That's obvious. I hope nobody here believe that all single titles by one brand are superior to any single titles of another brand. We are talking considering the average quality. Agreed, every brand produced some good stuff. But I think its more a discussion about "feel" here, otherwise it would be better to discuss individual titles. What is feel? Difficult to describe, but I think its a very subjective thing: a mix of nostalgia, look, type of build, themes, music, etc. Not really an objective judjement of pure gameplay then. The thing is that in pinball pure gameplay is not exactly the same as fun. All the other elements creating the "feel" are also an important part of the overall enjoyment of a machine. Having said that, in the long run some machines have more lasting power than others: better to listen to the opinion of (unbiased) people with long experience.

The right idea is to have a mix in a collection. There should be some a couple from each era from different manufacturers. It's all good. Some days I'd rather play Seawitch than metallica. Others days It's AFM or HS I'd rather play. Variety is a great thing.

thats because they have been around longer and cab be judged properly.

Well, actually the 90's B/W DMD pins were only made for less than 10 years total. Stern has been making them for 16 years after Williams closed the doors. So your argument is wrong and actually works the opposite of what you wanted.

That list means less than nothing if that's actually possible. do you know what the highest rated album of 2016 was?

I agree with this comment

Nothing is better than a smooth, 100% working B/W pin. Granted some titles are better than others but I can play a nice example of TZ or AFM all day. One of the big reasons I like newer Stern pins is that they are most often in good working order. It's also fun to learn the rules on any pin you have not played before. In the end, pinball is fun and I like to have fun.

The top100 ranking is totally fake and manipulated. Firstly because its simply about people rating high their own machines. The more they paid, the more they lie. Secondly, instead of looking to the ranking position, check the scores. It goes from 8.8 to 6.8 from #1 to #300. From #1 to #50 there is a spread of less than 1 point!! (0.9). From #51 to #100 there is a gap of 0.3 point!! And even smaller difference from #100 to #300. So it means that all owners rate very high their own machines. Also, there are comments and pure votes. Votes are hidden, but are the majority. Manipulation (hopefully not from the insiders, just a joke of course) could be easily applied, in order to create a kind of believable and presentable ranking.

Considering that theme and feel plays a big role in the subjective appreciation of a machine, I do not think a random 8.8 machine is necessarily better than a 7.8 machine. The difference of just 1 point is not much at all. But its the difference between #1 (MM) and #67 (Batman).

Some Stern games stink...some are awesome. Some Stern games play like other Stern games. Some don't.

Some B/W games stink...some are awesome. Some B/W games play like other B/W games. Some don't.

Ultimately, play and collect what you enjoy...don't worry about what others are playing or enjoy.

Some people line certain eras, some like certain brands. Most of us like them all.

Couldn't have said it better. The only thing I would add is that the top 50 has a higher noob vote factor (<5 years) which only adds to misconceptions...those are the ones who USUALLY think that pinball was invented by BW in 1991.

Correct. So if you factor this in, basically all machines end up with extremely similar scores. Mathematically there will always be a #1, but with those tiny spreads it does not make sense.
So how it comes that MM, TZ... (a TZ owner here, looove it, and speaking against my interest) still have a tiny advantage over the others, giving the ranking a "common sense" perception? How it comes Big Lebowski perfectly lands at 8.82 after only 17 votes? Aahhh mysteries, mysteries....