# Favorite: Neil Young or Bob Dylan



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Curious which of these two singer songwriter poets you like the most. I like both very much but between the two I like Neil better.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I'm a mild fan of both. But musically speaking, there's not enough there to hold my interest for very long.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I'm not much of a fan of either, either.


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

I don't minimize either when it comes to some of the things they've written, but I don't really enjoy listening to either.

I'd much rather listen to Weird Al's Dylan parody.......


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

In the Protesting Sixties, Dylan's songs and his singing of them worked fine. Not that I Protested; mostly worked, drank, smoked and rode motorcycles. Thought about reenlisting, then thought again.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

First of all, if they are indeed considered 'poets', they are extremely lousy ones whose callow words have endeared them to the general public. They're not even good 'rock' lyricists, for that matter. If you seek pure, beautiful and unpretentious poetry/song-writing, look to aleazk's countryman, Atahualpa Yupanqui -- he was an artist of the highest order.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Never cared much for Bob Dylan, he's long and winding and rarely coherent and even worse when he went confused christian and back to obscure judaism..

Hence I voted Neil Young as he at least can make some noise!

/ptr


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## Serge (Mar 25, 2010)

Normally I would say neither, except that I hate Neil Young and that just recently I discovered Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde album. Which I happen to love.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Bobby, no contest.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Dylan's output from from Bringing All Back Home to Nashville Skyline is my favourite era of his but apart from Blood On The Tracks and Desire I haven't a lot of interest in his material after that. 

Neil Young has released his fair share of clunkers (especially in the 80s) but his studio output between 1969-1978 ranged from commendable to excellent, and some of his 90s stuff was on near-equal footing to the best of it (Ragged Glory, Sleeps With Angels, Harvest Moon). Logically I'd have to go with NY seeing I like more of his albums but Dylan 64-69 is just so good it prevents me from choosing.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Dylan all the way.


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## Guest (Jul 28, 2014)

On the grounds that I've got one Neil Young album and none by Bob Dylan, I guess Neil wins by a short head in race where there are many other artists who've given me so much more enjoyment than either, that I too could only call myself an oxymoronic 'mild fan'!


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## deprofundis (Apr 25, 2014)

Bob Dylan perhaps one or two songs , but like Neil Young more so, i like his old and new repertoire. You guess i vote for Neil.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

I voted Dylan, even though he isn't really my favorite. So I didn't take the poll title literally.

At this point, I actually probably don't even like most of Dylan's output, he's been around so long. But I forgive him that. As a solo artist, he couldn't break up with himself, so this left drug OD as the only other option.


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## Serge (Mar 25, 2010)

GreenMamba said:


> I voted Dylan, even though he isn't really my favorite. So I didn't take the poll title literally.
> 
> At this point, I actually probably don't even like most of Dylan's output, he's been around so long. But I forgive him that. As a solo artist, he couldn't break up with himself, so this left drug OD as the only other option.


Yes, there's a lot of "American" appreciation for so many artists that I couldn't possibly get into. Bruce Springfield would probably be another good example of that. Comes with the "country" roots, I suppose. But, as I said, Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde happened to be a lucky break-through for me. I think I've had enough.


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## JACE (Jul 18, 2014)

I'd hate to be without either of them. I think they're both tremendously gifted songwriters, and I've enjoyed their music since I was a kid. 

Dylan's influence is probably more seminal. He's probably the "more important" artist. It would be easy to argue that Dylan's one of the most important musicians in rock history, along with a select handful of others.

But I love Neil's music too.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Serge said:


> Yes, there's a lot of "American" appreciation for so many artists that I couldn't possibly get into. *Bruce Springfield* would probably be another good example of that. Comes with the "country" roots, I suppose.


Rick Springfield? Bruce Springsteen?



Serge said:


> Comes with the "country" roots, I suppose. But, as I said, Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde happened to be a lucky break-through for me. I think I've had enough.


I adore Blonde On Blonde.


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## Winterreisender (Jul 13, 2013)

Neither artists are great at quality control... both are guilty of putting out some truly horrific CDs, especially in the 80's. 

On a good day, I think Bob's songs are more interesting but his voice quickly grinds. I like Neil at his folksiest on albums like "Rust Never Sleeps" (acoustic half) but his 5 minute grunge jams can become a bit tedious.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Could be that most of you were not around in the 1960's. Dylan was an original voice and personality, a true trailblazer. Young was a fine rock artist, but that's where it ends.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Bulldog said:


> Could be that most of you were not around in the 1960's. Dylan was an original voice and personality, a true trailblazer. Young was a fine rock artist, but that's where it ends.


YUP.....................


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Bulldog said:


> Could be that most of you were not around in the 1960's. Dylan was an original voice and personality, a true trailblazer. Young was a fine rock artist, but that's where it ends.


I'll take NY with Crazy Horse over Dylan, but that's just my taste.


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## Guest (Jul 28, 2014)

Bob Dylan was a guy that happened to have a guitar with him whenever he commented on society and what not. 

