THE POLL IS COMIN THROUGH, THE OUTCOME IS CRITICAL — WU-TANG CLAN — Artist Poll — Results

Full list up through 125

#1 Points: 496 Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M.
#2 Points: 426 Ol' Dirty Bastard - Shimmy Shimmy Ya
#3 Points: 383 Wu-Tang Clan - Shame on a Nigga
#4 Points: 379 Wu-Tang Clan - Bring Da Ruckus
#5 Points: 369 GZA - Liquid Swords
#6 Points: 359 Raekwon - Incarcerated Scarfaces
#7 Points: 326 GZA - Shadowboxin’
#8 Points: 304 Wu-Tang Clan - Protect Ya Neck
#9 Points: 301 Wu-Tang Clan - Da Mystery Of Chessboxin’
#10 Points: 301 GZA - 4th Chamber
#11 Points: 269 Wu-Tang Clan - Triumph
#12 Points: 242 Wu-Tang Clan - I Can't Go to Sleep (f. Isaac Hayes)
#13 Points: 241 Ghostface Killah - Nutmeg
#14 Points: 241 Ol' Dirty Bastard - Got Your Money (f. Kelis)
#15 Points: 239 Method Man - Bring The Pain
#16 Points: 209 Wu-Tang Clan - Can It Be All So Simple
#17 Points: 206 Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta F' Wit
#18 Points: 199 Raekwon - Glaciers Of Ice
#19 Points: 189 Ghostface Killah - One
#20 Points: 186 Method Man & Redman - Da Rockwilder
#21 Points: 183 Wu-Tang Clan - Gravel Pit
#22 Points: 177 Raekwon - Criminology
#23 Points: 174 Raekwon - Knowledge God
#24 Points: 171 Wu-Tang Clan - Method Man
#25 Points: 165 Ol' Dirty Bastard - Brooklyn Zoo
#26 Points: 153 GZA - Duel of the Iron Mic
#27 Points: 153 Ghostface Killah - Winter Warz
#28 Points: 145 Ghostface Killah - Run
#29 Points: 144 Ghostface Killah - All That I Got Is You
#30 Points: 143 Raekwon - Verbal Intercourse (f. Nas & Ghostface Killah)
#31 Points: 141 Ghostface Killah - Daytona 500
#32 Points: 138 Wu-Tang Clan - Reunited
#33 Points: 137 Ghostface Killah - Apollo Kids
#34 Points: 137 Ghostface Killah - Buck 50
#35 Points: 131 Wu-Tang Clan - Protect Ya Neck (The Jump off)
#36 Points: 130 Method Man - Release Yo' Delf
#37 Points: 126 Gravediggaz - 1-800 Suicide
#38 Points: 125 Wu-Tang Clan - Careful (Click Click)
#39 Points: 125 Wu-Tang Clan - It's Yourz
#40 Points: 118 Ghostface Killah - Shakey Dog (Fishscale track)
#41 Points: 113 Raekwon - Ice Cream (f. Method Man)
#42 Points: 111 Ghostface Killah - Whip You With a Strap
#43 Points: 105 Ghostface Killah - Walking Through the Darkness
#44 Points: 103 Wu-Tang Clan - Tearz
#45 Points: 102 Ghostface Killah - Iron Maiden
#46 Points: 97 GZA - Cold World (f. Inspectah Deck)
#47 Points: 97 Method Man - All I Need
#48 Points: 92 Ghostface Killah - Be Easy
#49 Points: 92 Raekwon - Guillotine (Swordz)
#50 Points: 87 Raekwon - Rainy Dayz
#51 Points: 84 GZA - Swordsmen
#52 Points: 82 Ghostface Killah - Kilo
#53 Points: 81 Ghostface Killah - Tooken Back (f. Jackie-O)
#54 Points: 80 Wu-Tang Clan - Cash Still Rules/Scary Hours
#55 Points: 80 Ghostface Killah - Assassination Day
#56 Points: 78 Wu-Tang Clan - Uzi (pinky ring)
#57 Points: 77 GZA - Living in the world today
#58 Points: 75 Ghostface Killah - Maxine
#59 Points: 74 Wu-Tang Clan - As High As Wu-Tang Get
#60 Points: 70 Ghostface Killah - Mighty Healthy
#61 Points: 70 Wu-Tang Clan - Clan in Da Front
#62 Points: 69 Killah Priest - B.I.B.L.E.
#63 Points: 66 Wu-Tang Clan - Let My Ni**as Live (f. Nas)
#64 Points: 63 Wu-Tang Clan - The M.G.M.
#65 Points: 62 Ghostface Killah - Cherchez La Ghost
#66 Points: 62 Wu-Tang Clan - Rules
#67 Points: 59 Ghostface Killah - R.A.G.U.
#68 Points: 58 Ghostface Killah - 260
#69 Points: 58 Ghostface Killah - The Forest
#70 Points: 57 Wu-Tang Clan - Impossible
#71 Points: 56 Ghostface Killah - Fish (f. Raekwon & Cappadonna)
#72 Points: 55 Wu-Tang Clan - Visionz

