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 OFFICIALr/BOBDYLANCOMMUNITY 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.
Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right (The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan)
A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall (The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan)
The Ballad Of Hollis Brown (The Times They Are A Changin’)
Boots Of Spanish Leather (The Times They Are A Changin’)
Percy’s Song (Side Tracks)
Chimes of Freedom (Another Side of Bob Dylan)
I Shall Be Free No. 10 (Another Side of Bob Dylan)
Mr. Tambourine Man (Bringing It All Back Home)
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue (Bringing It All Back Home)
Like A Rolling Stone (Highway 61 Revisited)
Desolation Row (Highway 61 Revisited)
Visions Of Johanna (Blonde on Blonde)
Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again (Blonde on Blonde)
All Along The Watchtower (John Wesley Harding)
The Ballad of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest (John Wesley Harding)
Girl From The North Country, featuring Johnny Cash (Nashville Skyline)
Lay Lady Lay (Nashville Skyline)
Days of 49 (Self Portrait)
Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) (Self Portrait)
If Not For You (New Morning)
Sign On The Window (New Morning)
Billy 1 (Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid Soundtrack)
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid Soundtrack)
Spanish Is The Loving Tongue (Dylan)
Lily Of The West (Dylan)
Forever Young (Planet Waves)
Dirge (Planet Waves)
Tangled Up In Blue (Blood on the Tracks)
Idiot Wind (Blood on the Tracks)
You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere (The Basement Tapes)
This Wheel's On Fire (The Basement Tapes)
Hurricane (Desire)
Isis (Desire)
Changing Of The Guards (Street Legal)
Where Are You Tonight? (Journey Through The Dark Heat) (Street Legal)
Slow Train (Slow Train Coming)
Gotta Serve Somebody (Slow Train Coming)
Saved (Saved)
Pressing On (Saved)
In The Summertime (Shot of Love)
Every Grain Of Sand (Shot of Love)
Jokerman (Infidels)
License To Kill (Infidels)
Tight Connection To My Heart (Has Anyone Seen My Love) (Empire Burlesque)
Dark Eyes (Empire Burlesque)
Brownsville Girl (Knocked Out Loaded)
Under Your Spell (Knocked Out Loaded)
Silvio (Down In The Groove)
Death Is Not The End (Down In The Groove)
Most Of The Time (Oh Mercy)
Shooting Star (Oh Mercy)
Born In Time (Under the Red Sky)
Wiggle Wiggle (Under the Red Sky)
Hard Times (Good As I Been To You)
Jim Jones (Good As I Been To You)
Delia (World Gone Wrong)
Blood In My Eyes (World Gone Wrong)
Not Dark Yet (Time Out Of Mind)
Tryin’ To Get To Heaven (Time Out Of Mind)
Things Have Changed (Side Tracks)
Mississippi (Love and Theft)
High Water (For Charley Patton) (Love and Theft)
Workingman’s Blues #2 (Modern Times)
Ain’t Talkin’ (Modern Times)
I Feel A Change Comin’ On (Together Through Life)
Beyond Here Lies Nothin’ (Together Through Life)
Must Be Santa (Christmas In The Heart)
O’ Come All Ye Faithful (Christmas In The Heart)
Long And Wasted Years (Tempest)
Pay In Blood (Tempest)
The Night We Called It A Day (Shadows In The Night)
That Lucky Old Sun (Shadows In The Night)
Melancholy Mood (Fallen Angels)
Young At Heart (Fallen Angels)
Once Upon A Time (Triplicate)
Braggin’ (Triplicate)
Key West (Philosopher Pirate) (Rough and Rowdy Ways)
Murder Most Foul (Rough and Rowdy Ways)
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.
