Some places in the UK (Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, etc) view some A-level subjects like Business Studies, Visual Arts or Accounting as ‘soft’, whereas the ‘hard’ ones are Physics, Chemistry, etc.
Do the top colleges in the US do the same toward an applicant with GCE A-level qualifications?
It would probably depend on your major. If you’re applying to a school of engineering and your A levels are Business, Accounting and Visual Arts, then yeah, it will probably make a difference.
You’ll be expected to have at least two “solid” A-levels if you choose a third “soft” one for colleges ranked 30-60 (national universities/LACs) but if you’re aiming for colleges with acceptance rates at 20% or below, you should have three solid A-levels and then add a 4th AS or A level in a “soft” subject (even Media Studies). Note that in the US, Ancient Greek, Latin, Philosophy, and Further Maths would be equally impressive :).