GMD Poll: Top Ten Albums of 1985

[The Ozzman]

Compiling should take the most time. After that, a simple sort and COUNT/SUMIF function should yield the results in 5 minutes (along with some other Excel functions). I imagine finding quotes for everything would take longer.

If you have difficulty using Excel (which lots of people do) then it can take lots more time of course

 

[Phylactery]

Yeah the counting function was a Godsend once I’d actually put in all the results. But putting them all in takes forever.

There is perhaps a better way, but what I did was have every album people voted for down the side. And then along the top I had every user and entered their points for the albums. Once that was done it was extremely quick to find the total points for each album.

 

[The Ozzman]

Yeah the counting function was a Godsend once I’d actually put in all the results. But putting them all in takes forever.

There is perhaps a better way, but what I did was have every album people voted for down the side. And then along the top I had every user and entered their points for the albums. Once that was done it was extremely quick to find the total points for each album.

Nah bro, just copy and paste the whole list into the spreadsheet and do a SUMIF function in a blank column using a VLOOKUP after you purge the duplicates. Fuck that constructed matrix garbage. Only those with a high Excel IQ will understand.

 

[Vegard Pompey]

Or you could just do what I do and use LibreOffice Calc. And while you're at it, hit yourself in the head repeatedly with a ball-peen hammer.

 

[Phylactery]

Nah bro, just copy and paste the whole list into the spreadsheet and do a SUMIF function in a blank column using a VLOOKUP after you purge the duplicates. Fuck that constructed matrix garbage. Only those with a high Excel IQ will understand.

How do you make this work with the scoring system that’s in place? Sounds like it could all be done in under half an hour doing this!

 

[The Ozzman]

LibreOffice Calc

Poor man's Excel but yeah you can use it. I snagged a cheap copy of MS Office from a work promotion but I did use OpenOffice (now LibreOffice) Calc for years. I still prefer Excel.

How do you make this work with the scoring system that’s in place? Sounds like it could all be done in under half an hour doing this!

**This assumes I have a full grasp of how scoring works but I imagine it'll work**

You have to use text to columns or whatever to make sure that each part has its own column:

Column A: Ranking
Column B: Band
Column C: Album title
Column D: Point total

I realized you don't need to do a VLOOKUP in this. A SUMIF is probably okay, but it would be:

SUMIF(Range of values,album title) beside each individual item in the list. You would probably need to keep album title and band as one cell for a portion of it.

It's way more difficult to type this out in a summary than it is to actually do it for someone, but I did a series of these polls several years ago and it took under 30 minutes to get the information for each round. It was probably more like 15-20 once you factor in formatting the information appropriately. If you are only doing it to get raw data, it can be easily done in no more than 10 minutes.

I didn't go as far as listing who ranked what album whatever position in those polls. I just did the sum of the points for each pick.

 

[no country for old wainds]

the most advanced i got when i was doing the results was using the sum and sort functions, i figured there would be easier ways of doing it though. the main issue is the lack of unified formatting i think, nearly every list is written in a different way and there are a lot of spelling mistakes or abbreviations/acronyms etc.

 

[The Ozzman]

nearly every list is written in a different way and there are a lot of spelling mistakes or abbreviations/acronyms etc

Find and replace function for the entire worksheet is your friend. Excel is a very powerful program.

 

[no country for old wainds]

i have actually used that on occasion, that kinda relies on you remembering the ways people have fucked up the formatting though? some people here are pretty creative in that respect

i agree that compiling takes the time anyhow. although it was finding quotes that used to irritate me, mostly 'cause i get headaches easily from skimming a lot of posts in one go.

 

[CiG]

Have the results been corrected? Sounds like Ozzman should be the resident tally guy from here on out.

 

[The Ozzman]

Have the results been corrected? Sounds like Ozzman should be the resident tally guy from here on out.

Fuck that shit

 

[CiG]

 

[Phylactery]

Not yet. I need to edit the posts. I’ll fix it tomorrow.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

how about we edit the results for the 2008 thread while we're at it?

 

[CiG]

 

[CiG]

UUUGGHHHH! 1985...AGAIN:

1. Trouble - The Skull
Favourite song: "The Wish"

2. Slayer - Hell Awaits
Favourite song: "Crypts of Eternity"


3. Pentagram - Pentagram
Favourite song: "All Your Sins"

4. Manilla Road - Open the Gates
Favourite song: "The Ninth Wave"


5. Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion
Favourite song: "Dawn of Megiddo"


6. Omen - Warning of Danger
Favourite song: "Ruby Eyes (Of the Serpent)"


7. Bathory - The Return......
Favourite song: "Son of the Damned"


8. Saint Vitus - Hallow's Victim
Favourite song: "War Is Our Destiny"


9. Possessed - Seven Churches
Favourite song: "Pentagram"


10. Watchtower - Energetic Disassembly
Favourite song: "Argonne Forest"

 

[no country for old wainds]

‘crypts of eternity’ is a based pick. that climax at 4.45 is amazing, literally the greatest scream ever.

‘the wish’ is an amazing song too, i do find that album uneven but the highs (that song and the bookends, for me) are ultra high.

 

[Goodman]

1. Helloween - Walls of Jericho
2. Blue Öyster Cult - Club Ninja
3. W.A.S.P. - The Last Command
4. Grave Digger - Witch Hunter
5. Raven - Stay Hard
6. Exodus - Bonded by Blood
7. Razor - Executioner's Song
8. Sinner - Touch Of Sin
9. Accept - Metal Heart
10. Abattoir - Vicious Attack

 

[CiG]

‘the wish’ is an amazing song too, i do find that album uneven but the highs (that song and the bookends, for me) are ultra high.

Personally I think it's pretty close to perfect. "Pray for the Dead" (track 1) could just as easily be my favourite track too. "Wickedness of Man" and "Fear No Evil" are also way up there for me. Absolute classic.

 

[Burkhard]

1. Fates Warning - The Spectre Within
1. Helloween - Walls of Jericho
3. Trouble - The Skull
4. Sacrilege - Behind the Realms of Madness
5. Overkill - Feel the Fire
6. Helloween - Helloween
7. Vicious Rumors - Soldiers of the Night
8. Chastain - Mystery of Illusion
9. Agent Steel - Skeptics Apocalypse
10. Megadeth - Killing is my Business...

Trouble went up four places and Chastain and Agent Steel switched places.