Best American Fiction of Last 25 years

I've just lifted this lock stock and barrel from the Contemporary Literature web-site. Click on the heading to go there. Best American Fiction? Today's NYTBR cover story concerns Book Review Editor, Sam Tanenhaus's list of the best works of American fiction published in the last 25 years, the results of a query sent to "a couple of hundred prominent writers, critics, editors and other literary sages," asking that they vote on the question. Tanenhaus's poll drew 125 votes and the following top 5 novels: Beloved by Toni Morrison - 15 votes Underworld by Don DeLillo - 11 votes John Updike's Rabbit Angstrom novels - 8 votes Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy - 8 votes American Pastoral by Philip Roth - 7 votes Books that also received multiple votes from the 125 cast were: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin White Noise by Don DeLillo The Counterlife by Philip Roth Libra by Don DeLillo Where I'm Calling From by Raymond Carver The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien Mating by Normon Rush Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson Operation Shylock by Philip Roth Independence Day by Richard Ford Sabbath's Theater by Philip Roth Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy The Human Stain by Philip Roth The Known World by Edward P. Jones The Plot Against America by Philip Roth The list has been available since last Monday and has been the topic of much online discussion. Has Philip Roth really written 6 of the 21 (29%) best American works of fiction these past 25 years? Why only two women on the list and where are all the younger authors who have penned great work in the past quarter century? No one is arguing the merit of the work selected, but the merit of all the work that was not selected. Where are the Zadie Smiths,The Neal Stephensons, and the David Foster Wallaces? Where are the Michael Chabons, the Lydia Davises, and the Walter Mosleys? How do you compare a Bruce Sterling novel to a Philip Roth? How does one derive such a list from a mere 125 votes? And what makes these works of fiction "best?" What do you think? This is me talking again - I've read a few of these - most of the Philip Roth books and a couple of the DeLillo. I haven't seen the full list - you have to join the New York Times Book Review Club to see that but, from the ones mentioned above I, and I don't suppose I am alone in this, want to know where are such as James Lee Burke, Charles Bukowski,Tom Wolfe, George Pelecanos, Elmore Leonard, Chuck Palahniuk, James Ellroy, Richard Powers.....to name only those whose books I can see from where I'm sitting.....where is Stephen King.....where for fux sake is Kinky Friedman??? What do you think?