We kind of already have a "Top HN stories" list, and it's the hidden /active URL[1] which sorts by number of comments [made within N hours?]. Not everyone agrees with this. dang himself doesn't, and has said he thinks /active tends to end up with the threads that devolved into flamewars or got otherwise "too overheated." Fine, that's probably also true, but what News actually matters? Some package I've never heard of being ported to Rust? or some controversial event that broadly impacts the tech industry or computing, which yes happened to get a lot of "spirited" discussion?
The main page tends to get some cool, oddball articles that you wouldn't otherwise see, but also gets clogged with very, very niche stuff that you're statistically unlikely to care about. Also, articles rise and fall from the main page too fast IMO, especially the ones that get overheated.
If you visit HN once a day, and want to see the 10 articles that probably affect you in some way, you can't beat /active. Just put on your fireproof suit before visiting the comments.