Computer-implemented methods for pushing or popping an element on to of off of an N-way linked list in a computer memory may include one or more atomic memory operations on a handle of the N-way linked list. One embodiment for pushing a first element on to an N-way linked list may include setting a next sequential element pointer of the first element to point to an unknown location marker. Another embodiment for popping a first element off of an N-way linked may include marking a sub-list tail handle with a designation indicating that the particular sub-list is involved in a pop process. In yet another embodiment, a method for popping a first element off of an N-way linked list may include storing in a sub-list tail handle a pointer to a pseudo element. The handle may fit within a single line of cache memory.