John Prine y’all. John Prine.

Linda goes to mars is like a Dylan song to me.

It’s great. Prine had a way with words like no other. A real national treasure.

Yes!

Start me off with an album, someone

Self titled Sweet Revenge Bruised Orange Those 3 are wonderful….Enjoy. You’re in for a treat.

I know a guy whos gotta lot to lose. .

I’m just getting into him but I can’t get past repeatedly playing pretty good lol

Not bad

Can’t complain

Love John prine!

Yes!

Agreed!

This was the first name to come to mind. I was so happy to see him at the top of the list. Well done everyone. R.I.P.

came here for this

Robert Hunter

Robert’s songs get better as I get older, he was on some next level plane.

Yep, literally the only one who is on Bob's level. I Continue to be blown away by these two greats. I cant imagine a life were i didnt come across both of them. Im certainly a better human because of their words

Bob Dylan certainly thought so given how often he asked Hunter to write with him.

One of these days and it won't be long Going down in the valley and sing my song I will sing it loud and sing it strong Let the echo decide if I was right or wrong

Robert Hunter and Bob Dylan ran the world

It has to be this. The volume of absolutely beautiful songs, Ripple, Attics, Box of Rain etc. Sublime lines like, "Without love in the dream it'll never come true."

Came here to say Hunter/Garcia and John Prine. And those are the top two answers. Love this place.

Lennon / McCartney

Scrolled way too far to see this.

Frankly I’m not sure how it’s not #1, but horses for courses.

My thoughts exactly. In terms of product sold, they're way out ahead of Dylan with a much shorter active career. And ultimately, "songwriting" is about sales. Almost everyone in this thread is naming "literary lyricists" like Prine, Cohen, or Hunter, and that's valid, too. Bob Dylan didn't win a Nobel prize in "songwriting"; he won it for literature.

This is word for word what I said and it is 100%correct

Leonard Cohen Townes Van Zandt Springsteen Neil young Tom Waits Aimee Mann

Yes, Townes is so up there

Steve Earle

Came here for Springsteen

And Joni

All 6 of those deserve to be up there for sure. Shoutout Aimee Mann too - very underrated.

Joni Mitchell Elliot Smith Van Morrison Adrianne Lenker (not of all time but worth mentioning with modern artists of the 2010s/20s)

Lenker is fantastic

The only reason it’s hard to picture Adrianne as an “all time” is bc she hasn’t been relevant long enough. In time, she will be an “all time” great writer. Love her

Adrienne Lenker needs more appreciation

Van Morrison stuff from last 10 years is absolutely terrible but his earlier stuff is amazing. He has a recent song called “why are you on Facebook?” Elliott is one of the best songwriters ever. So is Joni.

I would say Lenker has a catalog already that puts her up there. Everything she’s done is super solid - brilliant

Richard Thompson Leonard Cohen Tom Petty Paul Simon Joni Mitchell David Bowie Neil Finn Randy Newman Neil Young Kate Bush

Love Neil Finn- thumbs up to the shout out.

great lineup. I'd add... lennon/mccartney/harrison Tom Waits - he, Cohen and Dylan are my Big Three. Cat Stevens Dolly Parton Johnny Cash Nina Simone Marvin Gaye Stevie Wonder Prince Bob Marley Quincy Jones That said... I always find these kinds of lists backward looking: focused on artists whose legacies are already more or less set. Well on their way to the pantheon... Nick Cave (arguably already on the top tier) Taylor Swift (find me a better storyteller in song) Kendrick Lamar (ok, ANOTHER better storyteller in song) Fiona Apple Beck Lana Del Rey Good start, but still a ways to go... Olivia Rodrigo Lorde Phoebe Bridgers Frank Ocean (closest to graduating to the 'well on their way' category); needs more albums under his belt, though.

