Fantastic list @tylermunns! For an example of Carole King’s early songwriting quality, give a listen to her "Halfway To Paradise". I first heard the song on an early (pre-debut album) Nick Lowe single on Stiff Records, and was stunned speechless; it’s an incredible song! Investigating, I learned it had first been recorded in 1961 by Tony Orlando (!), but I don’t remember hearing it. I was buying Pop singles in the early-60’s, and Carole’s name (along with that of her lyricist husband Gerry Goffin) was on a lot of them. She was already a professional songwriter while still in high school.
I just now stumbled upon another video in which "God Only Knows" is examined, and it might be my favorite of them all. A pianist with a pretty heavy Italian accent dissects the song, but what I really like about his presentation is that at the end of each section of the song, he plays through that section, so that one may hear what he just explained. The beauty of the song is fully expressed, the brilliance of it’s composition fully revealed.
If you decide to watch the video (Secret Chords Found In The Beach Boys: "God Only Knows" Analysis), and find yourself somewhat lost in the technical matters (when I and my musician peers got to college, many of us took Music Theory. We were surprised to learn how mathematical music is.), just let it go and keep watching and listening. You’ll "get it" anyway. 😉
https://youtu.be/9dU1dZCM0fc?si=ukd1C_nBM87nqtRx