Bob Dylan

1962 Bob Dylan (2)

Bob Dylan's first album was a complete flop. It consists of 11 covers (mostly traditional folk standards, but also songs by Jessie Fuller, Bukka White, John Lair, Curtis Jones and others) and only 2 original songs actually written by Bob Dylan: classic "Song To Woody" and average "Talkin' New York".

1963 The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (12)

Bob Dylan's first classic album, with only 1 cover and 12 original songs. "Blowin' In The Wind" is definitely the best, but four others have also achieved a classic status: "Girl From The North Country", "Masters Of War", "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" and "Don't Think Twice It's All Right". The remaining 7 songs are fine, but far less known: "Down The Highway", "Bob Dylan's Blues", "Bob Dylan's Dream", "Oxford Town", "Talkin' World War III Blues", "Honey Just Allow Me One More Chance" and "I Shall Be Free".

1964 The Times They Are A-Changin' (10)

Bob Dylan's third album. It has been criticized for its lack of humour and musical diversity. But the title tune is celebrated as one of his greatest and most famous compositions. Five other songs are quite memorable as well: "With God On Our Side", "Only A Pawn In Their Game" "One Too Many Mornings", "Restless Farewell" and "The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll". However, the four remaining songs are only admired by his most die-hard fans: "When The Ship Comes In", "Ballad Of Hollis Brown", "Boots Of Spanish Leather" and "North Country Blues".

1964 Another Side Of Bob Dylan (11)

Bob Dylan's last acoustic folk album. And one of his best albums as well. The finest tune is definitely "It Ain't Me Babe", a farewell to Suze Rotolo and to his folk audience. And all the other songs are superb as well: "I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)", "Motorpsycho Nitemare", "I Shall Be Free No 10", "All I Really Want To Do", "Chimes Of Freedom", "My Back Pages", "To Ramona", "Black Crow Blues", "Spanish Harlem Incident" and "Ballad In Plain D".

1965 Bringing It All Back Home (11)

Bob Dylan's most controversial album, divided into an "Electric Side" and an "Acoustic Side". It was the Electric Side that caused controversy and divided the contemporary folk scene. But the Acoustic Side is flawless, with four superb songs. The best is definitely "Mr Tambourine Man", but the other three - "It's Alright Ma (I'M Only Bleeding)", "It's All Over Now Baby Blue" and "Gates Of Eden" - are also fabulous. The Electric Side is more uneven, but five of its songs are quite excellent as well: "Subterranean Homesick Blues", "Love Minus Zero/No Limit", "She Belongs To Me", "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" and "Outlaw Blues". "Maggie's Farm" is also a fine song in its own right; the reason it was booed at the Newport Folk Festival was due primarily to sound problems: the spectators couldn't understand a word because the mic was distorting Dylan's voice. And the most disappointing song on the album is "On The Road Again", but that's only because it's so much weaker than the famous (and completely different) Willie Nelson song with the same title.

1965 Highway 61 Revisited (9)

One of Bob Dylan's finest albums. "Like A Rolling Stone" is definitely the best song here. And all the other tracks are excellent as well: "Ballad Of A Thin Man", "Queen Jane Approximately", "Desolation Row", "Highway 61 Revisited", "From A Buick 6", "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues", "Tombstone Blues" and "It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry".

1966 Blonde On Blonde (14)

Bob Dylan's greatest album. It's so fabulous that it's very difficult to pick its best song: it's basically a four-way tie between the tender "Just Like A Woman", the haunting "Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands", the brilliant "Visions of Johanna" and the effervescent "Rainy Day Women" (aka "Everybody Must Get Stoned"). "Visions Of Johanna" is widely considered as Dylan's highest achievements in writing, universally praised for its allusiveness and its subtlety of the language, and considered as the greatest song lyric ever written, but "Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands" narrowly wins this close competition - it's probably Dylan's finest achievement. And all the other songs are also superb: "I Want You", "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again", "Absolutely Sweet Marie", "One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later)", "Temporary Like Achilles", "Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine", "Pledging My Time", "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat", "Obviously 5 Believers" and "4th Time Around". That last song is a clever pastiche of John Lennon's "Norwegian Wood".