Neil Young was a musical artist from the same era. 

I won't deny the importance of either, but as this poll appeared in a music sub-forum, it would seem pretty strange to vote for Bob over Neil.


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## Serge (Mar 25, 2010)

GreenMamba said:


> Rick Springfield? Bruce Springsteen?


Yes, the other - "steen" guy. Hehe. Sorry, auto-correct kicked in and I wasn't paying too much attention. Besides, needless to say, his name is not exactly on the tip of my tongue. 

Blonde on Blonde is great. I wish Bob Dylan had more albums to my liking too. Outstanding artist, no doubt.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Serge said:


> Blonde on Blonde is great. I wish Bob Dylan had more albums to my liking too. Outstanding artist, no doubt.


 Some of my favorite Dylan albums are John Wesley Hardin, Nashville Skyline, Self Portrait, and New Morning. I only have some 55 Dylan CD sets (and about 27 Neil Young CD sets).


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## Serge (Mar 25, 2010)

Florestan said:


> Some of my favorite Dylan albums are John Wesley Hardin, Nashville Skyline, Self Portrait, and New Morning. I only have some 55 Dylan CD sets (and about 27 Neil Young CD sets).


I know Bob Dylan has plenty of albums. But the other stuff of his that I've heard so far was way too folksy to my taste. Funny thing, I asked once a Bob Dylan aficionado for an album recommendation citing Blonde on Blonde, and he answered: all of them. Needless to say, the pause afterwards was long and painful.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Here is one that is far from folksy (off his New Morning album):


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## SalieriIsInnocent (Feb 28, 2008)

Paul Simon, because he could write a song, and actually sing the damn thing. Bob only sounds good on certain songs, and Neil even less often.


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## SimonNZ (Jul 12, 2012)

Bob Dylan over almost anyone. I have every official album and a few unofficial ones. I find even his more problematic albums fascinating and worth the time invested, especially since the deleted tracks and alternate takes have been appearing.


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

Always liked Bob more than any other rockstar, because he is less about the body and the lights and the dance and the glamour, and more about the brains and saying the right things. Neil Young is not too bad either.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I prefer Dylan's songs, when covered by others. Time Out of Mind is an exception. I love that one. The only others I bought are Bringing it all back Home and Highway 61 Revisited. There's some marvellous, rambling strangeness on those albums that is classic.

Neil Young had some great songs very early in his career, but the folk style is not one that grabs me. He did an album with Daniel Lanois, a Canadian electronic artist, something about a World (I can't recall the title), that sounded sort of interesting, which surprised me, for Neil Young.

I notice the glaring omission of Leonard Cohen, who should likely be mentioned along with Dylan as one of the great singer-songwriters. Cohen clearly wins for lyrics, being primarily a poet (I have read most of his poetry volumes), but I don't much care for the glamorous style he chooses for his music. I'm your Man was my favourite of his. His early ones are strongly rooted in the folk idiom... just not a style that has ever captured me.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

brotagonist said:


> Neil Young had some great songs very early in his career, but the folk style is not one that grabs me. He did an album with Daniel Lanois, a Canadian electronic artist, something about a Wold. I can't recall the title. The title song sounded sort of interesting, which surprised me, for Neil Young.


The album La Noise is a play on the producer's name Lanois. It is a good album and a recent release (last couple years as I recall). Another good recent release is Americana. Here is the opening track (official NY video release). Love the imagery:





For the early acoustic stuff, Old Man and Heart of Gold are two of the finest songs ever written.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

These are two of the big names that I really can't connect with at all, to the extent that they are no longer even present in my music collection. I find Paul Simon and Leonard Cohen far, far superior.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Neil Young...easy decision for me.


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## SalieriIsInnocent (Feb 28, 2008)

Johnny Mercer could sneeze out a great song without effort.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

I really like some of Neil Young's music, but along with Johnny Cash I consider him amongst the most over-rated recording artists of all time. I almost never listen to Dylan, but I believe he was a great lyricist and an innovative artist and not nearly as over-rated as Neil Young.


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

Knockin' on Heaven's Door...


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Leonard Cohen! He's cool and funny and sexy. I love the self-mockery beneath the lugubriousness- perfect breakup music!

Dylan's OK but he always sounds like an OTT parody of something or other.


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## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

Bobby by a long shot. I like some of the raw R&R Young put out back in the day, but I just can't get into him now. I used to dislike Dylan. What got me into Dylan was one of his more recent albums "Modern Times" I'm one of the few people who like his older raspy voice. I think that album is fantastic. Since then, I've gotten every single one of his studio albums and a few of his live ones.

I even liked his "Born Again Christian" phase. I think his "Oh Mercy" album is terrific! He has a crappy voice, but that never stopped me from liking many pop artists.

SERGE: If you like Blonde On Blonde (Great album), I would also suggest "_Bringing It All Back Home_," "_Desire_," "_Highway 61 Revisited"_, _"The Times They Are a Changin',"_ and _"Slow Train Coming"_ (Mark Knopfler on Guitar).