#73 Points: 55 Ghostface Killah - Wildflower
#74 Points: 53 Gravediggaz - 2 Cups Of Blood
#75 Points: 53 Mobb Deep - Right Back at You (f. Ghostface Killah, Raekwon & Big Noyd)
#76 Points: 53 Raekwon - Knuckleheadz
#77 Points: 52 Raekwon - Heaven & Hell (f. Ghostface Killah)
#78 Points: 52 Raekwon - New Wu (f. Ghostface Killah, Method Man)
#79 Points: 51 Ghostface Killah - Save me dear
#80 Points: 51 GZA - Gold
#81 Points: 50 Ghostface Killah - Guest House
#82 Points: 49 Ghostface Killah - Wu Banga 101 (f. GZA, Raekwon, Cappadonna and Masta Killa)
#83 Points: 47 Method Man & Redman - Y.O.U.
#84 Points: 46 RZA - Mantis (featuring Masta Killa & Tekitha)
#85 Points: 45 Ghostface Killah - Motherless Child
#86 Points: 45 Ghostface Killah - Saturday Nite
#87 Points: 43 Ghostface Killah - Ghost Deini
#88 Points: 43 Wu-Tang Clan - For Heaven's Sake
#89 Points: 42 Wu-Tang Clan - Hollow Bones
#90 Points: 40 Ghostface Killah - The Sun (f. Raekwon, RZA, & Slick Rick)
#91 Points: 40 Raekwon - Ice Water
#92 Points: 39 Shyheim - On and On 
#93 Points: 38 Masta Killa - Iron God Chamber (f. U-God, Method Man and RZA)
#94 Points: 38 Ol' Dirty Bastard - Nigga Please
#95 Points: 37 Ghostface Killah - Biscuits (f. Trife da God)
#96 Points: 36 Ghostface Killah - You Know I'm No Good
#97 Points: 35 RZA - Black Widow Pt. 2 (f. Ol' Dirty Bastard)
#98 Points: 35 Wu-Tang Clan - Heaterz
#99 Points: 34 Raekwon - Wisdom Body
#100 Points: 34 Wu-Tang Clan - Radioactive (Four Assasins)
#101 Points: 33 Raekwon - House of Flying Daggers
#102 Points: 33 Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Revolution
#103 Points: 32 Ghostface Killah - Big Girl
#104 Points: 32 Ol' Dirty Bastard - Snakes
#105 Points: 32 Raekwon - 10 Bricks
#106 Points: 31 Cappadonna - Slang Editorial
#107 Points: 31 Ghostface Killah - The Watch (f. Raekwon)
#108 Points: 31 Raekwon - Spot Rusherz
#109 Points: 31 Texas Featuring Wu-Tang Clan ‎– Say What You Want (All Day Everyday)
#110 Points: 30 Ghostface Killah - The Champ
#111 Points: 30 Pras - Ghetto Superstar
#112 Points: 30 Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber
#113 Points: 30 GZA - Amplified Sample
#114 Points: 29 GZA - Killah Hills 10304
#115 Points: 28 Ghostface Killah - Camay
#116 Points: 28 Method Man - Tical
#117 Points: 28 Ol' Dirty Bastard - I Can't Wait
#118 Points: 28 RZA – Sunshower
#119 Points: 27 Method Man & Redman - City Lights (f. Bun B)
#120 Points: 27 Wu-Tang Clan - One of These Days
#121 Points: 25 Ghostface Killah - Black Jesus
#122 Points: 25 Ghostface Killah - Do Over
#123 Points: 25 Masta Killa - Old Man (f. Ol Dirty Bastard)
#124 Points: 25 Wu-Tang Clan - Severe Punishment
#125 Points: 24 GZA - Breaker, Breaker