Bob Dylan
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
The Times They Are A Changin'
Another Side of Bob Dylan
Bringing It All Back Home
Highway 61 Revisited
Blonde on Blonde
John Wesley Harding
Nashville Skyline
Self Portrait
New Morning
Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid Soundtrack
Dylan
Planet Waves
Blood on the Tracks
The Basement Tapes
Desire
Street Legal
Slow Train Coming
Saved
Shot of Love
Infidels
Empire Burlesque
Knocked Out Loaded
Down In The Groove
Oh Mercy
Under the Red Sky
Good As I Been To You
World Gone Wrong
Time Out of Mind
Love and Theft
Modern Times
Together Through Life
Christmas In The Heart
Tempest
Shadows In the Night
Fallen Angels
Triplicate
Rough and Rowdy Ways
Shadow Kingdom
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 Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3 (1961-1991)
The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 (Live at the Manchester Free Trade Hall, 1966, featuring the Band)
The Bootleg Series Vol. 5 (The Rolling Thunder Revue: 1975)
The Bootleg Series Vol. 6 (Live 1964: Concert at Philharmonic Hall, featuring Joan Baez)
The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 (No Direction Home Soundtrack, 1959-1966)
The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 (Tell Tale Signs/Deluxe, 1989-2006) ***
The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 (The Witmark Demos, 1962-1964)
The Bootleg Series Vol. 10 (Another Self Portrait/Deluxe, 1969-1971) ***
The Bootleg Series Vol. 11 (The Basement Tapes Raw/Complete, 1967, featuring The Band) ***
The Bootleg Series Vol. 12 (The Cutting Edge/Deluxe, 1965-1966) ***
The Bootleg Series Vol. 13 (Trouble No More/Deluxe, 1979-1981) ***
The Bootleg Series Vol. 14 (More Blood, More Tracks/Deluxe, 1974) ***
The Bootleg Series Vol. 15 (Travelin’ Thru, 1967-1971, featuring Johnny Cash)
The Bootleg Series Vol. 16 (Springtime In New York/Deluxe, 1980-1985) ***
The Bootleg Series Vol. 17 (Fragments: Time Out Of Mind Sessions/Deluxe, 1996-1997) ***
THE OFFICIALr/BOBDYLANCOMMUNITY 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).
Let Me Die In My Footsteps (The Bootleg Series Vol. 1)
Moonshiner (The Bootleg Series Vol. 1)
Farewell, Angelina (The Bootleg Series Vol. 2)
She's Your Lover Now (The Bootleg Series Vol. 2)
Foot Of Pride (The Bootleg Series Vol. 3)
Blind Willie McTell (The Bootleg Series Vol. 3)
Visions of Johanna (The Bootleg Series Vol. 4)
Like A Rolling Stone (The Bootleg Series Vol. 4)
Romance In Durango (The Bootleg Series Vol. 5)
Isis (The Bootleg Series Vol. 5)
It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry (The Bootleg Series Vol. 5)
One More Cup Of Coffee (The Bootleg Series Vol. 5)
A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (The Bootleg Series Vol. 6)
Mama, You've Been On My Mind (The Bootleg Series Vol. 6)
I was Young When I Left Home (The Bootleg Series Vol. 7)
A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (The Bootleg Series Vol. 7)
Desolation Row (The Bootleg Series Vol. 7)
Ballad Of A Thin Man (The Bootleg Series Vol. 7)
Mississippi (Outtake 1, The Bootleg Series Vol. 8)
Red River Shore (The Bootleg Series Vol. 8)
'Cross The Green Mountain (The Bootleg Series Vol. 8)
Mississippi (Outtake 2, The Bootleg Series Vol. 8)
Most Of The Time (Alternate Version #2, The Bootleg Series Vol. 8)
Mississippi (Outtake 3, The Bootleg Series Vol. 8)
Tomorrow Is A Long Time (The Bootleg Series Vol. 9)
Let Me Die In My Footsteps (The Bootleg Series Vol. 9)
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (The Bootleg Series Vol. 9)
Mama, You Been On My Mind (The Bootleg Series Vol. 9)
Pretty Saro (The Bootleg Series Vol. 10)
Spanish Is The Loving Tongue (The Bootleg Series Vol. 10)
Copper Kettle (The Bootleg Series Vol. 10)
When I Paint My Masterpiece (The Bootleg Series Vol.10)
I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine (The Bootleg Series Vol. 10)
(Quinn The Eskimo) The Mighty Quinn (The Bootleg Series Vol. 10)
The Auld Triangle (The Bootleg Series Vol. 11)
Spanish Is The Loving Tongue (The Bootleg Series Vol. 11)
I Don't Hurt Anymore (The Bootleg Series Vol. 11)
Song For Canada (The Bootleg Series Vol. 11)
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (Take 1, The Bootleg Series Vol. 11)
I'm Not There (The Bootleg Series Vol. 11)
Sign On The Cross (The Bootleg Series Vol. 11)
Tears of Rage (Take 3, The Bootleg Series Vol. 11)
Goin' To Acapulco (The Bootleg Series Vol. 11)
One Too Many Mornings (The Bootleg Series Vol. 11)
On A Rainy Afternoon (The Bootleg Series Vol. 11)
900 Miles From My Home/Confidential (The Bootleg Series Vol. 11)
