TRIBUTE TO A CREATIVE GENIUS

Appreciating the best of Bob Dylan on his 80^th birthday

By Robert Sarner, May 23, 2021

As many of you know, tomorrow is Bob Dylan’s 80^th birthday. For those of us for whom his trailblazing music and lyrics have long had a central place in our lives, it’s a moment to reflect on his enormous contribution to the world, including his sharp commentary on the human condition, since he released his first album in 1962.

To mark the milestone, I planned to compile a list of 80 Dylan songs that have most resonated with me. Such is the richness of his more than 600-song oeuvre and my boundless affinity for it, I couldn’t limit my selection to less than 100.

Even that was a struggle as I had to exclude another 150 songs of his that I never tire of listening to. What I couldn’t do was put the top 100 in order of preference. As a result, I’m simply listing them below alphabetically.

My list is, of course, highly subjective. Everybody, at least those who like Dylan, has his or her own favourites. But no one, not even those who dislike his work, can deny the seminal impact he’s had on popular culture over the past 60 years.

If you want to listen to Bob Dylan’s 100 best songs, here are my recommendations in a playlist, spanning his entire recording career. Spotify limits playback to the first 30 seconds of each song in embedded players, but you can listen to the full songs by clicking here to load the playlist in the online Spotify player (a free account will let you play all songs). The full list is also included below the embedded player.

Absolutely Sweet Marie
A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
Ain’t Talkin’
All Along the Watchtower
All I Really Want to Do

Ballad in Plain D
Ballad of a Thin Man
Beyond Here Lies Nothin’
Black Diamond Bay
Blind Willie McTell (Studio Outtake)
Blowin’ in the Wind
Bob Dylan’s Dream
Boots of Spanish Leather

Chimes of Freedom

Days of 49
Delia
Desolation Row
Dignity
Dirge
Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright

Father of Night
Forever Young (Slow Version)
Fourth Time Around

Girl from the North Country (version with Johnny Cash)
Going, Going, Gone
Gotta Serve Somebody

Hard Times in New York Town
Hazel
Huck’s Tune
Hurricane

Idiot Wind
I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
If Not for You
If You See Here, Say Hello
I’ll Keep It With Mine
It Ain’t Me Babe
It Takes A Lot to Laugh, It Takes A Train to Cry
It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
It’s Alright Ma, (I’m Only Bleeding)
I Threw It All Away
I Want You

Jokerman
Just Like A Woman
Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues

Key West (Philosopher Pirate)

Lay Down Your Weary Tune
License to Kill
Like A Rolling Stone
Love Minus Zero/No Limit

Man Gave Names to All the Animals
Man in the Long Black Coat
Man of Constant Sorrow
Mississippi
Most of the Time (Alternate Version)
Motorpsycho Nightmare
Murder Most Foul
My Back Pages

Not Dark Yet

One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)
One More Cup of Coffee
One Too Many Mornings

Positively 4th Street
Pretty Saro

Queen Jane Approximately

Red River Shore

Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands
Sara
Scarlet Town
Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)
Series of Dreams
She Belongs to Me
Shelter from the Storm
Sign on the Window
Silvio
Simple Twist of Fate
Something There Is About You
Song to Woody
Spanish Harlem Incident
Spirit on the Water
Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again

Talkin’ New York
Tangled Up in Blue
Tell Ol’ Bill (Alternate Version)
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
The Times They Are A-Changin’
Things Have Changed
Tombstone Blues
Tomorrow Is A Long Time
Tough Mama

Visions of Johanna

We Better Talk This Over
Wedding Song
Went to See the Gypsy
What Good Am I?
What Was It You Wanted
When You Gonna Wake Up
When The Ship Comes In
Who Killed Davey Moore
With God on Our Side