1+2” (2000/2001) by Marjane Satrapi
      4. “Black Hole” (1994-2005) by Charles Burns
      5. “Sunny Side Down” (2009) by Lev Yilmaz
      6. “TEOTFW” (2011-2013) by Charles Forsman
      7. “I am not okay with this” (2017) by Charles Forsman
      8. “The Alcoholic” (2008) by Jonathan Ames
      9. “Psychiatric tales” (2010) by Darryl Cunningham
      10. “All the sad songs” (2018) by Summer Pierre


      Honorable Mentions: most of Daniel Clowes’ work, especially all the Eightball stuff. The first two Hutch Owen books by Tom Hart (I’ve never been able to get my hands on the third), “Scott Pilgrim” (2004-2010) by Brian Lee O’Malley and the “Last Look” trilogy by Charles Burns.

    5. My Top 10 Favorite Albums (all Genres)

      1. Elliott Smith Either/Or (1997)
        + XO (1999)
      2. Belle and Sebastian – If your Feeling Sinister (1996)
      3. Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel is… (2012)
      4. Nick Drake – Pink Moon (1972)
      5. Kimya Dawson – Remember that I love you (2006)
      6. Le Tigre – Le Tigre (1999)
      7. Pixies – Doolittle (1989)
      8. Quasi – Featuring “Birds” (1998)
      9. Mac Miller – Swimming (2018)
      10. Ween – Chocolate and Cheese (1994)


        Honorable Mentions:

        every Elliott Smith album tbh, I couldn’t even decide on just one for No.1
        Deca – The Ocean (2013)
        Belle and Sebastian – Tigermilk (1996)
        The Smiths – The Queen is Dead (1986) + Strangeways Here We Come (1987)
        Violent Femmes – Violent Femmes (1983)
        Noname – Telephone (2016)
        Eels – Electroshock Blues (1998)

    6. My Top 10 Favorite Movies (currently)

      1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
      2. Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005)
      3. Magnolia (1999)
      4. Kajillionaire (2020)
      5. Adaptation. (2002)
      6. Science of Sleep (2006)
      7. American Beauty (1999)
      8. Good Will Hunting (1998)
      9. Ghost World (2001)
      10. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

        Honorable Mentions: Harvey (1950), Past Lives (2023), Survive Style 5+ (2004), Chungking Express (1994)

        The unranked longer version of this list is on my Letterboxd profile: https://letterboxd.com/treelanguage/list/my-favorite-movies/

    7. Movie plot twists that someone spoiled for me ranked on how much I wish they hadn’t

      1. Fight Club
      2. Psycho
      3. A Beautiful Mind
      4. The Sixth Sense
      5. Orphan

      The only ones I really cared about though were Fight Club and Psycho. Those probably would have been so much better without knowing how it ends.