DISREGARD THIS RANTING
Correct answer: select top 1000 col1 from bigtable, select top 10 percent col1 from bigtable
I too selected a single answer not multiple answers
KevRiley - please accept my sincere apologies for my stupidity
I have edited my previous 2 posts to reflect the above.
Again - thanks for not kicking my butt too hard, but I deserved it