no order..
desolation row
stuck inside of mobile with the memphis blues again
blowing in the wind
dont think twice
highway 61
mr bojangles
you ain’t going nowhere
most likely you’ll go your way and i’ll go mine
ballad of a thin man
it takes a lot to laugh, it takes train to cry
that was so difficult.
I say:
it aint me babe
blowin in the wind
it’s alright ma i’m only bleeding
subteranean homesick blues
i shall be released
ballad of a thin man
you aint goin nowhere
dont think twice its alright
when the ship comes in
like a rolling stone
It’s hard to declare his ten best, but I think I can come up with something close to my ten favorites, in no particular order:
“Ballad in Plain D”
“Boots of Spanish Leather”
“A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”
“Masters of War”
“It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)”
“Girl From the North Country” (Freewheelin’ version, by far)
“The Man in Me”
“Only a Pawn in Their Game”
“With God On Our Side”
“I Shall Be Released”
“When I Paint My Masterpiece”
This is hard. I cheated.
Honorable Mention: “Song To Woody”
Blind Willie McTell
Tangled Up in Blue
Every Grain of Sand
It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to cry
Going to Acapulco
Simple Twist of Fate
Neighborhood Bully
The Man in the Long Black Coat
Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
Mississippi
What is “Going to Acapulco” on? I don’t recall ever hearing it.
The Basement Tapes. Also, there’s a great cover in the I’m Not There film.
Dark Eyes
Positively 4th Street
Copper Kettle
Idiot Wind
Visions of Johanna
Day of the Locusts
Jokerman
Workingman Blues #2
She Belongs To Me
It Ain’t Me Babe
Dear Kira,
I am pretty sure that Bob didn’t write Mr. Bojangles.
Dear Kira,
I am pretty sure that Bob didn’t write Mr. Bojangles.
I’m not too familiar with Bob Dylan songs, but I love “Girl From the North Country”
Especially This:
my back pages
when the deal goes down
watered down love
highlands
covenant woman
not dark yet
dignity
blowin in the wind
a satisfied mind
watching the river flow
Unlike most I think his religious period was very productive. The best song I have heard him sing but not write is Blood in My Eyes
Love Minus Zero
Shelter from the Storm
Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
It Ain’t Me
Tangled Up in Blue
All Along the Watchtower
Blowin’ in the Wind
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
Times They Are A-Changin’
Forever Young
Hurricane
Ten songs
Blowin’ in the Wind
Mr. Tambourine Man
It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
Like a Rolling Stone
Ballad of a Thin Man
Desolation Row
Visions of Johanna
Tangled Up in Blue
Shelter From the Storm
Ten tracks
Like a Rolling Stone (1965 45 single)
Desolation Row (Highway 61 version)
Shelter From the Storm (live version, Hard Rain)
She’s Your Lover Now (Bootleg Series 1-3)
I’ll Keep It With Mine (Bootleg Series 1-3 version)
Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again ( live version, Hard Rain)
I Wanna be Your Lover (Biograph)
Every Grain of Sand (Shot of Love version)
Dink’s Song (Bootleg Series 7 : No Direction Home)
Like a Rolling Stone (Live 66 version)
Ten Albums (non compilation)
Highway 61 Revisited
The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
Blood on the Tracks
Bringing it All Back Home
John Wesley Harding
Blood On Blonde
The Basement Tapes (sans Band tracks)
Love and Theft
World Gone Wrong
Nashville Skyline
Desolation Row
Visions of Johanna (Live, Biograph version)
A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
Masters of War
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
Shelter From The Storm
Moonshiner
When The Ship Comes In
With God On Our Side
Not Dark Yet
If spoken word counts, I’d add “Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie,” Stone is just outside.
