1950-2000: The Top 25 Singer/Songwriters


1.Bob Dylan: I don’t expect any arguments here

2.Curtis Mayfield: Perhaps he should be #1

3. Paul Weller: Hideously underrated in the US, this whiteboy knows soul

4. Tom Waits: He makes two kinds of records: good ones & great ones

5. Van Morrison: If he ever put out a bad record, I haven’t heard it yet

6. Hank Williams: Some of his songs can even make Christianity sound cool

7. Marc Bolan: The pop genius of the 70’s

8. Toots Hibbert: The man who should have been Jamaica’s International Superstar

9. George Jones: A jug of wine, a George Jones album, another jug of wine, and then another…

10. Lou Reed: I’d put him on this list just for “Pale Blue Eyes”

11. Carole King: More for her songwriting than her singing

12. Elvis Costello: Not half as good as everybody says he is, but what a half!

13. Townes van Zandt: Have you heard him? Good, then you know what I’m talking about

14. Eldon “El Duce” Hoke: Hey, this is MY list. I can put anybody I want on

15. Beck: He’s the new Dylan. Honest

16. James Osterberg: It is frightening: The man has supernatural powers!

17. Leonard Cohen: Of course I’m going to include him

18. Bruce Springsteen: “Nebraska” is enough to earn him a place

19. Nick Drake: Volkswagen, The Estate of Nick Drake wishes to thank you

20. Neil Diamond: What if Elvis was a Jew who wrote his own songs, and never did half-assed karate kicks onstage?

21. Lucinda Williams: Great singer/songwriters cover HER songs!

22. Kurt Cobain: An ear for a great tune, and an eye for a pretty lady! Oh muse, sing!

23. Richard Thompson: Continues to delight

24. David Bowie: Demoted from #11 to #24 for failing to die immediately after "Scary Monsters"

25. Gram Parsons: Dude, love that Nudie suit!
tweakgeek
Waltersalas,
Considering that our man George gets the songwriting credit for such classics as "The Window Up Above," "Don't Stop the Music," and "Just One More", I think that he qualifies as a pretty good songwriter.

By the way, I really should have given Al Green his due.

I guess you ment pop or country/folk when you asked for the top 25 singer/songwriters...since no one seems to be thinking of Jazz or more standard writer/singers like Nat Cole, the above mentioned Mercer..etc.

That said...in the country/pop vein..I agree with almost all of the posts above.
And yes...The author of Hey Jude, Yesterday, Ticket To Ride, Michelle, Paperback Writer, Eleanor Rigby, Penny Lane, All You Need Is Love, The Fool On The Hill, Lady Madonna, Let It Be, The Long And Winding Road, Band On The Run, My Love, and....Silly Love Songs deserves to be ahead of Parsons....don't you think? Perhaps Im just a "punter" though.