Paste's 100 Best Living Songwriters: The List

Handsome Devil
Handsome Devil Posts: 143
edited July 2006 in Other Music
Paste's 100 Best Living Songwriters: The List

( Morrissey got 57) I'm a fan, love the Moz.

100. T Bone Burnett
99. Andre Benjamin & Antwan Patton (Outkast)
98. Jay Farrar (Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo)
97. Josh Ritter
96. Jimmy Cliff
95. Patti Smith
94. Sam Phillips
93. Joseph Arthur
92. Alejandro Escovedo
91. Drive By Truckers (Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley, Jason Isbell)

Read 91-100

90. Nick Cave
89. Victoria Williams
88. Parliament (George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell)
87. Lyle Lovett
86. Sam Beam (Iron & Wine)
85. David Bazan (Pedro the Lion, Headphones)
84. John Linnel & John Flansburgh (They Might Be Giants)
83. Fleetwood Mac (Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie)
82. John Darnielle (Mountain Goats)
81. Wayne Coyne & Steven Drozd (Flaming Lips)

80. Pink Floyd (Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright, Nick Mason)
79. Stephen Malkmus (Pavement, Silver Jews)
78. Robert Pollard (Guided By Voices)
77. Bruce Cockburn
76. Will Oldham (aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Palace Music, etc.)
75. Ron Sexsmith
74. Linford Detweiler & Karin Bergquist (Over the Rhine)
73. Julie Miller
72. Michael Jackson
71. Vic Chesnutt

70. Alex Chilton (Big Star, The Box Tops)
69. Merle Haggard
68. Allen Tousaint
67. Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes)
66. Charles Thompson (aka Frank Black, Black Francis) (Pixies)
65. Bill Mallonee (Vigilantes of Love)
64. Andy Partridge (XTC, Dukes of Stratosphear)
63. Richard Thompson (Fairport Convention)
62. Sting (The Police)
61. John Hiatt

60. Jimmy Webb
59. Jack White (White Stripes, Raconteurs)
58. Sly Stone (Sly & the Family Stone)
57. Morrissey (The Smiths)
56. James Brown
55. Dolly Parton
54. Aimee Mann
53. James Taylor
52. Paul Westerberg (The Replacements)
51. Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham

50. Public Enemy (Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Hank Shocklee, Eric Sadler, et al)
49. Cat Stevens
48. Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
47. Sufjan Stevens
46. David Byrne (Talking Heads)
45. Jackson Browne
44. Al Green
43. Ryan Adams (Whiskeytown)
42. Loretta Lynn
41. Ray Davies (The Kinks)

40. Burt Bacharach & Hal David 39. Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, John Bonham)
38. Kris Kristofferson
37. Smokey Robinson
36. Beck Hansen
35. Steve Earle
34. John Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
33. Pete Townshend (The Who)
32. Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller
31. Carole King

30. John Prine
29. Tom Petty
28. Robbie Robertson (The Band)
27. Radiohead (Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Phil Selway)
26. R.E.M. (Peter Buck, Bill Berry, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe)
25. Chuck Berry
24. Jeff Tweedy (Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, Golden Smog, Loose Fur, etc.)
23. Elton John & Bernie Taupin
22. Lucinda Williams
21. Lou Reed (Velvet Underground)

20. Van Morrison
19. Patty Griffin
18. U2 (Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr., Adam Clayton)
17. Holland-Dozier-Holland
16. David Bowie
15. Willie Nelson
14. Stevie Wonder
13. Paul Simon
12. Mick Jagger & Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones)
11. Randy Newman

The Top 10

10. Prince
9. Joni Mitchell
8. Elvis Costello
7. Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys)
6. Leonard Cohen
5. Paul McCartney (The Beatles, Wings)
4. Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan
3. Bruce Springsteen
2. Neil Young (Buffalo Sprinfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
1. Bob Dylan
Post edited by Unknown User on
«1