Sorry to bring up this old thread, but I’ve been listening a lot lately:
Love, love, love Blood On the Tracks
1. Simple Twist of Fate
2. Visions of Johanna
3. Shelter from the Storm
4. Idiot Wind
5. Tangled Up in Blue
6. Positively 4th Street
7. Mr. Tambourine Man
8. If You See Her, Say Hello
9. Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
10. Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
1. Mr. Tambourine Man
2. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
3. I Want You
4. Like a Rolling Stone
5. Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right
6. All Along the Watch Tower
7. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
8. Hurricane
9. Lay Lady Lay
10. The Man in Me
‘it ain’t me babe’ is number 1 for me. but i need to sit down and figure out the rest
1. Desolation Row
2. Blind Willie McTell
3. Like A Rolling Stone
4. A Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall
5. Visions of Johanna
6. It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
7. Not Dark Yet
8. Sad Eyed Lady of The Lowlands
9. Hurricane
10. Lily, Rosemary and The Jack Of Hearts
1. Like A Rolling Stone
2. Visions of Johanna
3. Bob Dylans 115th Dream
4. Not Dark Yet
5. Boots of Spanish Leather
6. Lay, Lady, Lay
7. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
8. Mama, You Been On My Mind (Live 1975- Rolling Thunder Revue)
9. Positively Fourth Street
10. Talkin’ Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues
Ten Great songs from the man who changed my life
1. Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands
2. I’m Not There (1956)
3. Positively Fourth Street
4. I Want You
5. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
6. Ballad of a Thin Man
7. Vision of Johanna
8. All You Have to Do is Dream take 2
9. Tombstone Blues
10. Don’t Think Twice it’s Alright
1. Subterranean Homesick Blues
2. Ballad of a Thin Man
3. Its All Right Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
4. Like a Rolling Stone
5. All Along the Watchtower
6. Beyond Here Lies Nothin’
7. Shelter From the Storm
8. Tangled Up in Blue
9. Idiot Wind
10. A Hard Rains Gonna Fall
Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands
Like A Rolling Stone
Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
Subterranean Homesick Blues
One Of Must Know (Sooner Or Later)
Walkin’ Down The Line
Visions Of Johanna
Just Like A Woman
It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
What FRANCISCO said.
Like A Rolling Stone
Tangled Up in Blue
Positively 4th Street
I’m Not There
Not Dark Yet
Idiot Wind
It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
Hurricane
Shelter from the Storm
Ballad of a Thin Man
In Chronological order:
Song to Woody
Blowin in the Wind
Girl from the North Country
Masters of War
Bob Dylan’s Dream
A Hard Rain’s a Gonna Fall
The Times they are a changing
One Too Many Mornings
*John Brown
Boots of Spanish Leather
When the Ship Comes in
*Percy’s Song
*Paths of Victory
*Let Me die in My Footsteps
*Tomorrow is a Long Time
*Lay Down your Weary Tune
*Seven Curses
Chimes of Freedom
To Ramona
My Back Pages
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Love Minus Zero/No Limit
Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream
Gates of Eden
Mr. Tambourine Man
It’s Alright Ma, I’m only Bleeding
Positively 4th Street
Like a Rolling Stone
Just like Tom Thumb’s Blues
Highway 61 Revisited
Tombstone Blues
Desolation Row
Queen Jane Approximately
It takes a lot to Laugh, it takes a Train to Cry
Visions of Johanna
One of us must Know
Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
I Want You
Just like a Woman
Temporary Like Achiles
I Dreamed I saw St. Augustine
I pity the poor Immigrant
Dear Landlord
I am A Lonesome Hobo
Dirge
Tangled up in Blue
Simple Twist of Fate
Your a Big Girl Now
*Call Letter Blues
Idiot Wind
Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts
*Up to Me
Your Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
If You See Her, Say Hello
Shelter From the Storm
*Golden Loom
*Abandoned Love
Oh Sister
Isis
One More Cup of Coffee
Changing of the Guards
Senor
Where are you Tonight?