1967 John Wesley Harding (12)

With this, his eighth album, Bob Dylan has returned to the simple acoustic folk songs that have marked the beginnings of his career. "All Along The Watchtower" is probably the best song on the album, even though Jimi Hendrix's cover, released in 1968, is generally considered as far superior (even by Bob Dylan himself). Most of the other songs are quite good, including "John Wesley Harding", "As I Went Out One Morning", "I Dreamed I Saw St Augustine", "The Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest", "Drifter's Escape", "I Am A Lonesome Hobo", "I Pity The Poor Immigrant", "Down Along The Cove" and "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight". Only "Dear Landlord" and "The Wicked Messenger" are weak.

1969 Nashville Skyline (9)

Bob Dylan's country music album. One classic song: "Lay Lady Lay". Four perfectly nice tunes: "One More Night", "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You", "Peggy Day" and "I Threw It All Away". An average instrumental track, "Nashville Skyline Rag". A very inferior version of "Girl From The North Country", previously released 6 years earlier, in duet with Johnny Cash. And three songs that are among Bob Dylan's worst: "Tell Me That It Isn't True", "To Be Alone With You" and "Country Pie".

1970 Self Portrait (6)

A double album with 24 tracks, including 6 new original compositions by Bob Dylan. The rest are covers (16 of them) and 2 previously released songs ("Like A Rolling Stone" and "She Belongs To Me"). Among the new original compositions , there are five quirky, charming and memorable songs: "Wigwam", "All The Tired Horses", "Living The Blues", "The Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo)" and "Minstrel Boy". The sixth original track is a nice instrumental composition entitled "Woogie Boogie".

1970 New Morning (12)

An uneven, but charming album. Seven excellent songs: "New Morning", "If Not For You", "Went To See The Gypsy", "Day Of The Locusts", "Winterlude", "The Man In Me" and "Sign On The Window". And five mediocre songs: "One More Weekend", "Father Of Night", "Three Angels", "Time Passes Slowly" and "If Dogs Run Free".

1973 Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid (8)

A soundtrack album for a western directed by Sam Peckinpah. Six instrumental themes: three memorable ones ("Turkey Chase", "Final Theme" and "Main Title Theme Billy") and three forgettable ones ("Cantina Theme Workin' For The Law", "Bunkhouse Theme" and "River Theme"). There is also a nice song, "Billy", divided into three parts (1,4 and 7). And finally there is "Knockin' On Heaven's Door", one of Bob Dylan's most famous songs.

1974 Planet Waves (10)

The best song on the album is "Forever Young", presented in two versions. The longer 4m57 version is definitely better than the shorter 2m49 version. The rest is fine, but unexceptional: "Dirge", "Going Going Gone", "Never Say Goodbye", "Something There Is About You", "Wedding Song", "You Angel You", "Hazel", "Tough Mama" and "On A Night Like This".

1975 Blood On The Tracks (10)

Bob Dylan's best album since "Blonde On Blonde" (1966). Three classic songs: "Idiot Wind", "Tangled Up In Blue" and "Simple Twist Of Fate". Six very good tunes: "Lily Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts", "Shelter From The Storm", "You're A Big Girl Now", "Meet Me In The Morning", "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" and "If You See Her Say Hello". And only one disappointment: "Buckets Of Rain".

1975 The Basement Tapes (18)

A superb double album by Bob Dylan and The Band. Most of it was recorded back in 1967. The album has 24 tracks, including a nice cover song called "Ain't No More Cane", 5 uneven tunes written by The Band ("Katie's Been Gone" and "Bessie Smith" definitely the best among them) and 18 songs written (or co-written) by Bob Dylan. Among the latter, there are 2 masterpieces ("This Wheel's On Fire" and "Tears Of Rage"), as well as 13 very good tunes: "Please Mrs Henry", "Million Dollar Bash", "Lo And Behold!", "Clothes Line Saga", "Yea! Heavy And A Bottle Of Bread", "Open The Door Homer", "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere", "Nothing Was Delivered", "Apple Suckling Tree", "Goin' To Acapulco", "Odds And Ends", "Crash On The Levee (Down In The Flood)" and "Too Much Of Nothing". Three songs written by Bob Dylan are quite weak: "Don't Ya Tell Henry", "Long Distance Operator" and "Tiny Montgomery".

