What a tier list is
A tier list is a ranked visual chart. You take a defined set of items — video game characters, fast food chains, music albums, productivity apps, anime series — and arrange them into labelled rows (tiers) from best to worst. The standard format uses the letters S, A, B, C, D, and F, with S representing the best and F the worst. Some creators add SS or Z above S for truly exceptional items, or use custom tier names when the letter system does not fit the subject matter.
The format is simple enough to scan in seconds, specific enough to generate genuine argument, and flexible enough to apply to virtually anything. That combination is why tier lists have become one of the most durable content formats on the internet.
Where it came from
The tier list is a product of competitive gaming culture, specifically the Japanese fighting game scene of the 1990s. In arcades and at tournaments, players needed a shared vocabulary for discussing which characters were dominant in high-level play and which were liabilities. The S-A-B-C-D-F hierarchy borrowed the S grade from the Japanese educational system, where S (standing for “superior” or “special”) sits above the standard A-F range.
The format spread through the Super Smash Bros. community in the early 2000s — SmashBoards forum discussions of character viability introduced tier lists to a generation of Western players. When TierMaker.com launched in 2017, allowing anyone to create and share a tier list for any topic in minutes, the format expanded far beyond gaming into food, music, sports, film, and practically every other domain with opinionated fans.
Modern uses
The gaming origin is still evident — character tier lists for Street Fighter, Tekken, Mortal Kombat, and virtually every competitive game are published and debated weekly. But the format has migrated comprehensively into other areas:
Anime and media. Ranking anime series, film franchises, album discographies, or episodes within a series. The “anime tier list” is one of the most searched tier list formats outside gaming.
Food and consumer products. Fast food chains, crisps flavours (a perennial UK internet favourite), supermarket meal deals, coffee shop orders. These work because everyone has an opinion and the stakes are low enough for the disagreements to be fun.
Productivity tools and software. SaaS platforms, note-taking apps, project management tools. These drive engagement from professional communities and work well for affiliate content.
Sports drafts and analysis. Ranking players, teams, seasons, or match performances. Particularly popular for American football, basketball, and Premier League football.
Classroom use. History, literature, and science teachers use tier lists to make comparative analysis concrete — ranking historical decisions, characters by moral complexity, or scientific discoveries by impact. For pure two- or three-way comparisons, a Venn diagram is the complementary classroom tool.
Opinion and lifestyle content. Travel destinations, gym exercises, supermarket chains, public transport systems. The tier list format turns any personal preference into shareable content.
Understanding the tiers
The conventional tier meanings, though they shift somewhat by community:
- SS or Z tier: Exceptional. Best-in-class, no close competition. Not all tier lists use this level — it is usually reserved when a single item is so far above the rest that placing it in S tier would misrepresent the gap.
- S tier: Top tier. Excellent with no significant weaknesses. In competitive gaming, S tier means “use this.”
- A tier: Very good. Strong and reliable, minor weaknesses. A competitive or high-quality choice.
- B tier: Good. Some weaknesses, but still worth using or recommending.
- C tier: Average. More weaknesses than strengths. Will get the job done but not the first choice.
- D tier: Below average. Not recommended unless nothing better is available.
- F tier: Bottom tier. Poor, broken, or unusable in the context being ranked.
Note that in non-gaming contexts, the emotional weight of these tiers changes. Being told your favourite coffee order is “C tier” is a mild provocation. Being told a piece of work is “F tier” in a professional context is a different matter. Adapt the labelling to the audience.
Tools for making tier lists
TierMaker.com. The most popular dedicated tool. Thousands of pre-built templates for games, anime, sports, and general pop culture. Free to use; accounts allow saving and sharing. Drag items from a pool into tiers, then save as an image or share a link.
TierLists.com. Similar to TierMaker. Also free, web-based.
Canva. Has drag-and-drop tier list templates in the free tier. Better for visual customisation and branded content. Export as PNG, JPEG, or PDF.
Google Slides or PowerPoint. A simple grid with coloured rows. Takes 5 minutes to set up from scratch and offers full control. Suitable for classroom use or professional contexts where you want to avoid sharing links to third-party platforms.
Printed templates. A printed A4 or letter-size grid with tier labels and image slots. Works for physical classroom activities, game nights, and events. Print, cut out items, and physically place them.
Step-by-step: making a good tier list
The distinction between a tier list that generates genuine engagement and one that gets dismissed as indefensible is usually this: criteria.
Step 1 — State the criteria. Before placing a single item, decide what you are ranking. If it is competitive performance in a game, say so and specify the game mode and patch version. If it is personal preference, say that too. Ambiguous criteria produce ambiguous tier lists that are easy to dismiss.
Step 2 — Anchor the extremes. Place your most confident entries first — the obvious S-tier choices and the obvious F-tier choices. These create reference points for placing everything else.
Step 3 — Fill from confidence to uncertainty. Items you are sure about go in quickly. Items you are uncertain about can sit in a holding area and be placed relative to your anchors.
Step 4 — Accept that middle tiers are the most debatable. S and F tiers are usually less controversial than A–D. The interesting debates live in B and C. Do not over-engineer the lower-middle placements.
Step 5 — Export and caption clearly. State your criteria in the description, caption, or image itself. For video content, defend at least one or two controversial placements in the first 30 seconds — this is the hook.
Common mistakes
Shifting criteria mid-list. Ranking some items on quality, others on popularity, and others on personal preference without acknowledging it produces a list that is genuinely incoherent. Pick a framework and apply it consistently.
Filling every tier. Distributing items evenly across all tiers for the sake of using the full format produces a worse tier list than one with three tiers that are genuinely populated and three that are empty. The tier distribution should reflect reality, not the format.
Not labelling tier criteria. The most common failure in shareable tier list content. Without a label or caption explaining what is being ranked and by what measure, the list invites only unproductive argument.
Using only colour to distinguish tiers. Some percentage of your audience will be colour-blind. Always include text labels — S, A, B, etc. — prominently in each tier row.
Worked example
Mia is a UK-based TikTok creator with 38,000 followers focused on lo-fi music and study content. She creates a “Best Lo-Fi Study Albums” tier list for a video she plans to post alongside a study-with-me session.
Her criteria: “Ranked for sustained concentration work — no lyrics that register, no jarring tempo changes, minimal ear fatigue over 90+ minutes.”
SS tier: Nujabes — Modal Soul (2005). The gold standard. Seamless transitions, no intrusive elements, works for 4+ hours of study without mental intrusion.
S tier: Idealism — Take; Cosmo Sheldrake — Wake Up Calls.
A tier: J Dilla — Donuts (some tracks too structural for pure background use); Tomppabeats — Make Me a Sandwich.
B tier: Gen Hoshino — Pop Virus (slight pop structure, occasional lyrical awareness).
C tier: Most Spotify-curated lo-fi playlists (variable quality, ads on free accounts, occasional jarring track transitions).
F tier: Generic “lo-fi hip hop radio” streams with the animated anime girl. Not bad music — but the loop repetition destroys sustained concentration around the 45-minute mark.
The video gets 4,200 engagements and 220 comments. The top comment is a 400-word defence of Donuts in S tier. The second is someone demanding she add Floating Points. Both are correct responses to a good tier list.
Accessibility and sharing considerations
Tier lists are primarily visual content. For social media posts, always include an alt-text description (e.g. “Tier list ranking lo-fi study albums from SS to F. SS: Nujabes Modal Soul…”). For classroom use, ensure printed templates have both colour and text labelling for each tier. For video content, verbally name each placement rather than relying on the visual alone — this makes the content accessible to screen-reader users and those following on audio only.