Hello,

I am an ethnomusicologist considering a question about greatest-of-all-time lists. I may write an article about it, and I appreciate your input.

Specifically, after Prince died, I began looking at greatest band lists, and noticed that the Eagles are often ranked very high, usually around the same place or a bit higher than Prince, who is often somewhere in the 20s or so. For example, on this list from VH1: http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1998/vh1artists.htm

Both artists are much beloved, and have had an enormous impact on music. I was wondering if you felt that these lists were justified in how they position the Eagles, and if you might offer some reasons why or why not? What are these lists measuring anyway, and what do you think they *should* measure?

My thanks! Ben Tausig, Stony Brook University, Department of Music