The greatest songwriters ever?

Who do you class as the best songwriters? I'm interested. When I'm more sober I will add my own...

:sunglasse

 

Visotski, Umka, Shevchuk, Grobinshikov.

 

bob dylan

 

^Agreed! Definately Dylan for me, one of the greatest poets ever!

 

Nick Drake, Bjork, and Trey Parker!!!

 

Jim Morrison was a very great song writer.
Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones (a.k.a Led Zeppelin) were and Still are VERY good at writing their songs



( R.I.P. Jim Morrison and John Bonham LIVE IT UP IN ROCKER HEAVEN)

 

Neil Young,..(a Canadian!!!)
Crosby Stills & Nash
Cat Stevens
Johnny Cash
The Beatles??????

I'm surprised no one has mentioned them yet.

 

yeah man... the beatles!!! pure genius.

also, mark knopfler is amazing...his songs are so thoughtful and brilliant!

 

Right here are mine:


Axl Rose - The songs he wrote in Guns N Roses are just pure genius and epic. Songs such as 'November Rain' and 'Estranged'

Jerry Cantrell - Main songwriter in Alice In Chains, such emotion in all his music and lyrics

U2 - Mainly the 80's stuff. Some absolute classic pop/rock songs they made such as 'With Or Without You' and 'Where The Streets Have No Name'

Zack De La Rocha - Really original and politically hard hitting

Liam Howlett - The man behind all The Prodigy music, genius

 

now unfortunately i will have to disagree with the beatles.. there lyrical content is that of a 15 yr old. the only reason people of this generation seem to enjoy them is because its easy listening pop. the sound of the songs is generic and as i said the lyrical content is like being spoonfed. i know a lot of people seem to like the beatles.. but is this because they are good or because they feel they should... there is a world of diference between good and nostalgic.

i think nick drake.. tom mcrae... the guy from moist..gavin rothdale (sometimes). neutral milk hotel, metric.. the list is pretty endless there is so much talent out there.

 

The Beatles
Bright Eyes
Chris Martin
Thea Gilmore
Emma Rugg
Neil Young
Paul SImon
Paul Weller

 

how in God's name was ROBERT HUNTER'S name not listed yet =P
any soul searchers out there, read into the dead's lyrics, robert is out of this world, at least to me.

 

Bruce Springsteen, for me, is the greatest songwriter there has ever been.


Aside from him...

Neil Young
Joni Mitchell
Tom Waits
Jackson Browne
Bjork
and both the Levellers and New Model Army have some damn good songwriters.

 

No comment. Absoloutly 100%, totally emphatically, No Comment.

 

For me the greatest is Nick Cave

 

Dude!

There are pretty much two sides to The Beatles, say early and late for ease. Songs from the 'White Album' sessions (including Abbey Road stuff) is far from easy listening pop. The lyrical content of those early years isn't Bob Dylan, no question there - But to say "Nick Drake" like his lyrics were any more meaningful sounds kinda contradictory to me.

'Saturday Sun', 'Fruit Tree', 'Time Has Told Me' all have sorta by-the-book type lyrics, simple rhyming and all that. I love both Beatles and Drake don't get me wrong. Just don't see all that much differance in lyric stakes. Drake for me is all about the guitar and voice, the mood created when his albums are played. Not so much the feeling I get from his words.

Fair enough if he is for you. I'm not saying you're wrong
Just saying is all.

If we're talking songwriters in a lyrical sense I'd have to say Bob Dylan, Roger Waters and Morrissey were my top 3. And there's been no mention of Leonard Cohen yet

 

I'd say Elvis Costello is one of the best.