10. Phantom's Revenge: Kennywood - West Mifflin, PA

This coaster has a vertical drop of around 228 ft. and a ride that lasts about 1:45, which is acutally pretty decent. It appears that this coaster used to be called Steel Phantom, but was closed for renovations in 2000 and reopened in 2001 as Phantom's Revenge. Cute. I was originally intrigued by the name Kennywood, thinking it might be along the lines of "Dollywood" for Kenny G or something. Alas, it's just named after Kennywood Entertainment, which I've never heard of and am going to assume is much more boring than Kenny G. It could be something for the ownership to look into.

9. Fujiyama: Fuji-Q Highland - Yamanashi, Japan

Apparently the Japanese are into really tall rollercoasters as well. This one reaches a top height of 259 ft. and has a drop of 230 ft. So if you ever tire of plain old, American coasters, you should take a ride on one in Japan, which I'm guessing will be exactly the same as the ones in America, except you won't be able to understand a word anyone else is saying. Fun!

8. Goliath: Six Flags Magic Mountain - Valencia, CA

Goliath's tallest drop is also around 255 ft., so I guess you could consider these next two tied if you wanted. Actually, you may as well, because apparently because of good ol' Six Flags stashed all over the country, this coaster and Titan are nearly identical with the exception of Titan's extra helix and slight height advantage. Goliath has some other little quirks to add to its appeal, though. I found a few complaints of the G-Forces from this ride making people black out, but it said they recovered around the end of the ride. Oh, okay then. But don't worry, this ride is fun because you get to have your picture taken! So smile pretty...unless you're blacked out.

7. Titan: Six Flags over Texas - Arlington, TX

This one actually seems pretty cool once you get past the 255 ft. drop because it takes you into a tunnel and through a "Carousel turn." At least the ride seems like a decent length, even if from the video it looks like you spend most of your time sideways.  

6. Millennium Force: Cedar Point - Sandusky, OH 

I bet you can't guess when Millennium Force opened! Anyway, this coaster has around a 300 foot drop and is similarly constructed to Six Flags' Superman: Ride of Steel. The ride lasts 1:45, and has ranked in the top two in the Golden Ticket Awards for the Top Steel Roller Coaster since 2000 (Wikipedia). Cedar Point is home to Top Thrill Dragster, which is number two on our list, as well but Millennium Force must hold its own because it's been able to maintain its popularity although Top Thrill Dragster is newer and taller.

5 . Steel Dragon 2000: Nagashima Spa Land - Nagashima, Japan

I doubt that I will ever go ride this coaster since I have little desire to visit Nagashima Spa Land, but I appreciate it because it has a cool name. Apparently Steel Dragon 2000 is a gigacoaster, which is a term the makers of Millennium Force came up with to refer to roller coasters between 300 and 399 feet tall. I'm pretty sure no one ever calls it that, but you have to come up with something to market your roller coasters, since they all do relatively the same thing. Steel Dragon 2000 has around a 307 foot drop (what is this, a roller coaster version of the Arms Race?) but according to Wikipedia was involved in a vague accident in which one of the "trains lost a wheel." The ride was closed for the 2004 and 2005 seasons, and re-opened in 2006. Yeah, I'm definitely not going to rush to buy my plane ticket to Japan.

4. Tower of Terror: Dreamworld - Queensland, Australia

So, from the video, this ride looks aptly named, as it would scare the bejeezus out of me. This was the best angle to view the motion of the ride from, because the POV from the front seat didn't really get across what was happening. It kind of reminds me of the game at amusement parks when you hit the base with a mallet and the ball shoots up to ring the bell. I never wanted to be the ball though. It looks like they are in a little race car! Eeek! The structure itself is 377 ft. tall, but the drop is 328 ft., which is 328 more feet than I need to go anywhere backwards. Not my idea of fun, but whatever floats your boat.

3. Superman: The Escape: Six Flags Magic Mountain - Valencia, CA

I'd have to say Sig Flags ripped this off from the Australians and then tacked Superman's name on it. Cheap. This works almost identically to Tower of Terror except that two trains can run at once and it blasts you out of a little tube first. Niether of those things make me feel better about the experience as a whole. The total height is 415 ft. but the drop is around 330. Not my cup of tea. Oh, and I'm wondering why Six Flags can't come up with better names for their parks. Seriously.

2 . Top Thrill Dragster: Cedar Point - Sandusky, OH

This one held the record for tallest drop from May 2003 - May 2005 (according to Wikipedia) until the next bad-ass on our list ousted it. It has a 400 ft. vertical drop, but isn't really much of a roller coaster aside from that. I am not a roller coaster aficionado by any means, but from the video it looks like this coaster just dumps you down this gigantic drop and then pretty much stops. I'm sure the adrenaline high from the first hill must be impressive, but all in all, it seems like kind of a lame ride. I think the whole thing lasts for around 20-30 seconds total, and I'm sure you only have to wait for three hours to get on. Totally worth it, right? Plus, I did run across this one YouTube video of a car stuck at the top of the peak. Can you say panic attack? Eesh.

1. Kingda Ka: Six Flags Great Adventure - Jackson Township, NJ

Kingda Ka is our winner, which is 456 ft. tall with a 418 ft. vertical drop. To give you a frame of reference, the Statue of Liberty is 305 ft. tall from pedestal to torch. And by the way, when I say vertical, I mean the car looks like a caterpillar crawling down a wall, vertical. The video is insane. I don't know how those people managed to take their camera on board and hold onto it the whole time, but it certainly provides a pretty accurate depiction of the actual experience, which is something that is safe to say I'll never have. Again, not much a ride other than the steep hill. The entire thing lasts 50 seconds, which I would say would be about 1/35434 of your wait time.