1976 Desire (9)

A fabulous album from Bob Dylan. "Hurricane" is one of his greatest songs. And the other eight tracks are also excellent: "Joey", "Sara", "Oh Sister", "Isis", "Romance In Durango", "One More Cup Of Coffee", "Mozambique" and "Black Diamond Bay".

1978 Street-Legal (9)

Very different from Bob Dylan's previous albums. Its songs were recorded with a large pop-rock band with female backing vocalists. All of them are excellent, but "Changing Of The Guards" is probably the best. Others: "Baby Stop Crying", "No Time To Think", "Is Your Love In Vain?", "Where Are You Tonight? (Journey Through Dark Heat)", "New Pony", "True Love Tends To Forget", "Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power)" and "We Better Talk This Over".

1979 Slow Train Coming (9)

Bob Dylan's first album following his conversion to Christianity. All the songs either express personal faith, or stress the importance of Christian teachings and philosophy. The album is quite uneven. "Slow Train", "Gotta Serve Somebody" and "When He Returns" are among Dylan's greatest achievements. "Precious Angel" and "I Believe In You" are fine, but unexceptional. However, "When You Gonna Wake Up", "Do Right To Me Baby (Do Unto Others)" and "Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking" are definitely among his worst songs. But then, there is also "Man Gave Names To All The Animals" (probably the best song on the album), a wonderful, reggae-inspired musical oddity full of subtle humour in its lyrical, child-like rhymes.

1980 Saved (8)

Bob Dylan's second Christian album. One outstanding song: "Pressing On". Six good tunes: "Solid Rock", "In The Garden", "What Can I Do For You?", "Saved", "Covenant Woman" and "Saving Grace". One disappointment: "Are You Ready". "A Satisfied Mind" is a weak cover song.

1981 Shot Of Love (10)

Five good songs: "Every Grain Of Sand", "The Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar", "Heart Of Mine", "Property Of Jesus" and "Lenny Bruce". And five weak songs: "Dead Man Dead Man", "Watered-Down Love", "Trouble", "In The Summertime" and "Shot Of Love".

1983 Infidels (8)

"Jokerman" is the best song on the album. There are also six other pretty good tunes: "I And I", "Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight", "License To Kill", "Union Sundown", "Man Of Peace" and "Sweetheart Like You". One track, "Neighborhood Bully", is a disappointment.

1985 Empire Burlesque (10)

This is a pretty unusual album for Bob Dylan. Some have even called it "Disco Dylan", but that's a huge exaggeration. Only one song on the album (definitely its best), "When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky", could plausibly be described as disco-influenced. Another, "Dark Eyes", is a vintage Dylan folk tune (though not a particularly memorable one). But all the other songs have a distinct "80s style" aesthetic. Among them, six are quite good: "Tight Connection To My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love)", "Never Gonna Be The Same Again", "Seeing The Real You At Last", "Trust Yourself", "Something's Burning Baby" and "Emotionally Yours". And two songs are disappointing: "I'll Remember You" and "Clean Cut Kid".

1986  Knocked Out Loaded (5)

The album includes three cover songs, three collaborations with other songwriters and two solo compositions by Dylan. "Brownsville Girl" is the outstanding track here, one of Bob Dylan's greatest classics. The rest is fine, but unexceptional: "Got My Mind Made Up", "Driftin' Too Far From Shore", "Maybe Someday" and "Under Your Spell".

1988 Down In The Groove (4)

Six covers. Three fine songs: "Ugliest Girl In The World", "Silvio" and "Death Is Not The End". And one disappointment: "Had A Dream About You Baby".

1988 Traveling Wilburys Vol 1 (12)

The first album from Traveling Wilburys (Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty). They received joint songwriting credits for all the songs on the album. Eight excellent tracks: "End Of The Line", "Handle With Care", "Last Night", "Not Alone Any More", "Heading For The Light", "Tweeter And The Monkey Man", "Congratulations" and "Margarita". Two weak songs: "Dirty World" and "Rattled". Two fine songs, "Maxine" and "Like A Ship", are included on the 2007 CD reissue of the album.

