Top Forty Hits of the 20th Century, #1 and #2

IN THE half of this century that I've lived in, it's quite common to encounter "best-of-the-year" lists of movies or records in newspapers and magazines, starting in late December. Indeed, the "idea" for this list came to me tonight when I noticed a "First Annual International Music Writers Poll Ballot" lying on the floor of my workspace, waiting to be filled in, and the notion entered my head that, um, this is January 25, 1998, must be time to start thinking about my "best-of-the-century" list.