Top 10 Best Lyricists of All Time

Well, I am shocked, stunned, and flabbergasted! Usually, I wouldn't be angry if my first choice is not on top. But it's Bob Dylan! He is on top. He is number one!

Anyone who's heard It's Alright Ma, Desolation Row, It's All Over Now Baby Blue, Visions of Johanna, Blowin' in the Wind, Like a Rolling Stone, Positively 4th Street, Idiot Wind will understand. There is no way this man is not on top.

Until he is, I shall boycott the musicians above him. Lucky for me, there are only two. And well, I don't listen to Tupac. Ever! I'll just only listen to George Harrison's Beatles songs and give up on John's solo career.

Every song written by Roger Waters has deep lyrics. There is a story behind all his songs. In terms of lyrics, he's sometimes underrated.

Come on, people, he wrote Dark Side of the Moon. What more could you want? He writes about life, insanity, politics, alienation, society, death, time, treason.

I'm glad he's in the top ten. He wasn't afraid to write about anything. He also wrote about the war and how it affected him. He's a genius. He also wrote The Wall, Animals, and Wish You Were Here after the true masterpiece, The Dark Side of the Moon.

Lennon had more in his locker than anyone else. Dylan was predictable, putting random words together. Lennon was much more diverse.

Once you start to write a song, poetry disappears. It becomes a song. Lennon had a much wider range of writing, while the others usually wrote in one style.

The irony of all this was that Lennon knew he was superior to anyone else. His intellect was so far ahead. No one could match him in this department. His vision, leadership, and creative ability were too advanced and mostly misunderstood.

Unlike many in the music business, we have Eminem, who speaks to the grittiness of life. He doesn't just talk about the hope of a bright future but also the harsh truth of the normal, actual world we live in. As each day passes, the world is revealed to be more of what Eminem raps about than the hopeful world that is falsely promised.

Do I advocate against a future that's better? No, but he speaks about what is real and now, not like those who say one thing and live another. Because of this insight, his music actually stands ahead of the curve and sets itself apart from the rest in his field.

Kurt Cobain deserves to be at least in the top three. Words just came effortlessly to him. He was at ease with connecting ideas and emotions in a way that is relatable to everyone.

He invented a new genre for music. The genre, grunge, took form from his words. Kurt never wanted fame or money. He stayed in cheap hotels and never flaunted his wealth. He was honest and real, and that translated into his lyrics.

It's hard to find one song by Kurt about anything happy. A harsh upbringing, his bipolar disorder, stomach condition, and of course his vast drug experience messed him up. But from that, we got true poetry describing pain and sadness like no one ever had or will again.

Rest in peace, Kurt. Whether it was suicide or murder, you deserved better.

Bicycle Race is a good song. The song features surprisingly complex instrumentation, and the Jazz album as a whole perhaps represents the apex of Queen's experimentation. It features an imaginative solo played exclusively on bicycle bells, unusual chord progressions, shifts in time signature (from 4/4 to 6/8), and a whole host of pop culture references in the lyrics, including mentions of religion, the Watergate scandal, drugs, Jaws, Star Wars, and Frankenstein.

Freddie was a real legend. There would be no musician like him that would be as good as him. His lyrics are much better than those who are in the upper list. He should have been in the top three.

I would vote for Bob Dylan, but I see the legend that is Paul Simon is in 11th place! Madness. As a student of English Literature, I would have to say the lyrics of "I am a Rock," "America," and pretty much all the songs on the album Graceland are nothing other than poetry in its purest and most beautiful form.

The idea that those above are in the faintest way superior makes me laugh. Paul's lyrics (and music, which is equally untouchable) transcend all those listed above. Many of them have written brilliant lyrics but not lyrics that can evoke the same raw power as those of Paul. Only Bob Dylan can rival this man's brilliance, and no other by a country mile.

As far as his place at the top of the pile is concerned: "He is a rock. He is an island."

Beautiful symbolic lyrics, verging on Dylan's caliber. Songs such as Broken Arrow, simultaneously telling the story of a boy conscripted to the Vietnam war and his planned life.

The blunt and to-the-point songs like Ohio and Needle and the Damage Done. Songs with an amazing narrative, like Cortez the Killer, Powderfinger, Pocahontas, etc. He's brilliant!

The words to Thrasher are pure poetry. One single song makes me smile, laugh, cry, think, feel inspired, and even full of wanderlust and more. Amazing!

Definitely should be higher. Seriously, why is Kurt Cobain ranked higher?

Tupac is a poet and a very good one at that. Tupac saved my life. I was going through a rough moment, being constantly bullied at school, yelled at by my parents, and basically, for being something I knew I wasn't.

Tupac opened up my eyes and made me take a glance at the real world. The first Tupac song I ever heard was Thugz Mansion, and it spoke to me. I later purchased his Better Dayz album on iTunes. Rest in peace, Tupac. You're truly the best to ever do it.

