Good morning and happy new year!

 

A very silly and geeky question is about to be asked.

 

At present I build my chart on Excel, I'm thinking about changing and I want to start writing the document on Word. Who uses what to create their charts? If I change to Word I want something that looks fancy. Would anyone mind showing me what they use?

 

Thanks

I just do it as a word document nothing too flashy, just a plain boring format.

Cool, thanks. I like mine to look all fancy and gay lol

Mine is just a normal word document (with some BB code to help when I post) - if I want to go fancy I add all the stuff in when posting.

I just type mine in a word document with this format:

 

01| Little Mix - Cannonball NEW ENTRY

02| Azealia Banks - 212 UP 1 (3-5-4-2-3-2)

 

etc.

So nobody does this in a fancy way?

So nobody does this in a fancy way?

It is quite difficult to do anything that fancy on word really!

I do it on Excel, but quite simply. It's easier to add the formatting on here.

I write mine in a basic format on Word and then add pics and formatting, pop bars and music videos on here. It takes me about 30-60 mins to write up my top 40 (used to be MUCH longer when it was a top 75) and then about 15 minutes to add the formatting, make the sleeve covers etc...

Well, once I've got my chart order sorted in Excel, I open up a long and messy Word document that should never be seen by the outside world (so, uh not something that looks fancy), copy over the chart from last week, switching stuff around and adding in new songs. Then things like pictures and commentary I do when I'm actually writing the topic, and that's when I make it look all good and formatted. Some may disagree, however. :kink:

 

To actually compile my chart I keep a playlist on iTunes called 'Chart breakers playlist' from which I add anything new I download/hear in the week as well as other older songs still floating about in my affections but not in my top 40. At the end of the week, I combine that playlist with my last top 40 on iTunes (I always keep my current top 40 as a separate playlist, it's what I listen to most during the week) and delete everything on it apart from my 40 favourite songs from the whole lot, which become the songs in my new top 40. That's the point that I start to type it up, however I work backwards so I always know my #40 before I know my #1, strange perhaps but it's the way that I've always done it - on really close weeks I don't often get an idea of what's at #1 until I whittle it down to three or four songs at the end! It probably sounds complicated but it's really not, and it ensures that I NEVER forget to chart songs.

That's quite interesting actually. It's not the method I'd thought about, I hardly ever create playlists on my iTunes, I tend to add ones I think will make my chart on my Excel sheet in the week, and then when I compile it, I always start from the #1 and work down, once I've thought about which tracks are dropping out. It kind of allows me to work through the chart runs (and keep a points system that I never use because it looks so redundant). I do occasionally forget to chart songs that way though. If I'm struggling I do look through my newest songs though. Maybe I could try that method, I'm notoriously averse to playlists though...

 

I also like having my chart history at my fingertips, and it helped SO much for creating an EoY chart.

I totally have an iTunes chart play list (my chart) Loves it! that's one of the greatest things of iTunes.

 

Would anybody be so kind as to email their style of writing their chart? Would be very grateful.

 

Thank you

I'm always interested in how people compile their charts as I've changed it multiple times as I find it takes too much time or I find it hard to order my chart using that method. The current one I'm using is pretty confusing...

 

1. Search for new entries that could make it into my chart almost as soon as I've posted the previous chart. They will always be a mulitple of 5 of possible new entries (ie. 5,10,15 etc. potential new entries).

2. Then I'll join these new entries with the previous weeks top 50 and sort them into 5 groups using random.org.

3. I'll then order the songs in each group from favourite to least favourite.

4. Then I'll take the five songs that topped each group and order them, these make my top 5 of the next chart, I'll then take all the songs that finished second in each group and order them to make the 6-10 section of the next chart etc.

5. I try to do this before Wednesday (I post my chart on Sunday) so I already have a chart that I could post in case I run out of time. I then 'leisurely' change the order as I feel is necessary in between Wednesday and Sunday before I post the chart. The process then starts all over again! :lol:

 

I'm trial running Rich's way of making a chart and seeing whether I prefer it to my current one, as it is quite time consuming!

I have a word document where I copy and paste last weeks chart (I just write the song names into the document unless I need reminding of who the artist is - like when I was charting two versions of 'The Flood' in late 2010) then re-order it and add new/re entries and take out dropouts - then I re-type the chart on the post on BJ, make it look neat etc. then add things like dropouts, this time last year and the commentary. It takes just less than an hour to do.

 

Compiling the year end chart is quite easy, I have a points system where I add up the points every week, then at the end of the year I change the order a little based on my opinion (I didn't do the points system in 2010 but it's made compiling a YE chart so much easier this year)

I compile mine from #40 to #1 too, it makes it easier for me to rank from least favourite to favourite and I often get to my Top 3 without having decided what will be #1.

To actually compile my chart I keep a playlist on iTunes called 'Chart breakers playlist' from which I add anything new I download/hear in the week as well as other older songs still floating about in my affections but not in my top 40. At the end of the week, I combine that playlist with my last top 40 on iTunes (I always keep my current top 40 as a separate playlist, it's what I listen to most during the week) and delete everything on it apart from my 40 favourite songs from the whole lot, which become the songs in my new top 40. That's the point that I start to type it up, however I work backwards so I always know my #40 before I know my #1, strange perhaps but it's the way that I've always done it - on really close weeks I don't often get an idea of what's at #1 until I whittle it down to three or four songs at the end! It probably sounds complicated but it's really not, and it ensures that I NEVER forget to chart songs.

 

That is the exact method I use as well, making a playlist and see who gets played most etc.

 

Although it seems like I'm the only one who use notepad rather than Excel/Word :lol:

To actually compile my chart I keep a playlist on iTunes called 'Chart breakers playlist' from which I add anything new I download/hear in the week as well as other older songs still floating about in my affections but not in my top 40. At the end of the week, I combine that playlist with my last top 40 on iTunes (I always keep my current top 40 as a separate playlist, it's what I listen to most during the week) and delete everything on it apart from my 40 favourite songs from the whole lot, which become the songs in my new top 40. That's the point that I start to type it up, however I work backwards so I always know my #40 before I know my #1, strange perhaps but it's the way that I've always done it - on really close weeks I don't often get an idea of what's at #1 until I whittle it down to three or four songs at the end! It probably sounds complicated but it's really not, and it ensures that I NEVER forget to chart songs.

 

I tend to do this as well, but I actually went from #1 to the last track. I also have a playlist, but nice idea about the songs that you hear/download in that week, that is a nice touch.

This may shock and appall some of you, but I actually don't download everything that's in my chart :o A lot of stuff I will just listen to/watch on YouTube etc. And I listen to a lot of older (like 70s/80s/90s) music on my iPod and iTunes so it really wouldn't work to make a playlist of my most played tracks.

I hate not having everything in my chart available to listen to, back before I downloaded much I had a stupid chart rule where nothing would be able to make my top three until I had a hard copy of it (mainly because I used to listen to my top three every day before going to bed :lol:). So loads of songs went from 4-1 in my chart between 1999-2004 as soon as I got hold of the physical, the final single to fall foul of that rule iirc was Shapeshifters' Lola's Theme! Since downloads have taken over I always make sure that I have every song in my top 40 downloaded, even if it's just a Youtube rip.

 

I should point out that I listen to as much older music as I do current music throughout the week, that's what all of my MANY other playlists are for :lol: My most played never comes into it when compiling my chart though, because I often won't even play my #1 more than five times a week. I listen to a LOT of music, but maybe 400+ unique tracks a week sometimes (old and new), as opposed to the same ten over and over again.