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Having trouble with ellipsis. I want to say that at one point in time, there was not a lot of songs that we would label "tango" today, but that the very fact that there was not a lot makes "the songs that we would label tango today" worth investigating.

Is any of the following sentences correct?

"There was not a profusion of songs that would be labeled 'tango' today - which obviously makes those highly worth investigating"

"There was not a profusion of songs that would be labeled 'tango' today - which obviously make those that would highly worth investigating"

"There was not a profusion of songs that would be labeled 'tango' today - which obviously makes those that would be highly worth investigating"

Thanks a lot

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The versions with "would" and "would be" are grammatical, but they aren't easy to read. It might be easier to make the reference with a word like "few":

There were few songs that we would label 'tango', and that makes those few worth investigating.

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  • Thanks a lot, very clear answer. Your sentence is indeed easier to read but the context of my paragraph makes it difficult to skip my "there was not a profusion of". Would it be correct and slightly easier to read if I said "There was not a profusion of songs that would be labeled 'tango' today, and that makes the few that would worth investigating"? Thanks. – Miles Nov 21 '20 at 16:29
  • That sentence works, but it's not as easy to read. "Profusion" is more often used in a positive sense. I think "There were not many" or "There were few" might work better. – Jack O'Flaherty Nov 21 '20 at 17:01
  • OK. Great, thanks a lot for your clear advice! - Sorry, I can't upvote your answer, seems I haven't got enough points yet – Miles Nov 21 '20 at 17:26

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