General Forum

MLB.com ran a piece today taking the top 25 Topps baseball designs. What do you think? For me, 2002 and 2007 would have never sniffed the list, and I wouldn't have 2008 that high. I would give 1991, 2015, and possibly 1993 a little more love.

https://www.mlb.com/cut4/the-best-topps-card-designs-of-all-time

Yeah, pretty decent list.  I wonder if the 50s and 60s rank so high. because of the aesthetics or because of nostalgia.  I would have ranked 87 higher, 82 as well and put the 93-set on there.

I know nostalgia plays a part. It's probably why I would rank 80s sets so highly and would want the inclusion of 90s sets in the list.

No '58 topps makes the article laughable.  Yet they have '86 on the list.

Different strokes for different folks, but I have some major disagreements. The Clown cards at #4? No 1957 or 1955? I think ‘54 was missing, too. And 1978. 

Still, a fun read. 

V3

The guy clearly likes black boarders. 86 and 07 would not be that high on my list. 91 should really be on there. I also would have 89 on there but thats purely a nostaliga thing that was the first complete set I ever got. 

Here are my random, jumping all over the place thoughts: I'm not a fan of the 57 design, sue me, but there needs to be more 50s. The first set I collected in my youth was 2007 Topps, but I still wouldn't have it in the top 25. I like it, but it is not a top 25 design. '87 Topps is in about the right spot. Also, I don't know why this guy so adores non-white borders, but he included basically every set that doesn't have white borders (minus the ugly borderless cards they make now). 62, 68, 71, 87, 07, 02(???), 75, etc. Frankly, I hate the '62, '68, and '02 Topps designs. I definetely prefer black or white borders since they go with everything. Brown just doesn't work for me. '53 is a top 3 design on any list. Putting it 9th is a travesty in my opinion, although '59 as the #1 pick is a pretty good choice. I agree with the above posters that '86 is way too high. Also, of all the nice clean looking white border designs Topps put out from 2008-2014, why did he pick the 2010 to go on the list? In my opinion, that is one of the most boring designs Topps ever had. '06, '09, '11, '12, and maybe even '13 would have been better choices. '83 is also criminally low, and '93 should probably have made the list too. 

I do, however, agree with the 2008 Topps design. I can't explain why, but it just pops. It looks like something Topps might have put out in the early to mid 70s. 2008 Topps is my favorite Topps design in my collecting years, hands down. 

May not agree wth some of the choices or places in the line....i do totally agree with #1 being 1959. I may be partial since i was born in 1959.

I'm not sure how I'd rank them all, but I do know what I'd omit from the author's list.

• 1968 - Never was a fan. It's one of the ugliest designs they've ever done, if not the worst
• 1973 - This set along with a few others in this era contained lousy photography for cards. Decent action shots, but unfortunately many times one couldn't really tell which player in the picture the card was for.
• 1985 - The geometry doesn't work for me.
• 2002 - Just above the '68s in attractiveness for me

Ones that I personally like, but not sure the order:

• 1989 - I love the crispness of the design and the swoosh.
• 1964 - The bold lettering and clean name and position plate make this one a favorite
• 2018 - I like the swooshy touch on the front that works with the borderless design
• 1956 - Lots of great things happened in this year, including my birth

2007 is such an ugly design and deserves no mention on this list. It's also too bad that 1992 doesnt show up on the list.  Swap that with 2007