Comments

  • carolinabeerguy
    carolinabeerguy Kernersville, NC Posts: 2,517
    So Ed/PJ didn't even crack the top 100? What is Paste anyway?
    I wish I was as fortunate, as fortunate as me.
  • Galaxie2X4
    Galaxie2X4 Posts: 151
    I wish I could burn one down with Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan
    "My Cadillac's sittin in the back, it isn't me, I'm going home in my Galaxy"
    S. Hoon

    "My body's nobody's body but mine. You run your own body, let me run mine" Chicago '95

    Franken '08
  • Gary Carter
    Gary Carter Posts: 14,077
    what a fucking shit list,yeah lets leave out ed ved jonh lennon and james hatefield.fucking crock
    Ron: I just don't feel like going out tonight
    Sammi: Wanna just break up?

  • Goodfella1111
    Goodfella1111 Posts: 166
    Bruce should be number 1!

    And where's GREG DULLI mother effer!!!
    10/22/00 LV, 10/24/00 LA, 10/20/01 SF, 10/21/01 AF, 12/8/02 SEA, 12/9/02 SEA, 6/3/03 Irvine, 7/9/03 MSG, 9/1/05 Gorge, 6/3/06 NJ, 7/9/06 LA, 7/10/06 LA, 7/12/06 The Fonda, 7/13/06 SB, 7/22/06 Gorge, 7/23/06 Gorge, 10/21/06 SF, 10/22/06 SF, 12/2/06 HAW, 12/9/06 HAW, 4/10/08 SB, 4/12/08 LA, 4/15/08 SD
  • alobar
    alobar Posts: 310
    Ray Davies should be number 3 and Bruce at 41 instead. That's just messed up.

    Also, John Darnielle and Will Oldham should be ranked way higher. Maybe replace these two with R.E.M. and U2.
    "I wanna believe in the mercy of the world again."

    WAR + MAGIC BEANS = PEACE
  • Echoes
    Echoes Posts: 1,279
    metsfan531941 wrote:
    what a fucking shit list,yeah lets leave out ed ved jonh lennon and james hatefield.fucking crock

    hetfield is a fucking awful writer and you know it

    number 82 is number 1
    printf("shiver in eternal darkness\n");
  • intodeep
    intodeep Posts: 7,249
    Interesting. It is not horrible but it seems to rely heavily on the alt country/ singer songwriter scene.

    I probably would have had to find a space on there for billy corgan, ed ved, and issac brock.

    thats just my opinion.

    I like number one and number two though.
    Charlotte 00 | Charlotte 03 | Asheville 04 | Atlanta 12 | Greenville 16 | Columbia 16 |Seattle 18  | Nashville 22 | Ohana Festival 24 x2 | Atlanta 25 x2
  • blackredyellow
    blackredyellow Posts: 5,889
    Not a bad list.. Townshend should be higher. And Brian Wilson at #7? I just never thought the beach boys songs were anything special.
    My whole life
    was like a picture
    of a sunny day
    “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
    ― Abraham Lincoln
  • suffragette
    suffragette Posts: 253
    I would stick Joe Jackson in there and Sheryl Crowe. Perhaps Mary Chapin Carpenter. Take out the rappers.
  • likepilateihaveadog
    likepilateihaveadog Posts: 1,083
    Handsome Devil wrote:
    91. Drive By Truckers (Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley, Jason Isbell)
    1. Bob Dylan

    That made me pretty happy.
    Just saw Truckers in DC - good to see them on here collectively.
    Going to see Dylan in a month.

    :D
    Teamwork. Rawk. Pwnage. Infinite Possibilities. YIELD. Hells yeah.
  • likepilateihaveadog
    likepilateihaveadog Posts: 1,083
    the other thing for me is that Stone writes great riffs, but not enitre songs for the most part...plus this is kind of more like one guitar and some chords and lyrics list than anything, so...
    I can see why PJ was left off.
    Ed's songs...eh...
    Teamwork. Rawk. Pwnage. Infinite Possibilities. YIELD. Hells yeah.
  • PJ_Phil
    PJ_Phil Posts: 84
    Horrible list. How the fuck does Sufjan Stevens make the list? And Jack White? brutal.
    Shows:

    Montreal 2003
    Boston (1&2) 2004
    Montreal 2005
    Ottawa 2005
    Halifax 2005
    Boston (1&2) 2006
    Hartford 2008
    Mansfield (1&2)2008
  • neartodeath
    neartodeath Posts: 167
    peter gabriel wrote some damn good songs
  • Spartanacus
    Spartanacus Oviedo, FL Posts: 940
    Big shocker Mr. Marblemouth Bob Dylan makes #1. Anyone else think this guy gets too much respect?