*Ain’t No Man Righteous, No Not One
Precious Angel
I Believe in You
Slow Train
Gonna Change My Way of Thinking
When You Gonna Wake Up
When He Returns
*City of Gold
Saved
What Can I do For You
In the Garden
*Lord, Protect My Child
Shot of Love
*Caribbean Wind
*Cover Down, Breakthrough
*Tell Me
Every Grain of Sand
*Angelina
In the Summertime
Jokerman
I and I
*Blind Willie McTell
*Foot of Pride
Man of Peace
Tight Connection to My Heart
I’ll Remember You
Something’s Burning Baby
Emotionally Yours
Dark Eyes
Trust Yourself
When the Night comes Falling From the Sky
*Series of Dreams
Brownsville Girl
Silvio
Political World
Ring Them Bells
The Man in the Long Black Coat
Most of the Time
What Was it You Wanted
Dignity
Shooting Star
God Knows
Born in Time
Love Sick
Standing in the Doorway
Millions Miles
Trying to Get to Heaven
Till I Fell in Love with You
Not dark Yet
Cold Irons Bound
Can’t Wait
Highlands
*The Girl From The Red River Shore
*Marching to the City
*Dreaming of You
*Can’t Escape from You
Things Have Changed
Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum
Mississippi
Summer Days
Bye and Bye
Lonesome Day BLues
Floater
HIghwater
Moonlight
Honest with Me
Po Boy
Cry a While
Sugar Baby
Cross the Green Mountain
Tell Ol Bill
Huck’s Tune
Spirit on the Water
Rollin and Tumblin
Someday Baby
When the Deal Goes Down
Beyond the Horizon
Netty Moore
*Songs that were left off of albums, and were not released in any capacity for years after its release (25 songs from the List), these do no include songs that were only released as Singles, such as Positively 4th Street; or songs that were released on Movie Soundtracks, such as Huck’s Tune, Cross the Green Mountain, Things Have Changed, or Tell Ol Bill-although the preferred version of Tell Ol Bill is different from the one on the North Country Blues soundtrack.)
Note popular, and good, but perhaps not masterpieces left off of the list, such as:
Its all over now, Baby Blue
All I Really Want to Do
Rainy Day Women (Everybody Must Get Stoned)
Forever Young
Lay, Lady Lay
The Hurricane
Knockin on Heaven’s Door
Gotta Serve Somebody
Make you Feel My Love
Also not listed are his many masterful, and perhaps definitive, studio interpretations of folk and blues songs, such as:
House of the Rising Sun
See That My Grave is Kept Clean
Jim Jones
Black Jack Davey
Canadee-I-O
Hard Times
Arthur McBride
Diamond Joe
Delia
Two Soldiers
Jack a Roe
Lone Pilgrim
The list also does not contain anything from the “Basement Tapes” recordings, as individually, I am not sure that any are strong enough to be called a masterpiece, not even The Mighty Quinn, Goin to Alcapulco, I’m not There, or Sign on the Cross; but of course, when taken as a whole the Basement Tapes represent a great wealth of music-over 100 songs, from Bob Dylan and The Band which only strengthen his position as the most important figure in music after the second World War.
One day, when Sony finally catalogues much of his live recordings, it will become more evident to the public, and those not in the know, that another amazing thing about Dylan the artist is that he is constantly reworking his musical arrangements. You can go see Dylan once a year, and if you are lucky enough to hear the same song 3 times, it will likely sound different all three times.
He is not just some juke box that people pay to hear the song performed the exact same way as they heard it on the radio.
Few, if any other artists do this, at least to this extent. He also will generally play close to 100 different songs on a given tour, where most artists will shuffle through about 30 or 40.
There are so many that are deserving of a spot in a top ten list, but i’ll choose five that I absolutely love.
1. Idiot Wind
2. Abandoned Love
3. Sara
4. Buckets of Rain
5. Up to Me
There’s simply no touching a lot of his material from the 60s and 70s.
No Particular order.
*Something There Is About You
*Where Are You Tonight (Journey Through Dark Heat)
*Jokerman
*She’s Your Lover Now
*Caribbean Wind
*Idiot Wind/You’re Going To Make Me Lonesome When You Go
*Not Dark Yet
*Most Of The Time
*One Too Many Mornings (Isle Of Wright Version)
*Brownsville Girl
1. It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
2. Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
3. Drifter’s Escape
4. Subterranean Homesick Blues
5. Buckets Of Rain
6. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
7. The Man In Me
8. It Ain’t Me Babe
9. Things Have Changed
10. Forever Young
JB
Okay, a special, grammatically ridiculous focus as a way to narrow down the canon: Here’s the ten that hurt so good better than the rest (obviously leaning heavily on Blood On The Tracks):
Tangled Up In Blue
Sara
If You See Her Say Hello
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue
Make You Feel My Love
Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright
Simple Twist of Fate
Standing in the Doorway
Idiot Wind
Sad-eyed Lady of the Lowlands