Dynamic links page, do I use JS or PHP

Question

Hi, all! I'm looking to create a tags page that assigns both the links and the right type/number of overlayed borders to icons.

You can see a wonky HTML/JS version here:
http://aeoneon.tumblr.com/tags2

Something tells me I'd need to use an array to achieve this with JS, but something else tells me PHP is a better option.
Can someone nudge me in the right direction?

Answer 1

php is a better bet since js runs on the client and can be disabled. either will work though. php is just a cleaner solution. js and jquery if you want it more dynamic without requiring page refreshes.