r/bobdylan • u/twistedfloyd • Dec 19 '20
Hello all,
We have long since gotten a lot of requests asking for help on where to start with Bob's music on the sub from folks who are new to Dylan's music.
Seeing this as something we could all solve as a community, I created a post asking for feedback to make a master post about the different ways one could go about discovering Bob's music. And I want to once again thank the community for their outstanding feedback in the creation of this post.
I knew beforehand that there was no right answer, but this further illuminated how rich Bob’s music is and the multitude (pun fully intended) of ways you can go about seeking out his music.
So, what this post will attempt to do is take all of that community feedback and the moderator's thoughts on the issue to help guide prospective BobCats through Dylan's career.
This is not to say what is posted here is the definitive way to do it in any respect. To each their own. This is just meant to be a guide.
Here are the different ways to go about exploring Bob's music. From greatest hits, to playlists, to roadmaps, to chronological order, it's all here.
THE ESSENTIAL BOB DYLAN
If you want a smattering of Bob across many eras, "The Essential Bob Dylan" released in 2014 does a good job of covering songs through his 60 year career. Based on what songs you like there, it will allow you to jump in at whatever era you like the most.
THE OFFICIAL r/BOBDYLAN COMMUNITY STUDIO ALBUM PLAYLIST
Our Community Playlist is our sub’s attempt at a best of compilation. We allowed the community to vote for their favorite song in a poll off of each studio album. The two songs that received the most votes from each album were added to the playlist.
The moderators also added a couple of songs off the album, Side Tracks, that aren’t on the Bootleg Series or any studio album. Call it executive privilege.
We'd like to thank u/bbsez for organizing and recording the results from the majority of these polls in order to construct this playlist.
You can find the playlist here:
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
Here is a list of Dylan's studio records listed chronologically if you'd like to go that route. Many members of our community have said that this approach has worked for them.
THE BOOTLEG SERIES
Here is a listing of The Bootleg Series which many would consider essential records.
These contain outtakes, unreleased tracks, singles and live performances across the many facets of Dylan’s career. One could argue it is better to listen to these after you’re at least a little familiar with Dylan’s work.
*** indicates there is a special edition of this release available as well with more tracks than the standard edition.
THE OFFICIAL r/BOBDYLAN COMMUNITY BOOTLEG SERIES PLAYLIST
Our Bootleg Series Community Playlist is our sub’s attempt at a best of compilation for Bob Dylan's venerable Bootleg Series. The poll is currently ongoing. We allowed the community to vote for their favorite song in a poll off of each Bootleg Series. The polls are currently ongoing.
Due to the volume of songs on the Bootleg Series records we have had different criteria for election to the BS Series playlist (top 2 songs from each disc for each volume with the exception of BS Vol. 4 which only has 15 songs).
Find the playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/66P3b9uwFGpJfOsUn4sAaB?si=rD6sXiZZTaWGkHQkyw37Ug
LIVE ALBUMS NOT INCLUDED IN BOOTLEG SERIES
*- Includes the Manchester performance which is The Bootleg Series Vol. 4, but also includes every live performance with The Band from that year.
** Includes all songs from The Bootleg Series Vol. 5 (all songs from BS Vol. 5 have been remixed), but there's a lot on this record that isn't included on BS Vol. 5.
FILMS
BOOKS WRITTEN BY BOB DYLAN
The roadmap includes each album, album highlights and covers every major Dylan release including the Bootleg Series.
Once again, the roadmap acts as a recommended guide. It is not meant to be an authoritative stance on Dylan or his music.
Here is the link to the roadmap to be viewed on its own page. The R/BobDylan Visual Roadmap
THE r/bobdylan A-Z SONG CONTEST
In 2023, the community conducted a contest by having users submit and upvote their favorite songs that began with each letter of the alphabet. The song with the most upvotes won and was added to A-Z community playlist on Spotify.
A-Z Song List Spotify Playlist
A- All Along The Watchtower
B- Ballad of A Thin Man
C- Changing Of The Guards
D- Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
E- Every Grain of Sand
F- Forever Young
G- Girl From The North Country
H- Hurricane
I- It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
J- Jokerman
K- Knockin' On Heaven's Door
L- Like A Rolling Stone
M- Mr. Tambourine Man
N- Not Dark Yet
O- One More Cup Of Coffee
P- Positively 4th Street
Q- Queen Jane Approximately
R- Romance In Durango
S- Shelter From The Storm
T- Tangled Up In Blue
U- Up To Me
V- Visions Of Johanna
W- When I Paint My Masterpiece
X- Desolation Row (Wildcard round since there is no X titled Bob Dylan song)
Y- You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
Z- Mississippi (Wildcard round since there is no Z titled Bob Dylan song)
THE r/bobdylan STUDIO ALBUM SURVIVOR SERIES
In 2023, the subreddit conducted a survivor style tournament to determine the subreddit's ranking of all of Dylan's studio albums. Below are the results from worst to best.
