Favourite Songwriters/Lyricists (1,081 views)

[mjuk2013]

Greetings!

Do you have any favourite songwriters and lyricists that resonate with you the most? Do you have any particular preferences when indulging your energy into someone's lyrics?

[Holsety]

Thanks for asking. I do indeed. It's easiest to split them up depending on what it is I like about each one. I tend to pay more attention to melody when I'm listing my favorite songwriters, but all these folks have nice words.

Solo Songwriters:
Arthur Lee (Love)
Bradford Cox (Deerhunter)
David Bowie
David Byrne (Talking Heads)
Elliott Smith
Justin Trosper (Unwound)
Kate Bush
Leonard Cohen
Lou Reed (The Velvet Underground)
Marc Bolan (T. Rex)
Noah Lennox (Animal Collective)
Nick Drake
Paul Westerberg (The Replacements)
Richard D. James (Aphex Twin)
Scott Miller (Game Theory)
Stephen Malkmus (Pavement)
Syd Barrett (Pink Floyd)

Partnerships:
John Lennon/Paul McCartney (The Beatles)
Gary Brooker/Keith Reid (Procol Harum)
Morrissey/Johnny Marr (The Smiths)

[Vels]

Yes, it's a sweet topic and I have a few:

M. Jagger, K. Richards / Nanker Phelge
G. Gouldman
G. Stephens
R. Duke / J. Meek
G. Goddard
L. Van Dyke
P. McCartney, J. Lennon
D. Pomus, M. Shuman
H. Blaikley

[ama]

Alanis Morissette is hands down the best lyricist ever in my opinion. And I don’t think she can be surpassed.
Lorde, Lana Del Rey and FKA twigs are also some of the best I know. Alternative queens.
Taylor Swift is one of the best, if not the best songwriter in pop music nowadays.
Of course, Mariah Carey has to be mentioned too for her brillant songwriting, especially in the 90’s.
And finally, I’d say Sia, even though she became way more generic with her songwriting these past few years. She still can, but chooses not to which is quite sad because she’s able of writing incredible songs in just a few minutes. But she’s been my favourite artist for years and years so she still has a special place in my heart.

[Dark Star]

Solo
Bob Dylan
Bruce Springsteen
Neal Peart
Leonard Cohen
Tom Waits
Nick Cave
Cole Porter
Steven Sondheim

Teams
Lennon / McCartney
Jagger / Richards
Hunter / Garcia
John / Taupin

[Deleted]

My favourite songwriters:
Irving Berlin
Randy Newman
Frank Loesser
John Lennon
Paul McCartney
George Harrison
Paul Anka
Leonard Cohen
Harry Nilsson
Ringo Starr
J. D. Sumner
Bob Dylan
Doc Pomus
Elton John
The other guy Elton John wrote songs with

['S]

Tfw only 9 women so far got a mention in the entire thread :eek:

[Brenda]

Feb 13, 2022 21:45:43 GMT 'S said:

Tfw only 9 women so far got a mention in the entire thread :eek:

And none of them are Laura Nyro or Joni Mitchell.
So I shall mention them. My personal favorite songwriters:

Billy Joel
Clairo
girl in red
Joni Mitchell
Judee Sill
Kate Bush
Laura Nyro
Paul Simon
Paul Williams
Tatsuro Yamashita

It's in alphabetic order because I really didn't wanna rank them, but I'll say the top 3, my holy trinity, is Laura Nyro, Kate Bush and Paul Simon.

I've been only recently getting into Stevie Nicks, she might become one of my favorites.

[Baronessa]

Just gonna go for a few obvious ones (and less obvious ones, I guess) that haven't been mentioned yet...

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{Fiona Apple}

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{PJ Harvey}

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{Tori Amos}

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{Björk}

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{Patti Smith}

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{Annie Lennox}

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{Madonna}

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{Róisín Murphy}

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{Dido}

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{St. Vincent}

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{Julia Holter}

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{Jessica Pratt}

['S]

Not un-obvious choices, some ones who made solid 'n strong sangs:

[the indubitable tier] -
Buffy Sainte-Marie
Carly Simon
Michelle Phillips

[the 'listen here bud, this song is damn good' tier] -
Agnetha Fältskog
Kim Soo-hee
Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh
Moya Brennan
Paloma Faith
Toni Tennille

[galaxyseal]

Besides Taylor Swift (and other super obvious choices like Joni), Mitski is probably another of my favourite songwriters

[fountain30]

Fiona Apple for me... no one comes close!

[halloweenjack95]

Bob Dylan
Nick Drake
David Bowie
Kate Bush
Harry Nilsson
Leonard Cohen
Jeff Buckley
Lou Reed
Jim Morrison
Syd Barrett
George Harrison
Mark Lanegan
Kurt Cobain
Chris Cornell
Layne Staley


And 3 of my favourite Partnerships:

Lennon/McCartney
Elton John and Bernie Taupin
Carole King and Gerry Goffin