John Lennon and Bob Dylan were great when it came to poetry and songwriting. However, Tupac was still the greatest. He described real life and experiences, raw and unadulterated.

I feel it must be either a lot of white people voting (no offense if you are white) or people who haven't heard much hip-hop music. Many of the people on this list are good, don't get me wrong. Yet Tupac is the God of Lyricism. RIP Makaveli.

I've only been listening to The Arcana's music for a short while, but for me, the lyrics stand out more than the music.

His words capture most moods. They're invigorating as well as sad and melancholic. They seem to tell a story, but you have to unwrap the puzzle before you get their meaning. There are loads of hidden references to people and places.

It's like I always thought Lemon Freddy was about Freddie Mercury because it sounds like a good description of the guy, but maybe not. The lyrics are like one giant conspiracy theory trying to suck you in. You just have to keep listening to pick up new things and unravel the mystery.

They're beautiful and brilliantly put together. I think Hotel Reveal has more to it than meets the eye - been listening to this a lot.

Lyrics that stood out from the 'norm' of the day, when everyone was singing about flowers and happy trips, Jim sang about 'the end' and humanity's addiction to the fast lane. I wouldn't say he was a great poet, but as far as lyrics go, he is in a class of his own.

'Riders on the Storm' on its own should be enough to make this man number one. The entire 'LA Woman' album essentially works as a suicide note written in poetic form. The greatest poetic lyricist of all time.

He should be in the top ten. One of the best songwriters to have ever lived. Just look at songs like 'The Unknown Soldier' and 'The End'.

The fact that Eminem is higher than Paul shows how bad we have fallen! Paul is the second-best lyricist of all time! He has written masterpieces such as The Long and Winding Road, Yesterday, Live and Let Die, The End, Eleanor Rigby, Let It Be, Hey Jude, and many other songs. Only Dylan is a better lyricist.

I can understand Lennon or Dylan above Paul, but no one else. Paul is a very underrated songwriter. He wrote great songs in The Beatles' career, like Get Back, I've Got a Feeling, Let It Be, and the full Abbey Road medley (some songs by John). He is no less than John and Dylan and absolutely above anyone 10 places ahead of him.

Definitely one of the best singers and lyricists ever. He is absolutely amazing!

Listen to 'Thank You', 'The Rain Song', 'Kashmir', 'All My Love', 'I'm Gonna Crawl', etc. The list goes on and on. He didn't just write about sex.

The best lyricist ever born. No one can give meaning to songs the way he does, just by making noises.

As someone who has listened to all of the artists in the current top twenty, and would identify as a fan of most, I can say that Leonard Cohen wins this contest by a landslide. Bob Dylan had his preachy Christian period, while John Lennon and Paul McCartney frequently wrote silly, nonsensical songs like "Yellow Submarine," "Come Together," or "I Am the Walrus." Robert Plant ripped off a good chunk of "his" lyrics from other artists.

Neil Young hasn't released a good album in a long time, but Leonard Cohen was still going strong, releasing "Popular Problems" only two years back to critical acclaim at the age of 82.

Roger Waters was in a mainly instrumental band with fewer lyrics in their entire discography than someone like Leonard Cohen has on a single album. So, how he's even considered when people think of the greatest lyricists is beyond me. Note to Pink Floyd fans: writing great lyrics isn't the same as writing about political themes. Songs like "Another Brick in the Wall" and "Money" are great songs in their own right, but they're not necessarily lyrical masterpieces. Rappers also belong in a different category in my opinion, as do overly venerated dead people, although it's nice to see Elliott Smith in that top 10.

The music is simultaneously direct, aloof, complex, and searingly direct. When lyrics appear, they can be appreciated and delighted in even without musical accompaniment, merely as poetry. Ageless: still 'discovering' after 30 years!

Ian is amazing and unbelievably prolific. He can hold our empty faces up to the hypocrisies of our society like perhaps only Joni Mitchell or Peter Gabriel have. He can be lyrically extroverted, as in Orion or My God, or bring a feeling of indescribable longing and unspoken sadness, as with Nursie or Wondering Aloud, for example.

- Brian P.

Peart is one of the most gifted and literate lyricists in popular music. His prose is packed with clever wordplay and references to other great works of literature. Yet, they don't come across as too intellectual - anyone can relate to them.

Neil's lyrics offer something that you rarely ever see anymore. He takes complex and intellectual ideas and puts them into rock. No one can top this guy. It's the thinking man's lyrics.

Powerful and moving. Peart has a passion for sci-fi, culture, and personal freedom. I would put him in the top five, next to Paul Simon and Bob Dylan. He's a born poet.

David Bowie really was an amazing lyricist. His songs evoke such images and show such thought. The way his lyrics flow is amazing, his innovations were delightful, and his lyrics fit the music so well.