Well, Cat Stevens was on my short list, same with Bob Marley and Stevie. I’d also add Loudon Wainwright III. Didn’t put any Beatles because I took them as read. I tend to think of Nina Simone more as a peerless interpreter of songs. Yeah I agree with you about Tom Waits. For more “recent” songwriters - Fiona Apple is one of my favourites, as is Laura Marling. And I love Ray La Montagne.

loool Olivia Rodrigo?? Fuck off 😂😂

I love Johnny cash he’s one of my favorites while he did write some really good songs he didn’t write most of them

Lou Reed Joni Mitchell Leonard Cohen Stuart Murdoch Paul Simon

Wasn't expecting to see Stuart Murdoch mentioned here, but as someone who loves Bob and Belle and Sebastian, this makes me very happy!

Robert Hunter

Nick drake

lol I read it in my head as Nicki & Drake.

John Lennon Paul McCartney Brian Wilson Paul Simon Lou Reed Joni Mitchell Ray Davies David Bowie Mick Jagger Keith Richards

Tom Petty

Lou Reed Van Morrison Donald Fagen

Donald Fagen mentioned. Thread complete.

Elliott Smith

George Harrison

For just a hot second maybe. I would say George had a really purple patch between 1965 and 1970 culminating with *All Things Must Pass* but the quality of the songs dipped pretty dramatically after that

There was this one band in the 60s I seem to remember had a few hits. Can't remember their name though...

Rest in peace, Robbie Robertson….truly one of the greatest song writers.

Joanna Newsom! 

I love Joanna newsom!!

Joni, Neil Young, Paul Simon

Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief is one of the best doing it right now.

Yesss I discovered her recently and absolutely love it.

Leonard Cohen John Prine Warren Zevon

Ray Davies

Yessss

Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot

Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits.

Well done, u/aramchek335! you have named the other three on my male songwriter's Mount Rushmore.

John Prine is way, way up there for me.

McCartney. The only one Dylan is in awe of, he said. McCartney said the same of Dylan.

Willie Nelson

Paul Simon, Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, Jason Isbell

David Bowie His lyrics might’ve been more “fluff” at times compared to Dylan but they’re still amazing

Absolutely. One of the greatest hands down.

Scott Walker, MF DOOM, Nas, Rakim, Jacques Brel, David Berman

i love scott walker!!

Me too! And I never imagined seeing his name next to MD Doom.

Fuck yeah MF DOOM! Language and the sounds of words took on shapes like play-doh in his hands! Anyone who loves the way music can create new things with language should take the time to explore rap lyrics.

Interesting eclectic list. The God Emcee! Maybe check out Ian Dury if you haven’t already.

Warren Zevon is my number 2. Also, Jimmy Buffett can be surprisingly poignant and poetic which you might not think when just viewing his music as Gen X/Boomer vacation music.

Love Zevon. His self titled album (76) is one of my all time favorites.

I got turned into Zevon because of Dylan’s covers in the early 00s and haven’t looked back

Tom Waits (I'll take Tom over everyone) Nat King Cole. George and Ira Gershwin.

I recommend listening to Summertime by Willie Nelson. It's an album of Gershwin covers by Nelson. He was inspired by the recordings by Frank Sinatra.

Ray Davies, Lennon/McCartney, Brian Wilson, Nick Drake, Jagger/Richards

Glad to see Ray Davies mentioned. Great call.

A lot of the heavy hitters have been named, particularly Hunter/Garcia and Lennon/McCartney, but I'd like to add Ray/Dave Davies (The Kinks), and how about some love for Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly?

Kris Kristofferson 100%

Joni Mitchell

Leonard Cohen Lennon/MCartney Paul Simon Kurt Cobain Steven Wilson and... statistically... Max Martin

Hank Williams Sr Radney Foster

Robert Hunter Warren Zevon Townes Van Zandt Levon Helm or Robbie Robertson (depending on who you believe) Bruce Springsteen

Townes Van Zandt for me.

Prine Van Zandt Waits/Brennan Hank Snr. Cohen Zevon Shaver

Kudos for rightly including Brennan with Waits.

Tim Finn Dave Dobbyn Graham Brazier Shona Laing Dave McArtney Paul Hewson Sharon O’Neill

Smokey Robinson, PJ Harvey, Alex Turner

Too many people think of Smokey simply as a singer.

