Acclaimed Music is a website created by Henrik Franzon, a statistician from Stockholm, Sweden,[1][2][3][4] in September 2001. Franzon has statistically aggregated hundreds of published lists that rank songs and albums into aggregated rankings by year, decade and all-time.[1][2][5][6][7] Lists that are submitted by readers to magazines or websites are excluded from the aggregation.[8] Author Michaelangelo Matos writes that "Franzon's methods are imperfect, but as indicators of overall critical appeal go, it's hard to beat."[2]
As of 2020[update], the site's aggregated lists name the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (1966) as the most highly rated album of all time,[9] and Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" (1965) as the most highly rated song of all time.[10][11] Additionally, the Beatles are the most acclaimed band, Dylan is the most acclaimed male solo artist, and Madonna is the most acclaimed female artist.[12]