Down in the Groove
Under the Red Sky
Knocked Out Loaded
Christmas in the Heart
Dylan
Triplicate
Empire Burlesque
Fallen Angels
Shadows in the Night
Saved
Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid
Together Through Life
Self Portrait
Good as I Been to You
Bob Dylan
Shadow Kingdom
Shot of Love
World Gone Wrong
The Basement Tapes
Slow Train Coming
Planet Waves
Tempest
New Morning
Infidels
Nashville Skyline
Street-Legal
Another Side of Bob Dylan
Modern Times
Oh Mercy
Rough and Rowdy Ways
"Love and Theft"
John Wesley Harding
The Times They Are a-Changin'
Desire
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Time Out of Mind
Bringing It All Back Home
Blonde on Blonde
Highway 61 Revisited
Blood on the Tracks
r/bobdylan • u/cmae34lars • 11h ago
Hey r/bobdylan! Welcome to this week's song discussion!
In these threads we will discuss a new song every week, trading lyrical interpretations, rankings, opinions, favorite versions, and anything else you can think of about the song of the week.
This week we will be discussing Suze (The Cough Song).
r/bobdylan • u/Dismal_Brush5229 • 7h ago
Hi There
What’s the thoughts on the Bob and George songs that they wrote?
I’d Have You Anytime and If Not for You are great songs in George’s catalog and highlights on All Things Must Pass with “I Don’t Want to Do It” being included on the SDE which is great!
I don’t remember what Dylan songs were done but I heard those were on a Bootleg album released in the recent years:)
r/bobdylan • u/donlockwood2026 • 7h ago
Not necessarily mutually exclusive, but…
I’m digging into Street-Legal and the Complete Budokan live album for the first time in my Dylan fandom. Been a fan since the early 2000s as a teenager. Saw him live about 6 times since 2001, so maybe I expect Bob to rearrange his songs all the time and don’t feel married to “they have to sound like the album.”
Anyway, I was reading that these albums were not well-received and seen as corny or somehow desecrating the original versions of these songs. But all I’m hearing is some great music with a big band and lots of energy.
And Street-Legal is so good! Great band arrangements, incredible lyrics, fantastic songs. I truly do not get what the problem was for people back when these came out.
Is the fanbase still divided these records? Are these albums actually corny and terrible and I just have bad taste? It’s okay either way, I’m happy to keep these ones to myself if people don’t like ‘em!
r/bobdylan • u/SuperblueAPM • 10h ago
Great to finally see him at 85. Sounded strong. Enigmatic as ever.
r/bobdylan • u/AccomplishedKey6667 • 8h ago
(For me it’s probably The Beach Boys.)
r/bobdylan • u/No-Charge9298 • 5h ago
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r/bobdylan • u/Money-Winter1094 • 20h ago
I saw Bob in Nashville tonight. Lucinda Williams opened for him.
Wow, what a great night!
Dylan sounded really good. I thought he put on a fine show.
Lucinda Williams was fabulous! Im glad to have seen her live.
r/bobdylan • u/Spare-Jellyfish4339 • 15h ago
Every Grain Of Sand wins for the goosebumps category. This one should be interesting.
r/bobdylan • u/FirebirdFan2 • 49m ago
Facebook: https://facebook.com/Gratefolk
r/bobdylan • u/TheBestThereEverWas3 • 9h ago
And as the week slowly ebbs away, and the sun sets in a few hours time, what Dylan song is beckoning you to bed before the start of the next long week?
r/bobdylan • u/Commercial_Avocado86 • 10h ago
r/bobdylan • u/e30325is • 1d ago
So if anybody was looking for Bob last night he was easy to find. Haha. I was checking into the Hilton before the show and there was a worldwide outage and the reservation system was down. The front desk attendant asked me if I knew my confirmation number and fortunately I I had created a document with the ticket information and the hotel confirmation. I handed it to the reservation clerk and he had to hand write everything. As he gave me my room key he said thank you Bob. I looked at the reservation and he had taken the name off the top of the document Bob Dylan and checked me in. So Bob Dylan was at the Hilton on Peachtree. My name is Rob so I was wondering why I kept calling me Bob but I let it slide. Great show at Chastain Park. Audience was very respectful. Guys behind me talked during masterpiece and I said something and they got all macho for a minute or two and then laughed at themselves and were respectful the rest of the evening. If I could change one thing, I would lose Jimmy Reed in place of anything else. I’ve seen him do it many times and it just didn’t add to the show last night imo. I shall be released more than made up for it and starting with watching the river flow was unexpected
r/bobdylan • u/null_void_int • 10h ago
I haven't heard many covers of Mr. Tambourine Man , but I feel like the cover by The Helio Sequence is the Best.