Maybe Bob Dylan was better at evoking images and maybe Bob Dylan was more innovative, but it was usually at the almost complete sacrifice of actual music.

One of the most creative musicians of all time, breaking the barriers of mainstream music forever.

His lyrics painted great pictures and told great stories.

Bob Marley is one of the greatest cultural icons throughout the globe. A common man can identify himself in his songs. His lyrics are simple yet have a cutting edge to them. His songs are like medicine for millions out there.

"The stone that the builder refuse
Will always be the head cornerstone."

"The things people refuse
Are the things they should use."

- Robert Marley "Corner Stone" (1973)

Perhaps the greatest and most inspiring lyricist in the past 50 years, Bob Marley... The King of Kings.

Bob Marley was a brilliant lyricist and possibly the best that ever lived. Music inspired by God and the people.

Alex Turner has been perfectly described as "a master of observation." In a band that some British publications called the most important band of our generation, he still seems to be constantly underrated. His lyrical abilities have evolved and changed but remain spot-on every single time.

He started by describing the lives of underage drinkers going out to pubs on Whatever People Say I Am.... He then moved to a brilliant take on life itself on Favourite Worst Nightmare (second album) with songs like "This House Is a Circus," in which he breaks down the psychological conflicts our generation deals with today. He also claims that this is a reason for the Arctic Monkeys' popularity.

On Humbug, he throws out his previous lyricism completely and trades it in for an almost heightened reality, drug-induced poetic style (listen to "Potion Approaching" - a song about a girl giving him a mixture of drugs that makes him fall for her). He cleans up the words and edges on Suck It and See for more yet still different poetry.

Then on AM, he goes back to the booze-soaked concepts he worked on ten years before, but with a completely different take and more brilliant flow than before. Listen to "No. 1 Party Anthem," where every line seems to change the one before in a constant flow of brilliant poetry.

Cannot wait to see what happens next.

I am astonished she is so far down the list! Many of the singer-songwriters listed here, including list-leaders John Lennon and Bob Dylan, as well as her friend and fellow Canadian Neil Young, have gone on record stating their admiration for her genius as a lyricist.

Moreover, hundreds of highly respected musicians across Jazz, Rock, and Country, including Diana Krall, Herbie Hancock, Prince, David Crosby, James Taylor, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Bryan Adams, Leonard Cohen, Joan Baez, Sarah McLachlan, Adam Duritz, and more have nominated Joni Mitchell as the best lyricist of all time. Pick any one of her dozens of albums, and you will hear brilliant lyrics in every song. If you want to pick just one, listen to Blue.

Better than Dylan. Period. He stepped out of the boundaries of social norms to give commentary on things most people were too scared or ignorant to talk about. He was able to write some of the most sad and depressing songs ever written, so true to reality that you can't help but feel depressed. His 90's music was more relevant than any of your whiny grunge bands, and in the 60's, he was one of the first people to blatantly talk about drugs in their music. He also, along with the Kinks, talked about the transgender community in his music.

I may be one of the few people who thinks Lou is better than Dylan, but you gotta agree he should be recognized immediately after. If you disagree, well, besides the fact that you're wrong, you need to listen to his album, "Berlin."

Morrissey is a brilliant lyricist, and few lyricists ever come close to him. I wanted to list some of his best lyrics here, but it is truly impossible to choose.

The depth, the metaphors, the sarcastic humor, and at their core, the dark and light of human emotion are unparalleled. The pacing of his delivery as well, there is simply no fault to find.

Morrissey is undoubtedly one of the best lyricists. The Smiths have incredible lyrics that are hilarious, like:
"I was looking for a job, and then I found a job."
"I never, never want to go home, because I haven't got one."

They also have some of the catchiest lyrics. The whole of Cemetry Gates is brilliant: "You say 'ere thrice for some done salutation to the dawn," etc. And I Know It's Over has the best lyrics of any song I've ever known.

"It's so easy to laugh, it's so easy to hate. It takes guts to be gentle and kind."

It's sickening to see so many artists, who shouldn't even be in the top 100, ahead of Bruce. This man is one of the best, if not the best, lyricists of all time. He tells a story in each word he sings.

He connects with everyone everywhere and knows how to reach out personally, as if you were actually talking with him. And he is quite witty. But it's not the website's fault, just the brain-dead idiots who don't know what music is.

I can honestly say, I truly believe Bruce Springsteen to be a lyricist leagues ahead of both Bob Dylan and John Lennon. The Boss is the only lyricist whose lyrics I can just read as poetry and be totally satisfied.

Honestly, I don't believe that Lennon or Dylan ever wrote anything of that caliber.

His brilliant lyrics are largely overshadowed by his guitar playing, but Jimi was an absolute genius as far as writing lyrics goes. The man was an absolute poet, and it's a shame most people take his lyrics for granted.

Best guitarist ever, but on a bad day, there was always Hendrix to lull me back. He's well above a lot of these guys.