The peaks with the greatest prominence are inevitably those that give the hiker and climber the greatest sense of accomplishment. Comparing altitude above sea level is often like comparing apples and oranges. But you can still compare prominences across these areas. Prominence comparison is always meaningful, even when altitudes are disparate and altitude comparison is meaningless. A 2000' prominence list for the Appalachians, Rockies, or Cascades would all lead the hiker and climber to the most interesting and climbworthy peaks in each of these areas.
Prominence is much better than elevation above sea level as a means of generating lists.
We will see in the next section that prominence, unlike elevation, is capable of being the sole criterion for generating a list. There are many lists of peaks that purport to show all peaks above a certain altitude or the highest n peaks in a certain area, such as the Colorado 14,000' list or the Colorado 100 highest. Any such list must face the criterion of whether to include a certain peak or exclude it because it was deemed a subsidiary of a higher nearby peak. It makes no sense to include every boulder, pinnacle, and crag, so the line must be drawn somewhere. Objective criteria are very important here because otherwise it can be impossible to reach a consensus in finalizing a list since the personal preferences of those with influence in preparing the list will inevitably come into play.