ABC reports on Q magazine’s top 20 list of pop songs released between 1987 and this year. I listen to hard rock and metal, not much pop, so I can’t get too offended, but there are a few criticisms I have of the choices.

First of all, yeah yeah yeah, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had to be first. Get it out of your system. At least they didn’t include a second drizzle of Cobain diarrhea. Sure, every song on Nevermind was catchy, but there are three or four albums every year that meet that criteria. And they did not invent grunge; Green River debuted in 1984.

All Nevermind was was the right album at the right time. A feat, yes, but let’s not pretend they invented a whole new sound. They got famous by bubblegumming up the dirtier sound of better bands, and even into the ’90s Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden showed far more talent. (It’s not so much that I hate Nirvana as that I hate Nirvana worship.)

With that rant out of the way…I loved Outkast’s double album, but I’m not sure “Hey Ya!” deserves the number two spot.

There are some very bizarre statistical trends in the picks. 20 songs and 20 years should come out to roughly one song a year, with a few exceptions. This is true for the first four years (87-90; thank God they included “Sweet Child O’ Mine”), but after that everything goes out of whack. 1991 has three songs, and 1997 has five. 2003 and 2006 have two each, and there are dry spots in 92-93, 2001-02 and 2004-05.

So what’s the deal with 1997? I was in middle school then, but I paid attention to music and didn’t notice a particularly good year. The only thing I remember even buying was Metallica’s Reload. Indeed, some of the picks are questionable: The Verve got sued over “Bitter Sweet Symphony” because it sampled too much of a recording of a Rolling Stones song — though people sure seem to like it. I’ve never even heard of Cornershop, which apparently recorded “Brimful of Asha” that year.

Even the more recent choices are kind of obscure. The Arctic Monkeys’s 2006 song “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor”…again, I don’t really follow pop, but I’ve never heard of it.

Finally, the list is missing some of the songs I remember being far bigger than most of these were. What about Boyz II Men’s “I’ll Make Love to You,” Usher’s “Yeah!” and Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On”? Snoop Doggy Dogg’s “Gin and Juice”? Puff Daddy’s “I’ll Be Missing You”? Green Day’s “Basket Case” or Bush’s “Glycerine”? Anything from Aerosmith’s three comeback albums (Permanent Vacation, Pump and Get a Grip)?

It’s a long shot, but Nine Inch Nails’s “Closer” would add a little variety.

With all my complaints, though, I own six of the records and am familiar with most of the others, so it can’t be that bad.

Robert VerBruggen blogs at http://robertsrationale.blogspot.com.