Another list to argue about! But this one should result in a heck of a lot less eye-rolling. Paste Magazine invited fifty journalists and musicians to compile…
100 Best Living Songwriters
1. Bob Dylan
2. Neil Young
3. Bruce Springsteen
4. Waits/Brennan
5. Paul McCartney
6. Leonard Cohen
7. Brian Wilson
8. Elvis Costello
9. Joni Mitchell
10. Prince
11. Randy Newman
12. Jagger/Richards
13. Paul Simon
14. Stevie Wonder
15. Willie Nelson
16. David Bowie
17. Holland/Dozier/Holland
18. U2
19. Patty Griffin
20. Van Morrison
21. Lou Reed
22. Lucinda Williams
23. John/Taupin
24. Jeff Tweedy
25. Chuck Berry
26. R.E.M.
27. Radiohead
28. Robbie Robertson
29. Tom Petty
30. John Prine
31. Carole King
32. Leiber/Stoller
33. Pete Townshend
34. John Fogerty
35. Steve Earle
36. Beck
37. Smokey Robinson
38. Kris Kristofferson
39. Led Zeppelin
40. Bacharach/David
41. Ray Davies
42. Loretta Lynn
43. Ryan Adams
44. Al Green
45. Jackson Browne
46. David Byrne
47. Sufjan Stevens
48. Welch/Rawlings
49. Cat Stevens
50. Public Enemy
51. Penn/Oldham
52. Paul Westerberg
53. James Taylor
54. Aimee Mann
55. Dolly Parton
56. James Brown
57. Morrissey
58. Sly Stone
59. Jack White
60. Jimmy Webb
61. John Hiatt
62. Sting
63. Richard Thompson
64. Andy Partridge
65. Bill Mallonee
66. Charles Thompson
67. Conor Oberst
68. Allen Toussaint
69. Merle Haggard
70. Alex Chilton
71. Vic Chesnutt
72. Michael Jackson
73. Julie Miller
74. Over the Rhine
75. Ron Sexsmith
76. Will Oldham
77. Bruce Cockburn
78. Robert Pollard
79. Stephen Malkmus
80. Pink Floyd
81. The Flaming Lips
82. John Darnielle
83. Fleetwood Mac
84. They Might Be Giants
85. David Bazan
86. Sam Beam
87. Lyle Lovett
88. Parliament
89. Victoria Williams
90. Nick Cave
91. Drive-By Truckers
92. Alejandro Escovedo
93. Joseph Arthur
94. Sam Phillips
95. Patti Smith
96. Jimmy Cliff
97. Josh Ritter
98. Jay Farrar
99. Outkast
100. T. Bone Burnett
Nice to see a “best of” list that salutes P.E. and John Darnielle (and not Noel Gallagher!). Perhaps the first time Tom Waits has ever been ranked at #4? I’m sure you’ll let us know who they missed. The annual Songwriter’s Hall Of Fame takes place 6/15.
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No Robert Smith? Not even on Friday?
randy newman is the 11th best songwriter in the ninth circle of hell
….accepting the award for Bob Dylan (circa 1990′s) is Dan Bern.
yeah, sam. Robert Smith is a pretty glaring omission. And Connor Oberst over Pink Floyd and Nick Cave??? Good list though.
sufjan at 47!
Sam Beam needs to be a higher. And I love The Band (hence my name), but Robbie Robertson was good for about 3 records before his songwriting became a total joke. He should be on the list, but definitely not at #28. Richard Manuel was just as good as Robbie, for the songs he wrote… it’s just a shame he gave up writing.
I’m glad Bob and Neil are at the top.
No Nick Drake though? No George Harrison??
nick drake is dead.
i was happy to see robbie robertson on there (and at a pretty good position).
Drake and Harrison are dead. Tool.
No John Lennon???
Oh, whoops.
I am shocked! I can’t believe that they neglected to include blahblahblahblah snooooozzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
Outkast made the list but rufus wainwright didn’t???? I’m appalled!
this list sucks balls!! where is Noel Gallagher!?!!
billy corgan is still alive right?
hopefully he would be #101
No Aphex Twin?!
And why is Pink Floyd #80?!
not that im a big fan, but where’s Bacharach? They got Kristoffersson in but not Burt?