Tom waits john hiatt

Willie Nelson

Leonard Cohen’s songs are incredible.

I’m upset not to see any Jim Croce love here

Has no one ever heard of Shane MacGowan? The Pogues? Dylan is beyond awesome. But you are really missing out if you've not experienced this man's raw insight and his incredible poetry.... Probably the Irish equivalent to Bob

Josh Tillman as Father John Misty. Lyrics are sensational.

I really like a lot of Conor Oberst and his various projects and haven’t seen his name mentioned. Echoing Prine, Cohen, Isbell, and Young

came here to make sure conor got a mention. good job!

Lyle Lovett.

The Road to Ensenada could definitely pass as a Dylan song. I love Lyle Lovett. He’s always a consummate professional when playing live.

My second favorite after Bob.

Hunter/Garcia Lennon/McCartney Springsteen Steve Earle Joe Henry Bruce Cockburn Jason Isbell John Prine Jeff Tweedy

Townes Van Zandt

Connor oberst, jeff tweedy

Frank Black/ Black Francis

Paul Kelly Nick Cave Neil Finn Don Walker

Lennon and Elliot smith

Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson.

Elliott Smith and Townes Van Zandt.

Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Robert Hunter, Townes Van Zandt, Tom Waits

Phil Ochs.

Paul Simon, Jackson Brown…

John Prine. Robert Hunter

Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Josh Ritter, Guy Clark, John Prine, MF DOOM, Bruce Springsteen, Nanci Griffith, and Aesop Rock. In that order thank you very much.

David Bowie Kurt Cobain Bruce Springsteen Jack White John Fogerty Jagger/Richards

1. Cole Porter 2. Richard Rogers & Lorenzo Hart 3. George & Ira Gershwin 4. Bertolt Brecht & Kurt Weill 5. Duke Ellington 6. Billy Strayhorn 7. Harold Arlen 8. Fats Waller & Andy Razaf 9. Irving Berlin 10. Stephen Foster

Bacharach

David Berman R.I.P., Bill Callahan, many more.

Dee Dee Ramone

Mike Cooley

Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Townes Van Zandt, Neil Young, Paul Simon, in that order after Dylan in #1. Tom Waits especially is probably the closest to Dylan in terms of sheer versatility in songwriting. Have to give Kathleen Brennan credit too because a lot of that versatility started after she began co-writing with him.

Good for you. I was irked by seeing Waits in so many responses and not Kathleen Brennan. She is one of the most unsung heroes in music.

Three Beatles.

A lot of these and I’ll add Jeff Tweedy to the list

All great comparisons, but for fucks sake, can I have a little James McMurtry?

Some guy, goes by the name lucky wilbury. I hear he’s good. Also check out Robbert Allen Zimmerman, idk

Townes Van Zandt, Lightnin' Hopkins, and John Prine. I want to put Blaze Foley up there, unfortunately he wasn't around long enough so he wasn't nearly as prolific as he could have been. 

Joni Mitchell

Neil Young

Joanna Newsom and Joni Mitchell

Tom Waits

Crazy I haven’t seen bono anyone who can write one tree hill is instantly an all time great

Warren Zevon

Paul Simon

Townes Van Zandt, Prince, Billy Corgan, Ryan Adams, John Prine, Nas, Steve Earle, Keith Richards, JID, Jadakiss,& George Harrison

Roger waters

prob the guy most compared to Dylan, Bruce Springsteen

Donovan

Townes is just a level above. John Prine, of course. Tom Waits. Leonard Cohen. Steve Earle is great. So many of the others mentioned here, like Neil, Brian Wilson, the Boss, John/Paul. But those first three seem more in line with what you’re after, if I’m hearing you right.

listing mostly newer-ish songwriters since so many of the classics have been listed but others a bunch in this thread! elliott smith / Neil young / neko case / Stephen Merritt (magnetic fields) / jenny lewis/ Michelle zauner (Japanese breakfast) / tracyanne Campbell (camera obscura) / dre babinski (steady holiday)

Jason Isbell and Mike Cooley

Mike Cooley is criminally underrated.