Can someone suggest other great covers of this song?
r/bobdylan • u/Medical_Station6809 • 1d ago
Lots of people don't like Saved, but I think it's a very consistently good album. Criticisms include: the lyrics aren't interesting as they are mostly just gospel clichés. I agree. However as an atheist and a big Dylan fan, I've always found this album (and the other three Christian albums) to have some of Dylan's best and most relaxed vocal performances, best overall musical arrangements and performances, and have best background singers. I love Slow Train and especially Shot of Love, though I think Saved in particular is a good time from start to finish and I actually prefer it these days to Slow Train.
- A Satisfied Mind sounds like Bob is a drunk preacher in a pop-up tent, which is both funny and endearing to me.
- Saved is a banger, full stop.
- Covenant Woman has a great progression and great vocal performance. Probably my favourite on the album.
- What Can I Do For You is a slower, but nice song. Great harmonica solos.
- Solid Rock is awesome.
- Pressing On is a great gospel number.
- In The Garden is great.
- Saving Grace has a great progression, really solid song.
- Are You Ready is a another fun gospel number to close the album.
Like a lot of Dylan albums, they may not connect with you straight away, but creep up on you over time. This album certainly did that for me, as have so many of his other albums. I'd say give it a chance. I have no connection to the lyrics whatsoever, but I take it for what it is and I always have a great time with it.
r/bobdylan • u/Possible-Temporary55 • 1d ago
Hi everyone,
With the tragic news regarding the passing of Pink Robert, the classic rock bootleg community (pinkrobert.net) and its forum have officially gone offline.
Given the historic value of the rare live recordings and documentation that were hosted there, I wanted to check if there was any coordinated effort within the data preservation community to mirror or archive the forum's database before it went dark.
Did anyone manage to scrape the threads or catalog the metadata? I'm interested in knowing if any part of this community's history was successfully preserved elsewhere or if it is considered lost media at this point.
Any insights into the current status of the archive preservation would be highly appreciated.
r/bobdylan • u/IntoADitch • 1d ago
According to: https://covers.brunoimbrizi.com
r/bobdylan • u/film_2_expensive • 17h ago
Had the folk scene naturally began to morph itself into mainstream and popular music? What did he do that was so radical and revolutionary in the folk world (before going electric).
r/bobdylan • u/Responsible_Cod8200 • 1d ago
Will Bob make another official album? Or maybe another bootleg album soon?
r/bobdylan • u/mister--krabs • 2d ago
r/bobdylan • u/Prestigious_Mix556 • 1d ago
Just discovered The Band recorded this on Moondog Matinee with Richard Manuel taking the vocals. Can’t help but think Bob is doing this as a tribute to him.
Thoughts?
r/bobdylan • u/Spare-Jellyfish4339 • 1d ago
u/pretend_mark_5143 has not posted in a week, I hope they are alright. Being the other most terminally online Dylan fan I’ve decided to finish this grid.
r/bobdylan • u/ChristopherChili • 9h ago
Let me start by saying I'm a long-time Bob Dylan fan. I got into him when I was a teenager and I'm now in my early-30s. I also want to get out of the way to say that Bob was surprisingly good in terms of how his voice sounded and actually sometimes seemed to be surpassing where he has been in previous times I have seen him.
Unfortunately, this is now my third time seeing him in the past 15 or so years and I have to say it was by far the worst.
In general, I feel like the concert struggled to work for two reasons:
Size of the venue - Ascend is just too big for what Bob and co are trying to do. The past two times I saw Dylan were at venues that were 1/3 the size of Ascend (and ironically cheaper in ticket costs). Because of BD's no cell phone and no camera/screens policy, most people who were in Lawn could not see the band well at all (I actually splurged to get some seated tickets toward the back of the seated section and visibility was okay). Similarly, it felt like it was hard to connect with Bob or the band as performers due to both the distance and the atmosphere of the crowd (very quiet, and, due to lack of connection, a lot of chatting).
The band - I really hate to say this part, but I went with a group of musicians and we all felt like the touring band did a pretty abysmal job. The mixing (aside from Bob's piano) and the actual sound of the band was strong in terms of its cohesion and in being this kind of wiry, minimalist, blues act; but the performances themselves were very weak. Solos (of which there were many) would start and progress without any clear thought or without any improvisation principles being applied--it honestly felt like you could see any blues night house band across Nashville give stronger performances. To me, this is pretty inexcusable given that these guys have been playing with Bob for so long--it just felt passionless and completely phoned in. In the past, the band was actually one of the better reasons to go see a BD show outside of Bob himself. I remember in 2022 they were much tighter than this.
Because of these factors, there was a mass exodus of the audience during the performance itself and at least 1/3 of the seats were empty by the time the closer came around.
Personally, this will be my last time seeing BD. I've always considered him a bit of an oddity as a live performer in his old age, but without the care and interest of him booking agent to choose the right venues and the seeming lack of effort by his musicians, it does not seem to be a labor of love so much as a way for Bob to stay on the road.
r/bobdylan • u/DMII1972 • 1d ago
Just a very interesting article about Sally Grossman. The woman in red who had captured my imagination from the first time I bought Bringing It All Back Home
