Sharrow
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AD&D1's PHB tell you that the DM will inform you of the method they want you to use to roll up a character, and that you'll probablu need a couple of 15+ stats to be viable. The DMG gives 4d6, drop low, as 'Method I, and 3d6 in order as Method III, which I had not recalled - we usually used the 'roll 6 sets, take the one you hate least' option.Yes, but it is the only time it's been applied as an official model for AD&D, and is called out as "Method I," implying that it's the default. In practice, "Method V" (4d6k3) became the baseline.
As for the AD&D2 list, I'm pretty sure they ranked them in order according to which gave the best average stats and from least to most choice. The unfortunate part is where they warn DMs of power inflation when discussing 4d6, drop low, when it's more usually the result of players rolling their stats out of the DM's direct oversight.
EDIT: I'm going off the text of the 1995 re-release of AD&D2, because that's what I have to hand. The earlier printings may have had different passages, as 2e changed stuff here and there with reprintings, and those changes were poorly, if ever documented.