thanks for doing this spottie!

np it was fun, sorry it took me so long...

Some random thoughts from doing this:

– Inspectah Deck is really underrated. it's too bad he didn't get any of Rza's best work from the first wave to do some solo stuff with
– I think Beneath the Surface deserves a spot in the lower-upper ranks of the wu canon. Same with Meth's Tical 2000 (I thought Break Ups 2 Make Ups would place). After this exercise I've decided I prefer Tical 2000 to Tical.
– Neither of the 7th Chamber tracks got much love, seems surprising
– I'm kinda sad I couldnt get a Sunz Of Man song to place, or a Killah Priest song outside of bible.
– Iron Flag is top notch wu i came away from this loving it even more

good poll spottie, nice to bring a little bit of order to an awesomely chaotic catalogue

re: tical 2000, it didn't make my cut for this poll but i will personally stan hard for "torture"

Love the beat on Suspect Chin Music and I listened to Retro Godfather a ton in college. RZA showing his range between those two.

ha yeah suspect chin music is my close #2

How did you assign points for each ballot, Spottie? IOW, how many points would someone's #1, #2, #3 and so forth earn? I'm trying to figure out just for myself what the results would've looked like had I submitted a ballot.

1 50
2 45
3 41
4 38
5 36
6 35
7 34
8 33
9 32
10 31

and so forth down to pick 36 which was worth 5 pts.

thanks for running this poll, Spottie - good stuff! I for one did not mind the tempo at all

surprised Camay didn't place

thanks Spottie, top work!

this is my favourite Killah Priest thing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMHZTauB-uY

Yeah, would have loved to see that one and one of the early Sunz of Man tracks on the list :)

This Method Man feature is so good - about halfway through it becomes less about the songs and more about regrets and anxieties: http://www.complex.com/music/2011/10/method-man-25-essential-songs/

oh yeah lots of good stuff in there thx.

“Dirty took all their shit and made it his own and GZA ain’t say shit. Most of [Dirty’s verses] was GZA’s shit. I remember GZA and ODB got in an argument one night and GZA was like, ‘Nigga most of that shit on your fucking album is mines anyway!’

“ODB wrote ‘Brooklyn Zoo’ though. I could go through the discography I could tell you which ones he wrote. Like ‘Dog Shit’ on Wu-Tang Forever? The fucking, ‘Calling me a dog/But leave a dog alone/Because nothing can stop me from burying my bones,’ I wrote that when I was 15 years old.

yeah it's great

listening to that strange, strange Texas remix I'm reminded of a quote I once heard paraphrased, where RZA describes not knowing the concept of musical keys when starting out as a producer, which, if true, may explain some of the off-ness abt songs like Can It Be All So Simple

Thanks for running this poll, Spottie! Unfortunately work kept me from being on ILX during the final half of the rollout, but it was really great to re-engage with the clan. Even though my ballot was all old favorites, the nomination process introduced me to some great tracks I wasn't familiar with