Best Songwriters

[robnobcorncob]

Frank Zappa

Legend!

Aye + 1939804234 !

[telefiend]

My favourites:

Springsteen
Neil Young
Tom Waits
Jeff Buckley
Bob Dylan
Nick Drake
Cat Power
Eddie Vedder

[Jenesis]

Agree with many already mentioned, especially Prince, Weller, Bowie, Wonder, Lennon, McCartney.

Nick Cave
Jimmy Webb
Roger Waters
Neil Diamond
Van Heusen/Cahn
David Paich

[jeremyb]

Gilmour/Waters
Plant/Page
Hetfield/Ulrich (pre black album)

[Lawrence]

Davis Bowie
Bruce Springsteen
Prince
Tim Finn
Frank Zappa
the guys in Sty

[sgt mukuzi]

George & Ira Gershwin

i`m so gonna ear bash you about this

my understanding of the tin pan ally era is a bunch of rich pricks steeling melodys from musicans and putting them over the exact same chord changes for every song. i wince when people refer to these times as somthing to idolise.
i remember an interview with some dork from the USA on Bfm, he said he regarded thee guys as amazing songwriters. I just dont understand where these guys get there ideas

[Hot_Grits]

Wayne Coyne aka Flaming Lips. Excellent songs and really great arrangements

Yeah, he's awesome.

For me:

Lennon/McCartney (more McCartney)
Chris Whitley
Warren Zevon
The Motown crew: Holland, Dozier, Holland, Ashford, Simpson, Stevenson, Whitfield...
Matthew Sweet
Ray Charles
Tom Waits
Leonard Cohen
Polly Harvey
Petty/Campbell
Strummer/Jones
Townshend
Becker/Fagan
Steve Wonder
Nik Kershaw
Prince
Andy Partridge (XTC)
John Hiatt
John/Taupin
Bowie
Al Green
Lou Reed
Neil Young
Jagger/Richards
Bernard Fanning
Marvin Gaye
Joe Jackson
Elvis Costello

[druz15]

John Frusciante

YES!!!

Listen to Central and you will see why. Or pretty much anything off of Shadows Collide or Empyrean, heck 90% of his work shows amazing songwriting not too mention the stuff he does with the Chilis

Honourable Mentions:

Liam Finn
Eddie Vedder
Jeff Ament
Jon Toogood.
Springsteen
Bob Dylan
Izzie Stradlin

[foal30]

well.

I do not think it is the exact same chord changes in every song
yes, a lot of similarities

but one could offer that this is part of the identifying of genres, we need similarities to make identification or associations. I mean how about the Blues?

as for others melodies... appropriation is a big call, cross-pollination might be more realistic especially with so many years between then and now. It's certainly more respectful.

and, again, if we look to other identifiable genres of music, outright theft is seen as good business. Originality is hardly tolerated, let alone encouraged. I do not think TPA was any better or worse in this regard than any other form of popular music I can think of.

[slash-ed]

Tom Delonge














wah wah

[rob_on_guitar]

Lyric wise I always thought Paradise lost had awesome words before their popness got too much to bare.
For music I really liked Micheal Kamen, to me he was like the renegade of the composer world, I guess in the same sense how classic lovers say Wagner was heavy.
For song structures Id say Maiden, they always mixed up a song stucture.

[Gatdan777]

Three pages of comments and no one has mentioned John Mayer! What is the world coming to?

[badmotor]

Oh this thead - cool.

Most of mine favs. have already been mentioned, but I would like to add:

3D, Daddy G, Mushroom for giving us "Mezzanine".

[Basket Case]

Mikael Akerfeldt

Waters/Gilmour

Howerdel/Keenan

[crowbgood1]

Dave Dobbin
Kieth Richards
Ian Anderson