V


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

I don't think Neil Young ever cut any albums as great as Blonde on Blonde or John Wesley Harding or composed such iconic songs as Visions of Johanna and Like a Rolling Stone. In my opinion, only the VU, Doors, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Who or Hendrix come close to Dylan.


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## SimonNZ (Jul 12, 2012)

Heads-up, Dylan fans! The next volume in the "Bootleg Series" is to be a six-cd set of the Complete Basement Tapes

138 tracks in total, including 30 apparently never before heard even as bootlegs










http://www.rollingstone.com/music/n...ent-tapes-bootlegs-released-november-20140826

http://www.amazon.com/Basement-Tape...qid=1411959867&sr=8-1&keywords=dylan+basement


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

SimonNZ said:


> Heads-up, Dylan fans! The next volume in the "Bootleg Series" is to be a six-cd set of the Complete Basement Tapes
> 
> 138 tracks in total, including 30 apparently never before heard even as bootlegs
> 
> ...


Bloody hell - I knew the original release in 1975 didn't paint anything like the whole picture but I had no idea that a complete set of (presumably) finished songs would run to six discs worth. The asking price makes my eyes water a bit, though.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I got the two disc Basement Tapes set and really like it a lot. It is among my favorite Dylan albums. Love the song Clothesline Saga!

That 6 CD set looks wonderful. I work with a Dylan fan who has everything (he is the one who got me into Dylan and Neil Young), so suspect he will get this one too. If he does, I know he will let me borrow it.


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

Another heads up! Listen to Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid soundtrack - it's got some really blissful Dylan instrumental music.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

shangoyal said:


> Another heads up! Listen to Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid soundtrack - it's got some really blissful Dylan instrumental music.


I have that one and will have to revisit it sometime.


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

Dylan.

If he didn't make a single album after 1966, he'd still be planets ahead of the rest of them. In November he releases a six CD boxset of some knockabout stuff he made with The Band in 1967, called _The Basement Tapes_. Nobody else could have done this sort of thing, and just hid it away. Lately, he's even more listenable than his brilliant youth, for me anyhow. _Love & Theft_ is as great an album as he's made, and _Time out of Mind, Tempest_ and _Modern Times_ aren't far behind. The guy is unique...


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## Pyotr (Feb 26, 2013)

I bought blond-on-blonde the day it came out and was the biggest Dylan fan that has ever lived but, Powderfinger is my favorite rock song (ok , reggae) of all time. 
"...and the powers that be have left me here to do the thinkin...."


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

shangoyal said:


> I don't think Neil Young ever cut any albums as great as Blonde on Blonde or John Wesley Harding or composed such iconic songs as Visions of Johanna and Like a Rolling Stone. In my opinion, only the VU, Doors, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Who or Hendrix come close to Dylan.


After the Gold Rush, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Harvest, Lucky 13, Old Ways, Sleeps With Angels, Tonight's The Night, Zuma--all great albums comparable to Dylan's output.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Florestan said:


> After the Gold Rush, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Harvest, Lucky 13, Old Ways, Sleeps With Angels, Tonight's The Night, Zuma--all great albums comparable to Dylan's output.


Uh...Rust Never Sleeps?


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

Florestan said:


> After the Gold Rush, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Harvest, Lucky 13, Old Ways, Sleeps With Angels, Tonight's The Night, Zuma--all great albums comparable to Dylan's output.


Of course, I disagree that these are great albums. That's the whole point.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

KenOC said:


> Uh...Rust Never Sleeps?


I shoulda put that one in and then there is A Treasure, Americana, Are You Passionate, Broken Arrow, Le Noise, Live Rust, Prairie Wind, Psychedelic Pill, Silver and Gold, Weld, Year of the Horse, ---- Well that is about it for my collection besides Decade, Sugar Mountain Live, and Live Massey Hall. There are more I should get.

Of course I have about three times as many Dylan albums. Love them both!


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## heatedbonfire (Apr 28, 2014)

Dylan for me. He has won many awards throughout his career including Grammy Awards, Academy Award and Golden Globe Award. He is really an icon and is considered one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

_Neil Young_ for me


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

BIG fan of both, but Dylan gets the edge by a small margin (I voted "both").


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Neil Young fo me. Everybody knows this is nowhere is one of my fav albums. The only Dylan album that does it for me is Blood on the Tracks


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I voted for Neil Young. Saw him twice in the 80s and he was sublime, live (especially in Stuttgart). I like Dylan's 70s output a lot (Desire, Street Legal, etc) but not his 60s and post 80s stuff. Young's albums have been patchy but he's produced some crackers along the years (Ragged Glory, etc). Live Rust was never off my turntable after I bought it. The live version of Like a Hurricane is to die for.


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## Jos (Oct 14, 2013)

I think I can forgive him "everybody's rockin' " and "trans", so I vote Neil Young. 
Like Dylan too, Street Legal was one of my first albums, given to me by my uncle when I was very young. Opened some doors..


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