Cut Toledo or Ronda from itinerary?

I prefer Ronda but Toledo is more essential to Spanish history and culture. Are you looking for a good historical look? Toledo. If you want a pleasant place to visit, with history but not as crucial as Toledo...Ronda.

We have been to all those places. Ronda is a little more out of the way. Toledo is a great daytrip from Madrid. We actually spent 2 nights there and loved it. Save the Ronda area for another trip.

Hmmm. Hard to know given the limited details you have shared.

General questions:
Have you ever been to Europe before? To Spain?
How long is your trip, and how many actual usable days do you have? That is, you're not just expecting to fly in from LA and plopp down in Barcelona for the night? Counting "nights" doesn't make sense to me - days matter more to me. While nights do matter, I think its best to plan where you're going to be during the day.
You definitely need to factor in the time lost when you move form one place to another (that typically consumes most of a day). With a short trip (like yours sounds), be careful you're not setting yourself up to be spending a high proportion of your time getting out of point A and into point B.

OK, as to specifics...some tough calls here. Not sure that 2 "nights" in Granada are needed - depends on how you time your visit to the Alhambra. You may only need one day there, maybe you don't need two nights.
Toledo is great, and I'd pick it over Ronda (if I had to pick one). But I'm a very strong believer that doing Toledo as a day trip is a serious mistake (because everyone does tat) - during 4 or 5 hours mid-day, its a crush of tourist crowds and really compromises the experience. It's better to arrive in the afternoon, spend the night then move on later the next morning - that way, you have the place to yourself after the day-trippers leave and before they come back the next day.
Problem is, all these places are "worth seeing".

I like Ronda and have been there twice, but I'd choose Toledo every time.

David's point about time needed actually to see a place is a good one, however. I think you're trying to cram too much into a short trip. If Barcelona is where you're arriving from the US or Canada, you're likely to have only two real days there after a fairly sleepless night on the plane. The trip from Barcelona to Seville is not short (even if you're flying, there's time dealing with the airports), so not much more than 1 day in Seville. Ditto in Granada. Part of a day in Ronda (or Toledo) and less than two days in Madrid. Just not enough time anywhere with the possible exception of Madrid if you don't care about the art museums.

I would choose Toledo for the simple reason that you are moving around a lot as it is, so you are better off with one less overnight destination. Both are worthy places to spend time.

Kristina, you have 10 nights and your itinerary plans for sleeping in 5 different cities, with some major distances involved, and lots of time moving from one hotel to the next, involving not only transit but a lot of packing and unpacking, checking out and in, transfers to airports and/or train stations, waiting for planes and/or trains, etc. and, I think you are short-changing some world-class cities, especially Barcelona. I was in all these cities this past spring. While I liked Madrid, it was my least favorite spot in wonderful Spain. My guidance would be: (1) choose Toledo over Ronda, (2) add one or two nights to Barcelona, and maybe one to Sevilla, (3) end my trip in Toledo for one or two nights (hopefully able to get from Toledo to your plane in Madrid, if that is your travel need) and (4) skip Madrid this trip.

I would choose Toledo for the simple reason that you are moving around a lot as it is, so you are better off with one less overnight destination. Hang on, I think that's already been said !!

Both are worthy places to spend time, BUT (this is me now, this bit >>) Toledo is more central to the story and the soul of Spain (Castilla), so I'd choose it.

To save time I would encourage you to fly Barcelona to Granada - check Vueling for fares.

Arrive in Barcelona - 3 nights
Fly to Granada - 2 nights
Train to Seville - 2 nights
Train to Madrid - 3 nights

Also, with only 2 full days in Barcelona I would't figure in an excursion to Montserrat, unless you have a particular aversion to Modernist architecture.

Love both cities but personally think there's more to see in Toledo.

3 nights in Barcelona likely means 2 full days. With a trip to Monserrat, that's not nearly enough time. I'd eliminate Ronda and add that day to Barcelona. Certainly Toledo over Ronda.