RAKIM
People who only know Randy Newman from “Short People,” “I Love L.A.” and his Pixar soundtracks really need to listen to Good Old Boys and Sail Away.
Burt’s at #40, which I think is too late. As lame as the Idol finale was … I’m always floored by being reminded of all his great songs.
Sufjan beat out Cat by 2 spots. Hah!
List has no Billy Bragg. Thus, list is no good.
There is no way that Sufjan is a better writer than Patti Smith, who should have been put up higher.
no eddie vedder or noel gallagher?
who have written some of the greatest tunes of our generation…………
paul weller?
tim burgees, (charlatans) has amazing lyrics?
billy bragg?
shite list.
flaming lips blow…
beck overrated,
they might be giants…..
jesus, catch them is some dodgy club infront of maybe 200 old indie kids…..
ya… there lyrics have really got them somewhere!
oasis and pearl jam can fill a stadium anywhere in the world….. and there lyrics mean something to people!
shite.
morrissey at 57? as i write this he’s on jools holland, performing with a sampled backing track. boo hiss.
what no jimmy pursey etc etc
Based on career output, it’s really hard to argue with anything on this list (but if we’re going Brill Building, where’s Neil Diamond?) My problem is that the majority of these guys/gals are WAAAAAAAAAAY past their prime. By like 20 years.
Honestly, when was the last time anyone in the Top 10 (or 20) wrote a truly compelling song?
What about Willie Nelson? He wrote “Crazy” for pete’s sake! Burt Bacharach was robbed, too. And Neil Diamond. As big as a Cure-head as I was in high school, I would let Robert continue to be robbed in favor of Willie or Burt.
Yay for Loretta and Dolly getting their propers.
Pretty good and genre-diverse list overall, though.
whither mike skinner?
he just mashed up pussycat dolls live on top of the pops…..
#1 and #2 make sense. the rest is utter garbage.
BILLY JOEL?
“no eddie vedder or noel gallagher?
who have written some of the greatest tunes of our generation…………”
Is that true?
. . . Christ, our generation sucks.
Jeff Mangum’s not on this list, and Connor Oberst and is? That makes a lot of sense.
This list is immediately invalidated by the exclusion of Brian Eno
MICHAEL JACKSON = YES
BILLY BRAGG = NO
FUCK YOU!
Did Michael Jackson even write his signature tunes?
And Sufjan Stevens above Cat Stevens?
Have we gone mad?
And Steven Malkmus over Pink Floyd!?!?!?!
I mean seriously… Cut Your Hair vs. Money … Come on now!
no difford/tillbrook? what is this world coming to?
No Nick Lowe?? Is Fleetwood Mac or Led Zep a songwriter? It’s impressive that pseudo-hipsters would even know who Bruce Cockburn (#77) is.
Where’s Ian McCulloch (Echo & the Bunnymen?)
how did ani difranco not make the list??? i was expecting her to be in the top ten.
Paul The ex-beatle, Brian Wilson and Dylan should all be top three, i don’t know what order, but those 3 should occupy it.
Uh……..
Stuart Murdoch!
WTF.
NO EDDIE VEDDER or PEARL JAM???
That list blows…Vedder IS the best rock songwriter alive today…
Drive by truckers???
Morrissey????
The Flaming Lips????
Jack White????
WTF
I thought Rhett Miller belonged on there.
Wow, it’s like re-living our conference room arguments of two months ago…
how do they define songwriter? lyrics? melody? unless it’s clearly defined, the list is bullshit.
Where is Rufus Wainwright ?! That is what this list is missing !
everyone will jump on me for this, but i’m glad to see ryan adams in the top 50. i think he deserves it. not everything he puts out is ace, but from a songwriter perspective – i assume that means a complete song: lyrics, melody, instrumentation, all working together to form a cohesive, singular unit – his best work ranks among the best pop songs out there. ‘love is hell’ and ‘heartbreaker’ are two of the best americana records ever.
Although I am not an editor or contributor to Paste magazine, and while I acknowledge that this list is the subjective work of those who are, I still can’t understand why ________ was not included. Also ______!!! And why was #7 not #12, and vice versa? And why in the name of God was # 42.5 not Billy Joel or, at the very least, David Nichtern?? I mean, isn’t David Nichtern still alive? Could it be that my individual personal preferences were not taken into account when this list was made by other people?
