Top Ten Songwriters of All Time

1. Bob Dylan
The best there ever was and ever will be. No debate.

2. Bob Dylan
Yes, I put him as No.1 and No. 2. Anyone got a problem with that?

3. Townes Van Zandt
Unquestionably one of the best. I would have given anything to see this man perform live. One of the most gifted, and certainly one of the most tragic figures in American music.

4. Tom Waits
He's been making music for how long? Closing Time was what, over forty years ago? And you know what, I really don't think his skill has dropped off that much, if at all. Personally, I'm a fan of his work on Small Change, but almost anything he's done is wonderful.

5. Eric Bachmann
If you don't know who this is, then I laugh at you. You are small and feeble-minded.

6. Bruce Springsteen
I know some of his stuff is questionable, and might disqualify him from a Top Ten, but don't forget that he did Darkness at the Edge of Town and Lucky Town. Shit, The Ghost of Tom Joad was something like 20 years into his career. The man is a genius.

7. Paul Simon
It hurts me to put him this low, because he has written some true classics. This is one of the only musicians that I am very seldom NOT in the mood to listen to.

8. Elvis Costello
I feel like I'm saying the same things about all these guys. "He's great, I love him so much… One of the best songwriters ever, I'll bet he smells like a new car." Elvis is another one. A great all around songwriter with a solid body of work.

9. Tom Petty
Fuck all the haters. I still think he's doing good work after Damn the Torpedoes or Hard Promises. You know what, I own Echo, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

10. Josh Ritter
Another relative new comer to this list. But a solid guy to close out on. I feel like he is really becoming a wonderful ambassador for American music.

Barely missing the cut: Sufjan Stevens, Paul McCartney (didn't crack the top ten because his solo career was sub par,) John Lennon, Sting, David Bowie, Guy Clark and Roger Waters. It was hard for me not to put Mark Knofler in the top ten because I effing love me some Knofler.

Post Script: After reviewing some of the likely hip hop candidates, I really didn't feel like they had as good a body of work as any of the top ten. I debated with the likes of Mr. Lif, Mos Def, The Gift of Gab and MC Zumbi of Zion I, but in the end, I didn't think they were quite there yet. With a couple more years and albums… for sure. And Talbi Kweli would have been given consideration, but… well, now he sucks.

Post, Post Script: James Taylor and Neil Young don't count as songwriters. I would be more inclined to put them in the "Hippies Who Need to Get a Job Category." Now, I know what you're thinking… "How can you say that? They are two of the best and most accomplished songwriters of all time!" No they aren't. They blow.