the authoritative list of the top 10 of bob dylan's albums, in a sort-of particular order, though not a rank and file list. and i certainly won't talk about every song on every album, cause that would just be too much.
not authoritative, but spontaneous.
not 10, but 5
order isnt particular, so far as i can tell
the basement tapes-the first time i heard the heart-sunk depression and longing of dylan in 'goin' to acapulco' put in me a feeling i never knew existed before then. the overwhelming dread and loss he puts in you is terrifying. but at the same time it makes you incredibly glad for what you've got. it couldnt have been written any other place than in the big pink. 'tears of rage' the elegy that asks what are bonds?/what is family? and that certain unspoken blame for whatever it is, that we all carry. intense.
highway 61 revisited-my top album of all time. has to be. i don't need to say why, because everybody else already has. the most perfectly produced album ever made, except for maybe 'pet sounds' but i hate 'pet sounds'. so much to listen to here. the music just snarls, as if the record wasn't perfectly flat and perfectly round. fascinating.
the freewheelin' bob dylan-every english language writer that has amounted to anything since the mid 1960s, and in fact probably all western writers, owe their craft to this album. poesis 101 is taught here, not in 'the republic'.
self portrait-because nobody has a clue of what it is meant to be, and that is incredibly unique and quintessentially 'dylan'. in short, its a terrible album.
john wesley harding- a very literary album. distinct stories, images and storytellers. its not brazen or bold, it's simple and it's effective.