Bah! I throw in a third for “Where’s Rufus Wainwright?!” Elton John said he’s “the best songwrighter on the planet at the moment!” That has to mean SOMETHING!
oh shit… i just noted bruce cockburn on there. great to see him get some props. canucks rejoice!
“And Stephen Malkmus over Pink Floyd?!”
Yes. Because he’s a better songwriter. I mean his solo career’s shit, and so were the last 2 Pavement albums, but he wrote “Here” and “Fillmore Jive” and “Conduit For Sale!” and “In the Mouth a Desert” and “Kennel District” and “Half a Canyon” and “Silence Kit” and “Stop Breathing” and also, Pink Floyd was not really any good, if you think about it. Malkmus on the other hand deserves to be in the top 10. At least higher than fucking Bright Eyes.
STEELY DAN
STEELY DAN
STEELY DAN
STEELY DAN
Fagen/Becker should be in the Top 50, easy
Anyone else bothered that Pink Floyd is so low? And why isn’t Roger Waters on his own?
conor oberst should have been alot farther up the list as well as pink floyd and beck. and why is michel jaskson on there. michel may have a great voice but his lyrics are digustingly cliche.
rufus wainwright easily rounds out the top 100.
easily.
sigh, richard ashcroft gets shafted again.
i didn’t know richard ashcroft was gay.
That list is as there is no mention of Stephin Merritt whatsoever.
yeah i think it should have been paul mcartney and then mcartney/lennon somewhere on their too.
im glad the boss is that high up. and anybody think don mclean deserved a shot, maybe?
John Lennon is not “living.” (See title)
absolutely. don mclean is an iconic songwriter. people typically have only heard american pie. they are all good.
So where the fuck is Max Martin?
Ian Curtis?
All in all, this list seems to be very good if you just look at it as the 100 greatest living songwriters….no rankings. It appears to be glaringly inconsistent when dealing with songwriters whose prime was long ago, Pink Floyd being the biggest example. The list would’ve been so much easier to argue over if they’d just done a 100 best of all-time. At least picking Lennon/McCartney as #1 would have been easy for them.
where’s is Jesse Gloyd?
leslie feist is pretty fucking great
but outkast?
what the fuck
No Craig Finn, no cred.
no noel gallagher / lennon ? shit list . whothef*ck drive by truckers ?? cmon kids . u can do better than that
who reads paste anyway ?
I’m still astonished to see Morrissey at #57. I mean who in their right mind thinks that Aimee Mann and Ryan Adams are better songwriters than Morrissey?
lists are definitive
I can’t believe I’m the first to mention it, but come on – where’s Mason Jennings? What about Ben Harper? He’s done some pretty incredible stuff. But really, where’s Mason? He’s one of the best in the past 10 years in my mind…
Yes, “Cut Your Hair” over “Money”. And I don’t agree with burnwash that the last two Pavement albums and Malkmus’ solo career are shit. Less cohesive, but other than the chorus to “Billie” I can’t find any complaints. Sure I’ll take Crooked Rain over Face the Truth but I like both.
And Pink Floyd? Other than Dark Side and Animals, I don’t give a shit. 2 great albums vs. 2 great albums + 6 really good albums? I take Stephen Malkmus.
I’m sorry, but Malkmus’ entire career is an exercise in hipster-generated shit. It’s like Beck being voted onto this list – there’s a huge difference between writing songs and merely swiping them. It’s all relative, I know, but jeez – that’s like saying Rivers Cuomo is a good songwriter. Feh.
No James Mercer? The hell?
Yes I also think that Eddie Vedder is a glaring ommision here. I mean if U2, Radiohead and REM find themselves in the top 30, I don’t see why Pearl Jam could’nt at least make this top 100 list.
When will this great rock band receive their due credit???
I would argue that that pearl Jam’s songcraft is far superior than U2.
Jeff Mangum definitely belongs on this list, I’m sorry. Besides that… I guess it’s ok.
what about Ani DiFranco? when will be start respecting her as a musician and not just a person with crazy amazing guitar skills who started her own label. Her lyrics are amazing.
People slamming the Drive-By Truckers inclusion obviously don’t know anything about them. They have *three* extremely talented songwriters in the band. Might not be your cup of tea but there’s a hell of lot a talent there. Richard Thompson at 63 is a joke, he should be way higher. And no Mark Linkous/Sparklehorse? One of the most innovative, creative and talented people in the business…
I’m with jb and Ike: no Billy Bragg, no Becker / Fagen, no good.
