A method of performing data/information recording and retrieval utilizing a multilevel patterned magnetic medium, comprises: (a) providing a magnetic recording system including a read/write head and a multilevel patterned magnetic recording medium including a plurality of spaced apart elements each comprising a stacked plurality n of magnetic recording cells with different magnetic properties and magnetically decoupled from overlying and/or underlying cells; (b) providing relative movement between the write head and magnetic recording medium; and; (c) writing to the medium by supplying the write head with a modulated write current comprising a plurality n of pulses of different magnitudes while the head moves past each element, thereby applying n different magnetic field strengths to each element, the write current including a first pulse of magnitude sufficient to write to a first cell of each element having a highest magnetic coercivity of said cells, and n-1 succeeding pulses of progressively smaller magnitude for sequentially writing to the remaining n-1 lower magnetic coercivity cells of each element but of insufficient magnitude to write to progressively higher magnetic coercivity cells; whereby the writing occurs in a single pass of the write head past each element.