🎵 How Good Are They Really 🎵 Bob Dylan

Yeah that’s right, it’s a big one. One of the few big hitters that we haven’t covered yet. Let’s talk about Bob Dylan.

First, here’s the thing

Artist Rating
Aretha Franklin 4.64
Neil Young 4.48
Otis Redding 4.34
David Bowie 4.31
The Beatles 4.31
Pixies 4.3
The Cure 4.28
Björk 4.27
Marvin Gaye 4.21
Stevie Wonder 4.17
PJ Harvey 4.17
Nirvana 4.15
Radiohead 4.13
The Supremes 4.13
Prince 4.11
Wu-Tang Clan 4.11
Kate Bush 4.07
OutKast 4.07
Portishead 4.03
Kendrick Lamar 3.97
Jimi Hendrix 3.93
Joni Mitchell 3.89
Massive Attack 3.89
Bruce Springsteen 3.84
The Clash 3.77
Blondie 3.73
Rage Against The Machine 3.71
ABBA 3.66
Kanye West 3.65
Blur 3.61
Beyoncé 3.54
Bob Marley & The Wailers 3.48
Jeff Buckley 3.47
Madonna 3.4
Toots & The Maytals 3.35
The Smashing Pumpkins 3.3
Elton John 3.28
Kylie Minogue 3.27
Sugababes 3.22
Rihanna 3.19
Led Zeppelin 3.16
Jay-Z 3.14
Taylor Swift 3.14
The Rolling Stones 3.09
The Strokes 3.03
Elvis Presley 3.02
Weezer 3
Girls Aloud 2.93
Britney Spears 2.85
Metallica 2.81
Green Day 2.81
Basement Jaxx 2.75
Oasis 2.71
Lady Gaga 2.61
Queen 2.6
Bloc Party 2.41
Eminem 2.38
Blink-182 2.21
Adele 2.05

And now

What do we think then, about Robert Allen Zimmerman?

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0 voters

Best album

  • Bob Dylan
  • The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
  • The Times They Are A-Changin’
  • Another Side Of Bob Dylan
  • Bringing It All Back Home
  • Highway 61 Revisited
  • Blonde On Blonde
  • John Wesley Harding
  • Nashville Skyline
  • Self Portrait
  • New Morning
  • Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid
  • Dylan
  • Planet Waves
  • Blood On The Tracks
  • The Basement Tapes
  • Desire
  • Street-Legal
  • Slow Train Coming
  • Saved
  • Shot Of Love
  • Infidels
  • Empire Burlesque
  • Knocked Out Loaded
  • Down In The Groove
  • Oh Mercy
  • Under The Red Sky
  • Good As I Been To You
  • World Gone Wrong
  • Time Out Of Mind
  • “Love & Theft”
  • Modern Times
  • Together Through Life
  • Christmas In The Heart
  • Tempest
  • Shadows In The Night
  • Fallen Angels
  • Triplicate

0 voters

And best single is taken from The Essential Bob Dylan (no way I was going to type out 91 single titles)

  • Blowin’ In The Wind
  • Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
  • The Times They Are A-Changin’
  • It Ain’t Me Babe
  • Maggie’s Farm
  • It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
  • Mr Tambourine Man
  • Subterranean Homesick Blues
  • Like A Rolling Stone
  • Positively 4th Street
  • Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?
  • I Want You
  • Just Like A Woman
  • Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
  • All Along The Watchtower
  • Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)
  • I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
  • Lay, Lady, Lay
  • If Not For You
  • I Shall Be Released
  • You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
  • Knockin On Heaven’s Door
  • Forever Young
  • Tangled Up In Blue
  • Shelter From The Storm
  • Hurricane
  • Changin’ Of The Guards
  • Gotta Serve Somebody
  • Blind Willie McTell
  • Jokerman
  • Tight Connection To My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love?)
  • Silvio
  • Everything Is Broken
  • Dignity
  • Not Dark Yet
  • Things Have Changed

0 voters

10/5. the GOAT. more good songs than anyone ever, apart from young thug

10 Likes

Such a very easy 5. One of my earlier proper music obsessions. Staying to bask in the absolutely steaming hot takes that I imagine are en route.

Favourite track: Ballad of a Thin Man (live) from No Direction Home

4 Likes

The 5est of 5s from me. I read Bruce Springsteen describe that snare crack at the start of Like A Rolling Stone as ‘the moment music’s eyes opened’ once and it’s hard to disagree. There’s a lot of bilge, especially in the 80s, but what artist wouldn’t have that after nearly 60 years. It’s hugely outweighed by just how good the good stuff is, and there’s a lot of good stuff. Gone for Blonde On Blonde for best album, but Blood On The Tracks is very close behind, and I’ve always had a soft spot for Desire too. Also, Tangled Up In Blue is one of the best short stories ever written.

5 Likes

Easy 5, easiest 5 going. Got into him through the first 5 albums as a kid. My Dad still has an original pressing of Bring It All Back Home knocking round the house somewhere. Didn’t know about Highway 61 Revisited really until I 1st saw the Last Waltz in 2001.

Did know about the Free Trade Hall gig because my Dad used to bang on about the bootleg being mislabelled all the time although I never heard it until years later

Favourite track The Loansome Death Of Hattie Carol (this will change every 5 minutes but, always come back to this song)

1 Like

5

1 Like

the run of albums from freewheelin’ to blonde on blonde is insane, even before you consider that he did it in 3 years

8 Likes

1/5: should have done more christmas albums

obv 5/5

7 Likes

Never really gelled for me. Feels like someone I should like rather someone I actually do like.

16 Likes

I love this song so so much

12 Likes

Also, later I might have a few beers and tell you how Like A Rolling Stone is the first rap song, but it’s best to just let that one slide.

3 Likes

hyperventilating
it’s a 5, obviously. i need to run now but i’ll be back to throw in my proper 2 cents in a bit.
BUT BIG FUCKING 5

8 Likes

This version of Shelter from the Storm is so good.

My partner adores Bob so got me into him more the last two years, Desire and Street Legal were my way in so love those most. 5 for me!

2 Likes

Nailed on 5. Can’t put in to words how important an artist he is for me.

Favourite song is probably Desolation Row, but a lot of the early folk songs have memories of when I first met my wife and laying in bedrooms listening to that album. John Wesley Harding is an underrated classic as well.

3 Likes

He’s a five despite all the shite which is really saying something. Will be one of those historical figures that changed music forever despite generally being a magpie himself.

3 Likes

One of the few absolutely unarguable 5s. I’m no Dylan obsessive (I can take or leave almost everything he recorded after 1970 apart from Blood on the Tracks) but you can’t ignore the power, originality and brilliance of his 60s albums or their amazing influence. He was pretty much single handedly responsible for the culture at large accepting that rock and roll lyric writing could be a serious artistic pursuit.

Slightly surprised that I’m the first person to vote for Subterranean Homesick Blues - one of the 5 or 6 greatest rock singles of all time (although it was hard to chose between that and Like a Rolling Stone, which is another)

3 Likes

Disappointed this isn’t about Focus though @anon19035908

3 Likes

Also gets an extra point for the version of times they are a changing in the otherwise terrible Watchmen film for sounding like the most important thing ever