Outside magazine went looking for Utopia and found . . . Salt Lake City.

The magazine, a hip outdoor adventure periodical, has named Salt Lake City one of the Top 10 "New American Dream Towns" in its August edition.

It's been a year full of kudos — some odder than others — for Utah and its capital city. Last summer, Forbes magazine named Utah the "best place to die." Last winter, the New Sex Institute of Beverly Hills, Calif., named Utah the fifth "most sexually adventurous" state in America.

We're a country that loves to rank, judge and award, especially if it will sell magazines or more sex DVDs.

Sometimes it's difficult to keep all these rankings straight. Last year, we were rated the No. 19 best city in the country to find a soul mate (by One2One Living magazine) but No. 34 in a ranking of "best cities for singles" (by Forbes.com). Forbes looked at nightlife, culture, job growth, number of other singles and "coolness." One2One Living looked at the very same things but added "love readiness." As the magazine's editor told the Deseret Morning News, people in Salt Lake City are more likely to keep the partner they have rather than "upgrade."

Ranking cities and states is not an exact science. To pick the sweatiest cities in the country (Utah came in at a only slightly moist No. 51), Procter and Gamble looked at average daily temperature and humidity in each city, and factored in the weight and height of the average American. To pick the "most sexually adventurous" states, the New Sex Institute relied on online orders for its "new sex techniques" — a statistic that might not factor in the fact that Utahns are simply too afraid they'll run into a neighbor while shopping offline at the Blue Boutique.

If you're keeping score, Utah and Salt Lake City also are in the Top 10 for: in-migration, bank deposit growth and oral health for seniors. On the downside, we also ranked at the top in bankruptcy filings, toxic releases and short-term small-particle pollution. Last year, Salt Lake City did not make the Top 10 cities in an 820-page book called "Cities Ranked and Rated," but we did make the grade in the Gold Guide's infrastructure and entrepreneurship categories.

Some rankings rely on data (Salt Lake ranks fifth nationally in "active home Internet users"). Some interpret data (Utah's No. 1 choice as "best place to die" was based on factors such as hospice care and elder law). Some "give a lot of weight to perception," notes Michael De Groote, Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce director of communication and marketing.

That's why, De Groote says, "when you see an article about Salt Lake you hold your breath. You wonder, did the people do their homework or are they just willing to take a cheap shot." The chamber was able to exhale when it heard about the Outside magazine choice of Salt Lake City as one of the Top 10 places in America to live, work and play.