James D Clarke

PollThePeople.com is a site set up by Glenn Cooper (head of Digital at Island Records UK) and his wife Kirsty, after an argument they had. The site encourages users to add lists of their 'top 5' albums, films, and books.

The site plays on people's desire to list / tell everyone else their favourite things, and includes social elements that let you find similar lists, browse other user's lists, and invite your email contacts to view your lists.

Being a music geek, it took me no time to get signed up and post my top 5 albums. Although I did have to wrestle with myself over 5th place - it always causes me trouble. You see, picking number 5 always brings with it an amount of guilt, because there's more than one album worthy of such a position. Luckily you can log-in and change/update your lists whenever you feel like it, so such decisions don't have to be set in stone!

I've not added my top 5 films or books yet, mainly because I don't tend to watch films more than a couple of times (it's just not the same as listening to an album over and over), and I don't read enough/regularly to compile a list of favourites, but maybe I'll do this in the future.

The site also includes celebrity top 5 lists (including Nick Horby who coined the top 5 phrase in 'High Fidelity') and a 'suggest a future poll' section where you suggest your own poll, or vote for one of the most popular suggestions.

There's also a neat little widget that lets you post your top 5 lists on your blog, website, myspace profile etc. This site is a must for list makers, so check it out now.

My Top 5 Albums @ PollThePeople.com (in no particular order):

1	Outlandos d'Amour (The Police)
why?	"So Lonely", "Roxanne" and "Can't Stand Losing You" - name me another debut album that has 3 songs to rival those! Great lo-fi production too. My favourite Police album by far.
2	Yield (Pearl Jam)
why?	The perfect mix of Pearl Jam's many styles, great production and most definitely the finest drumming of Jack Irons' career. Highlights include "Given To Fly", "Faithful" and "In Hiding", but every track is great. Picking a favourite Pearl Jam album is like picking your favourite child...you just shouldn't do it!
3	Third Eye Blind (Third Eye Blind)
why?	Without a doubt one of the best debut albums of all time. Great songs, great playing, great production. Most people remember them only for "Semi-charmed Life", but this album has a whole lot more - they never stood a chance of topping it. Perfect. Stand out tracks include "Graduate", "The Background", "How's It Going To Be" and "Motorcycle Drive By" (not to be confused with "Motorcycle Emptiness" by the Manics!)
4	There Is Nothing Left to Lose (Foo Fighters)
why?	The only Foo Fighters album recorded as a three-piece and the first recorded in Dave Grohl's home studio, and boy it shows. Really warm production, the first album Taylor Hawkins ever recorded (until then he'd only played as a live session drummer) and the drumming is outstanding. I love the sound of this record - and once again the range of songs make it another perfect album. Narrowly beats "The Colour & The Shape" as my favourite Foos record. Every track is a highlight on this album.
5	The Used (The Used)
why?	Another band who created a brilliant debut album, and could never top it. Despite the slick production, I love the raw energy on this record, it really sounds like a hungry young band at their best. This was my favourite album of 2002/2003 and still remains in my top 5 several years later. Highlights include "The Taste Of Ink" and "Blue & Yellow". It's a shame they've gone downhill so rapidly since.