There are a couple of things that go into ranking...
1) For popular bands, many people can do it.
2) It is useful if you are looking to get into a band, and want to start with the most highly esteemed.
3) In a community, you get snapshots of other people's tastes.
4) A listmaker can summarize some seriously cultivated knowledge about a thing they are passionate about.
5) They can be quick and easy to digest (unless, and you know who you are, there are more than 10 things on your list - that is more noise than signal, imo).
6) They can occasionally spark an interesting and highly specific discussion about the finer points of a thing, a conversation that wouldn't really have a chance to happen elsewhere.
However, I tend to be with OP. My appreciation of music is largely and emotional and intuitive thing. My favorites ebb and flow, and I hold no pretense of an objective criteria that extends beyond the creation a that list.
When I participate in such threads I tend to give two or three items with a sentence or two of explanation for each: what I feel most passionately about with a little bit of why. Hopefully that helps readers get on their way.
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