    I will move everyone back a spot and put Pearl Jam in that position.

    And where the hell is Bob Marley?

    I'm going to print that list out and wipe my ass with it tonight.
    208XXX (September 2000) - 21 Pearl Jam shows, 2 Eddie Vedder shows, 1 Temple Of The Dog show
    1998     - East Lansing & Auburn Hills; 2000 - Tampa & Noblesville; 2003 - Lexington & Noblesville;
    2006 - Cincinnati; 2007 - Chicago (Lollapalooza); 2008 - Ed in Milwaukee; 2009 - Chicago; 
    2010 - Noblesville; 2013 - San Diego & Los Angeles I & II; 2016 -TOTD in Los Angeles; 
    2017 - Ed in Dana Point (Ohana); 2021 - Dana Point (Ohana) I, II & III; 2022 - San Diego & Inglewood I & II;
    2025 - Hollywood I & II
  • soulsinging
    soulsinging Posts: 13,202
    Spartancus wrote:
    Big shocker Mr. Marblemouth Bob Dylan makes #1. Anyone else think this guy gets too much respect?

    I will move everyone back a spot and put Pearl Jam in that position.

    And where the hell is Bob Marley?

    I'm going to print that list out and wipe my ass with it tonight.

    last i checked bob marley was dead. so id jonh lennon. thus why they wouldnt make a living songwriters list.

    im somehow not surprised pearl jam wasnt included. but it's fucked up that public, ryan adams, conor oberst, etc iare all on there, and no word on the best american rock band of our time.
  • transplant
    transplant Posts: 1,088
    I'd switch 82 with 18. other than that, I think it is a great list.
  • Westernsky
    Westernsky Posts: 363
    Goodfella1111 wrote:
    And where's GREG DULLI mother effer!!!

    My point EXACTLY!!!
    How you gonna leave off EV and the Dulli?
    ;)
  • searchlightsoul
    searchlightsoul Posts: 583
    Where's Cornell and the Ved. Oh sorry, Jack White has contributed more to music with the White Stripes and the rancowhatevers.
  • intodeep
    intodeep Posts: 7,249
    Spartancus wrote:
    Big shocker Mr. Marblemouth Bob Dylan makes #1. Anyone else think this guy gets too much respect?

    I will move everyone back a spot and put Pearl Jam in that position.

    And where the hell is Bob Marley?

    I'm going to print that list out and wipe my ass with it tonight.

    Have to say i disagree with you about dylan. He has wrote and continues to write some great songs. Yeah his voice sucks, but what he is saying is important.

    I would probably put young number one. I just like him better, but i can't argue against dylan.
    Charlotte 00 | Charlotte 03 | Asheville 04 | Atlanta 12 | Greenville 16 | Columbia 16 |Seattle 18  | Nashville 22 | Ohana Festival 24 x2 | Atlanta 25 x2
  • pjfan020
    pjfan020 Posts: 426
    intodeep wrote:
    Have to say i disagree with you about dylan. He has wrote and continues to write some great songs. Yeah his voice sucks, but what he is saying is important.

    I would probably put young number one. I just like him better, but i can't argue against dylan.

    I'll agree. Dylan's voice has definitely dropped a few notches, but you can't deny the man's contributions to music. He's more of a philosopher who decided to sing instead of write a fucking book. Neil and Bob will always be #1 and 2 for me.
    "Tonight we're just gonna play you some good old American Rock and Roll." tom petty-7-15-05

Categories