I have actually expanded on this idea a bit more now to include:
(for five different areas)
Newest:
Most Popular:
Highest Rated:
Recently Reviewed:

But the real trick comes from this part:

The top level categories are all different:
The second level are all the same:

So it looks like this:
Top 1
Sub 1, Sub 2, Sub 3, Sub 4, Sub 5
Top 2
Sub 1, Sub 2, Sub 3, Sub 4, Sub 5
Top 3
Sub 1, Sub 2, Sub 3, Sub 4, Sub 5
and so on...

The newest link for the first area would come from all Sub 1 level areas within all (or selected) Top levels:
The newest link for the second area would come from all Sub 2 level areas within all (or selected) Top levels:
The newest link for the third area would come from all Sub 3 level areas within all (or selected) Top levels:
and so on through five areas.

The most popular link for the first area would come from all Sub 1 level areas within all (or selected) Top levels:
The most popular link for the second area would come from all Sub 2 level areas within all (or selected) Top levels:
The most popular link for the third area would come from all Sub 3 level areas within all (or selected) Top levels:
and so on through five areas.
and so on through the five areas...

Any thoughts on this?