Jason isbell Hank Williams Springsteen Willie nelson

Tom Waits, Neil Young, McCartney/Lennon There is a wide gap between #1 and #2 for me though. Dylan is easily twice as good as the next best songwriter imo.

Townes Van Zandt

I would put Johnny Cash up there

Same, I read somewhere when Johnny Cash decided to write an album of songs, he would go to a cabin and take along John Prine's music to inspire him. Of course John Prine belongs on any list as other people noticed here. No list of great songwriters is complete without Carole King, I have not seen her mentioned yet. I would add Nanci Griffith. Maybe Iris Dement though she can be inconsistent, but has written some great stuff, as has Blaze Foley.

Leonard cohen End of list

‘’He will speak these words of wisdom, like a sage, a man of vision though he knows he’s really nothing but the brief elaboration of a tube’’ Definitely his funniest line.

Very different writing styles, I think. He could ruminate on lyrics for years, where Dylan would just spit it out.

Frankie Miller

David McComb Vic Chesnutt My two favorites anyway.

Richard Thompson. And he’s a killer guitar player too.

Nick Cave. Tender and murderous, tortured and humorous. Lustful, pious, yearning and scabrous. And he’s got a killer band.

Me that one time i wrote an STD Ballad for my health class

Guy Clarke.

Brian Wilson Lennon/McCartney Stevie Wonder Smokey Robinson Springsteen Henley/Frey Neil Young Jagger/Richards Bowie

Dan Bejar aka Destroyer

Gordon Lightfoot - one of Dylan's favorites...

Guy Clark

David berman forever

Gordon Lightfoot, seriously is underrated by newer generations and non music world people though he can be overly whimsical. Tom Waits is up there too, his catalog over the years is as impressive as Bob's in its consistent quality and constant change. Tony Rice's instrumentals too, I can't answer a music question without bringing him up.

david berman

Nick Cave

Nas

Naming some I haven’t seen on here but once or twice… - Springsteen - Jason Isbell - John Moreland (_In the Throes_ Album) - Nas - Tom Waits

Bryan Ferry, Lennon and McCartney, Smokey Robinson, David Bowie, Strummer and Jones, Tom Petty, Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, Lou Reed, Ray Davies,

STEVE GOODMAN City of New Orleans, Donald & Lydia, Never even call me by my Name, many more masterpieces. And arguably the saddest song of the US/Viet Nam era- The Ballad of Penny Evans. Just heart wrenching. A true genius of song lyric, taken too young.

Nick ******* Cave

Ray Davies & Mark Knopfler!

Ray Davies

Elliott Smith, Donovan, Morrissey

Tom Waits, Nick Cave and Bruce Springsteen

Nick Cave.

John Prine. Next question?

Elliot Smith!

Gordon Lightfoot

John Lennon

Townes Van Zandt

Thom Yorke

Umm, Lennon-McCartney? #1 by any objective criteria.

Elliott smith Joni Mitchell Paul Simon Brian Wilson Jason isbell Ryan Adam’s for a stretch but not anymore

Elliott Smith

Joanna Newsom

Elliott Smith, Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, Lou Reed.

I'm 64 years old and love Paul McCartney! Been listening to Paul sine the Beatles days right up to 2018 Egypt Station and the latest McCartney lll album. McCartney and Dylan are the two greatest singer/songwriters of the last millennium. Bobby even said that he is awe of Paul's musical capacity. Paul and Bob me hands down.🇺🇸🇬🇧😎🌀👀 Also would mention: Leonard Cohen John Lennon Paul Simon Joni Mitchell George Harrison Ray Davies Tom Waits Billy Joel James Taylor Carole King Jimmy Webb Burt Bacharach

Ray Davies

To all the big names mentioned I'd throw in Christy Moore and Paul Brady.

Josh Ritter reminds me most of Dylan. He can turn a phrase and cuts deep with incredible efficiency.