No B.B. King? He can be one of the most influential blues men ever, let alone living, but he can’t make a top 100 song writers list?
Nobody’s mentioned that, by an admittedly liberal count, at least one-third of the artists on this list fall into the “Americana” category (ie. they’ve been covered in “No Depression” magazine at some point). Perhaps that’s the Paste bias at work. . . in terms of the folks they invited to submit lists. And that would help explain some pretty obvious omissions in favour of a few lightweights.
Lists are fun! Got any more, Scott?
Pink Floyd had more than 2 really great albums. Just because you only give a shit about Dark Side and Animals doesn’t mean that Wish You Were Here and The Wall aren’t also great albums. Most everything else they put out can atleast be deamed ‘good’ as well.
And I’m still waiting for some chump to cry, “How come Frank Black ain’t on it?”
But I guess, despite their love for Pink Floyd and Pearl Jam, Stereogum readers are smarter than that.
Make this list in another 20 years, and Jeff Tweedy jumps from #24 (where he belongs now) to the top 10. I really think Wilco will come to be recognized as one of the most important bands of our generation.
Also, Carrie Newcomer should be on this list.
Also, the inclusion of Joseph Arthur is confusing. I’m a fan, and I’d still have difficulty justifying his place on this list. As an artist? Sure, he’s good. But just as a songwriter? There are better choices…
Jeff Mangum, Isaac Brock, Doug Martsch.
Robyn Hitchcock, for feg’s sake!
Not perfect grammar, always perfect timing,
The Mike stands for money and the D. is for diamonds.
reid/reid (jesus and mary chain)
gord downie (tragically hip)
husker du (mould and hart)
bob marley
there’s some really embarrassing picks on there. And Morrissey without Marr? C’mon Morrissey on his own is really just a 14 year old girl’s diary.
You can argue order, but I think this list pretty much covers what it was intended to. I could do without Oberst or Malkmus. Contrary to come of the posters here, I’m glad OutKast gets a nod over pap like Ani Defranco and a list of other fanboy/girl favourites.
Okay
Jeff Mangnum and Issac Brock definitely deserve to be on here. Also, I think Rivers Cuomo should be on there. Much more so then Outkast or Jack White.
And to all asking for John Lennon, George Harrison, etc. Remeber that this list is for the best LIVING songwriter. In otherwords, it doesn’t include dead people.
what i meant to say was that any songwriter list that has michael jackson — but not billy bragg — is bunk!
and i like paste magazine…
most of the time….
until this list came out!
Outkast and Public Enemy but no Jay-Z?!? For shame.
not too shabby. glad to see darnielle on there, could live without oberst, would change a couple but overall, nice.
weller
ISAAC BROCK!!!
ISAAC BROCK!!! where is he?
Burnwash.
I’m sorry, but even Stephen himself would candidly admit that Waters blows him away in the songwriting department. He would then go on to say, and wtf? my shit isn’t better than Fleetwood Mac’s!
Listen to these songs: Money, Wish You Were Here, Have a Cigar, Time, Another Brick in the Wall (pt 2), Comfortably Numb, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Breathe, Echoes, Careful With that Axe, Eugene, Wots uh the deal, Young Lust, Mother….etc.
Pink Floyds songs themselves are simply better than Stephen Malkmus’.
The songs of his that are truly classics…
Summer Babe, Loretta’s Scars, Cut Yr Hair, We Dance, Gold Soundz, Range Life, Stereo, Shady Lane, Carrot Rope, Major Leagues, Spit on a stranger…etc…are great songs…but they just can’t compete with the Pink Floyd songs.
The Pink Floyd songs are timeless, and EVERYONE knows them for a reason. It’s because they are great songs.
I love pavement a lot, but the ranking makes absolutely no sense.
Jesus Christ, it’s just a list! Everyone doesn’t have to agree with you!!!!!!
MADONNA?? Bitch wrote some of the greatest pop music lyrics ever… did they forget “like a virgin” & “like a prayer”??
also… where is fuck is John Lennon?? Shouldnt it be Lennon/Mcartney?
OLD JERRY is better than any Pink Floyd song ever written…..MALKMUS = #1