At this point no one should be getting worked up about lists. They're what writers dash off when their editors need to fill space. They rarely involve a lot of thought, most of the research is probably just emailing a friend or two.
I did some SEO stuff at my last job and lists are one of those things EVERYONE does to drive traffic to their sites. "Top Ten Reasons..." and "Top Ten ______ You Need to Know About" are beyond cliches at this point, take em for what they are. Look at DIGG - Cracked.com is almost always on there, and its always something like TOP TEN SUPERVILLAINS FROM ASIA or whatever (confession: I enjoy some of the cracked lists, they can dig deep occasionally... Really liked the one about racist cartoons from a year or two ago).
That being said - a list with real thought put into it is thereby that much more valuable.
