Who's the best? Who's the worst? Who cares?
Surely you've seen the click-bait headings that decry, "The Most Underrated…" Musicians, actors, athletes, and directors are all fair game for analysis from a faceless critic or crowd-sourced intelligentsia. The problem is that ratings are stupid. In a world that can make a commodity out of anything ("Top 67+ Weird Things People Pay For" is likely its own click-bait nightmare), we'd be better off to simply shut up and enjoy what we enjoy. Make the art you love. Love the art you love. Developmental psychologists have identified that having gratitude is a building block in creating and maintaining positive mental health. So let's just be grateful that the there's art and go about our business. Get out to a friend's show or get to a local museum. And please look out for my "Top 10 Developmental Psychologists" list coming out soon.
Markus Essien is a writer, filmmaker, and musician, currently living in Aurora, Colorado, USA.