Things to rank
The best thing to rank is something you already have opinions about, because a tier list is only interesting when the person making it cares which entries end up at the bottom.
Most people arrive at a tier list maker knowing the format and not the subject. The lists below are grouped by the kind of argument they start - some are ready-made templates you can open straight away, the rest are prompts to type in yourself.
Ready-made templates
These open in the tier maker with items already loaded - 24 subjects, 15 entries each.
Everyday things nobody thinks to rank
- Days of the week
- Types of weather
- Household chores
- Sleeping positions
- Ways to cook an egg
- Public transport
- Seasons
- Types of shop queue
Arguments waiting to happen
- Pizza toppings
- Biscuits for dunking
- Bank holidays
- Christmas films
- Fonts
- Board game night rules
- Airline seat positions
- Ways to say goodbye on a call
Personal lists that say something
- Places you have lived
- Jobs you have had
- Subjects at school
- Decades you would visit
- Hobbies you have tried
- Your own cooking
- Holidays you have taken
- Life advice you were given
Group lists for a room full of people
- Everyone's handwriting
- Team snack choices
- Meeting types
- Office chairs
- Group chat names
- Shared playlists
- Takeaway orders
- Nicknames
How to pick a subject
Narrow beats broad every time. Ranking food is close to impossible because the category contains everything; ranking biscuits for dunking is immediately answerable and immediately contentious. The test is whether you could defend your bottom tier to someone who disagrees - if the answer is obvious, the subject is too wide.
The second test is supply. You need enough entries that the tiers do some work, which usually means at least fifteen. If you can only think of six, the subject probably wants to be a top-five list rather than a tier list.
Frequently asked questions
- What are good things to rank in a tier list?
- Anything you have direct opinions about and enough examples of. Food, films, games and music are the most popular because everyone qualifies as an expert, but the most enjoyable lists are usually narrower - biscuits for dunking beats desserts, and days of the week beats time.
- How many things should I rank?
- Between about 15 and 60. Fewer than 15 and the tiers stop distinguishing anything; past 60 most people abandon the list halfway, and an unfinished tier list says nothing at all.
- What makes a boring tier list?
- One where the answer is obvious before you start. If everyone would place the items the same way, there is nothing to argue about - which is why "best pizza toppings" outperforms "best foods" as a subject.
- Can I rank things that are not objects?
- Yes, and those are often the best lists. Concepts, situations and experiences - types of weather, ways to be woken up, categories of awkward silence - work well because nobody has a settled opinion to fall back on.
Open the tier makerAll tier list templatesHow to make a tier list