A sorter receives a list of elements to be sorted. An element of the list is supplied to a selected one of a plurality of processing units to be processed. The selected one of the processing units sends the element to one of a plurality of list element cells, which rank orders the elements among other elements in the same list element storage as well as storing the position of each element from the original list. Each of the plurality of list element cells processes and stores a different range of element values. The element being processed is stored in sorted order in the list element cell that has an element value range that encompasses the value of the element of the list.