Greatest Songwriter of all time


I was reading the Dylan post and it got me thinking. There are many great songwriters that come to mind, my expertise/knowledge is primarily with rock music. If you could only pick three, what would they be? My vote for best lyrics goes to:

Jim Morrison
Bruce Springsteen
Elvis Costello

Best music goes to:

Mark Knopfler
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Frank Zappa
jeffloistarca
john_l: for a great intro to guy clark, i'd suggest one of his latest, "cold dog soup." wonderful stuff.-cfb
Irving Berlin. Wrote more good songs than the rest combined. (If they live to 101 also, they may catch up).


Dolly Parton should be on the list also. A lot of her songs have been performed by others and not her, so there are a lot more great songs out there than most of us realize.

I was tearing my hair out over this one as I read the above posts, then I saw it. I agree with Paulwp. For me, it's gotta' be Buddy Holly. But I'd also add Chuck Berry, Leonard Cohen, and I really like much of Melissa Etheridge' lyrics and music. Also Townes Van Zandt, especially for his influence on Cowboy Junkies music. But Whatjd and Marakanetz have it right, IMO, there are only "favorites". Great thread Jeff. Craig
lot of people have been covered. possibly not THEE top three but worthy of mention...van morrison, harry chapin, dave mason, joe mcdonald