Green’s Dictionary of Slang

usu. of an individual, excellent, best, highly favoured; also as a general phr. of affirmation.

1935		Ted Yates This Is New York 4 Oct. [synd.col.] L.M. Hunt [...] deputy of this column, relates that Garland Wilson is ‘tops’ [ibid.] 11 Oct. Bill (Bojangles) Robinson [and] Joe Louis [...] Two tops performers .
1937		T. Brennan Death Squads in Morocco 235: He was tops with those four women .
1938		P. Grey ‘’Twixt Night ’n’ Dawn’ in Afro-American (Baltimore, MD) 3 Dec. 11/4: Margie Watkins [...] well, she’s tops.
c.1940–5		‘Myles na gCopaleen’ Best of Myles (1968) 190: You saved my life [...] You’re tops!
1947		I. Shulman Amboy Dukes 23: He was a Duke, and the Dukes were tops.
1949		I. Shulman Cry Tough! 13: That was good. Tops.
1953		W. Brown Monkey On My Back (1954) 183: His mom was tops.
1960		C. Cooper Jr Scene (1996) 87: The Man is tops, you know that. I don’t have to worry about nothin. He springs me if I get busted.
1968		J. Colebrook Cross of Lassitude 11: A man can’t do nothing for me but put money in my pocket ... Here in Darlenton, it’s tops!
1979		G. Wolff Duke of Deception (1990) 104: Your pop’s the best, tops.
1987		K. Lette Girls’ Night Out (1995) 89: Apart from that everything’s just fabulous. Tops. Terrific.
1992		‘Roy Slaven’ (John Doyle) Five South Coast Seasons 38: Yeah, it’s tops. Hats off to the judges.
2015		N. Cummins Tales of the Honey Badger [ebook] [C]age diving with great whites [...] a tops experience.