There are a lot of folks who are shouting, "But what about this spell?". Certainly in the circumstances described that spell would be great. This is also what makes that spell "circumstantial".
I wouldn't want Treantmonk's awesome guide to rank spells based on the one or two awesome uses that they have. Surely *all* spells have a use.
When looking over the guide, I'd say that he's definitely choosing spells based on which ones a wizard will regularly use, and should therefor consider preparing. Spells that have many various uses, or which can be applied to many situations, are obviously the ones that you want ready each adventuring day.