1989 Oh Mercy (10)

Ten good songs: "Most Of The Time", "Everything Is Broken", "What Was It You Wanted", "Where Teardrops Fall", "Disease Of Conceit", "Shooting Star", "Political World", "Man In The Long Black Coat", "Ring Them Bells" and "What Good Am I?".

1990 Under The Red Sky (10)

Bob Dylan's most underrated album. It was almost universally panned upon its release ("sloppily written songs, lazily performed and unimaginatively produced", according to Patrick Humphries). Its sales were very disappointing, peaking at number 38 on the US charts. And yet, it's one of Bob Dylan's most charming and original albums. Yes, it's often sloppy, but in an endearing way. Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote: "To my astonishment, I think Under the Red Sky is Dylan's best album in 15 years, a record that may even signal a ridiculously belated if not totally meaningless return to form ... It's fabulistic, biblical ... the tempos are postpunk like it oughta be, with Aronoff's sprints and shuffles grooving ahead like '60s folk-rock never did." Paul Nelson, writing for Musician, called the album "a deliberately throwaway masterpiece". Ten excellent songs: "Born In Time", "Handy Dandy", "2 × 2", "Under The Red Sky", "Cat's In The Well", "Unbelievable", "T.V. Talkin' Song", "God Knows", "Wiggle Wiggle" and "10,000 Men".

1990 Traveling Wilburys Vol 3 (11)

Although it was actually the second album from the band, it was mischievously titled Vol 3 by George Harrison to play a joke on fans. According to Jeff Lynne, "That was George's idea. He said, Let's confuse the buggers". All the songs were written together by Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty. There are nine excellent tracks: "7 Deadly Sins", "New Blue Moon", "Poor House", "Cool Dry Place", "You Took My Breath Away", "Wilbury Twist", "If You Belonged To Me", "Inside Out" and "The Devil's Been Busy". And two weak songs: "Where Were You Last Night?" and "She's My Baby". 

1997 Time Out Of Mind (11)

Bob Dylan's comeback album. Three superb songs: "Make You Feel My Love", "Not Dark Yet" and "Standing In The Doorway". Seven very good songs: "Cold Irons Bound", "Tryin' To Get To Heaven", "Highlands", "'Til I Fell In Love With You", "Million Miles", "Love Sick" and "Can't Wait". And only one disappointment: "Dirt Road Blues".

2001 Love And Theft (12)

One of Bob Dylan's best albums. All the songs are fabulous: "Summer Days", "Floater (Too Much To Ask)", "Cry A While", "High Water (For Charley Patton)", "Mississippi", "Honest With Me", "Moonlight", "Bye And Bye", "Tweedle Dee And Tweedle Dum", "Lonesome Day Blues", "Po' Boy" and "Sugar Baby".

2006 Modern Times (10)

Another excellent album. Ten great songs: "Ain't Talkin'", "Thunder On The Mountain", "Spirit On The Water", "Rollin' And Tumblin'", "When The Deal Goes Down", "Someday Baby", "The Levee's Gonna Break", "Workingman's Blues #2", "Beyond The Horizon" and "Nettie Moore".

2009 Together Through Life (10)

A nice little album. Ten fine songs: "Forgetful Heart", "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'", "This Dream Of You", "Life Is Hard", "Jolene", "If You Ever Go To Houston", "I Feel A Change Comin' On", "My Wife's Home Town", "It's All Good" and "Shake Shake Mama".

2012 Tempest (10)

Ten good songs: "Duquesne Whistle", "Tempest", "Pay In Blood", "Tin Angel", "Roll On John", "Scarlet Town", "Early Roman Kings", "Soon After Midnight", "Narrow Way" and "Long And Wasted Years".

2020 Rough And Rowdy Ways (10)

Nine good songs: "I've Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You", "My Own Version Of You", "False Prophet", "Murder Most Foul", "I Contain Multitudes", "Key West (Philosopher Pirate)", "Goodbye Jimmy Reed", "Black Rider" and "Mother Of Muses". And one disappointment: "Crossing The Rubicon".

Other songs:

fine "John Brown" (1963)

superb "Positively 4th Street" (1965)

excellent "I Shall Be Released" (1967)

good "Watching The River Flow" (1971)

excellent "George Jackson" (1971)

fine "Rita May" (1976)

haunting "Blind Willie McTell" (1983)

excellent "Things Have Changed" (2000)