I'll Keep It With Mine (Take 1, Piano Demo, The Bootleg Series Vol. 12)
Love Minus Zero/No Limit (Take 1 Remake, Complete, The Bootleg Series Vol. 12)
Desolation Row (Take 1, Alternate Take, The Bootleg Series Vol. 12)
Visions of Johanna (Take 5 Rehearsal, The Bootleg Series Vol. 12)
She's Your Lover Now (Take 16, Complete, The Bootleg Series Vol. 12)
Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again (Take 14, Complete, The Bootleg Series Vol. 12)
Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands (Take 1, Complete, The Bootleg Series Vol. 12)
Slow Train (Live At The Warfield Theater, The Bootleg Series Vol. 13)
Precious Angel (Live At The Warfield Theater, The Bootleg Series Vol. 13)
Caribbean Wind (Live At The Warfield Theater, The Bootleg Series Vol. 13)
Pressing On (Live At The Warfield Theater, The Bootleg Series Vol. 13)
Ye Shall Be Changed (Studio Outtake, The Bootleg Series Vol. 13)
Slow Train (Sound Check, The Bootleg Series Vol. 13)
Caribbean Wind (Rehearsal With Peddle Steel, The Bootleg Series Vol. 13)
Ain't Gonna Go To Hell For Anybody (Live In Toronto, The Bootleg Series Vol. 13)
Pressing On (Live In Toronto, The Bootleg Series Vol. 13)
Gotta Serve Somebody (Live In Toronto, The Bootleg Series Vol. 13)
Girl From The North Country (Live In London, The Bootleg Series Vol. 13)
Mr. Tambourine Man (Live In London, The Bootleg Series Vol. 13)
You're A Big Girl Now (Take 1, The Bootleg Series Vol. 14)
Up To Me (Take 1, The Bootleg Series Vol.14)
You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Take 5, The Bootleg Series Vol. 14)
Shelter From The Storm (Take 1, The Bootleg Series Vol. 14)
Tangled Up In Blue (Take 3, Remake, The Bootleg Series Vol. 14)
If You See Her, Say Hello (Take 1, Remake The Bootleg Series Vol. 14)
Up To Me (Take 2, Remake, The Bootleg Series Vol. 14)
Tangled Up In Blue (Take 3, Remake 3, The Bootleg Series Vol. 14)
Up To Me (Take 2, Remake 3, The Bootleg Series Vol. 14)
As I Went Out One Morning (Alternate Version, The Bootleg Series Vol. 15)
Tell Me That Isn't True (Alternate Version, The Bootleg Series Vol.15)
Girl From The North Country (Take 1, The Bootleg Series Vol. 15)
One Too Many Mornings (Take 3, The Bootleg Series Vol. 15)
Wanted Man (Take 1, The Bootleg Series Vol. 15)
Girl From The North Country (Live On The Johnny Cash Show, The Bootleg Series Vol. 15)
Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power) (Rehearsal) (The Bootleg Series Vol. 16)
To Ramona (Rehearsal) (The Bootleg Series Vol. 16)
Angelina- Shot Of Love Outtake (The Bootleg Series Vol. 16)
Fur Slippers- Shot Of Love Outtake (The Bootleg Series Vol. 16)
Blind Willie McTell- Take 5- Infidels Outtake (The Bootleg Series Vol. 16)
Too Late (Band Version)- Infidels Outtake (The Bootleg Series Vol. 16)
I and I- Infidels Alternate Outtake (The Bootleg Series Vol. 16)
Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground- Infidels Outtake (The Bootleg Series Vol. 16)
New Danville Girl- Empire Burlesque Outtake (The Bootleg Series Vol. 16)
Dark Eyes- Empire Burlesque Alternate Take (The Bootleg Series Vol. 16)
Standing In The Doorway- 2022 Remix (The Bootleg Series Vol. 17)
Highlands- 2022 Remix (The Bootleg Series Vol. 17)
The Water Is Wide (The Bootleg Series Vol. 17)
Not Dark Yet- Version 1 (The Bootleg Series Vol.17)
Love Sick- Version 2 (The Bootleg Series Vol. 17)
Highlands (The Bootleg Series Vol. 17)
Cold Irons Bound- Live In Oslo, Norway (The Bootleg Series Vol. 17)
Highlands- Live In Newcastle, Australia (The Bootleg Series Vol. 17)
Rare Performances From The Copyright Collection (1962-1966)
Live At Carnegie Hall (1963)
The Live 1966 Recordings (1966) *
The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert (1966)
Before The Flood (1974)
The Rolling Thunder Revue- The Live 1975 Recordings (1975) **
Hard Rain (1976)
Bob Dylan At Budokan (1978)
Real Live (1984)
The 30th Anniversary Concert (1991)
MTV Unplugged (1994)
*- 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
Don't Look Back
The Other Side Of The Mirror
Eat The Document (Bootleg, never formally released)
No Direction Home
Renaldo and Clara (Bootleg, never formally released beyond a small theatrical run)
Rolling Thunder Revue- A Bob Dylan Story By Martin Scorsese
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.
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.
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.
Hi. I was listening to "Dublin Blues" by Guy Clark, which Bob played in Oslo a few nights ago. I didn't know the song, and it is wonderful.
I had a look at the lyrics and he sings, at one point: "I loved you on the Spanish Steps the day you said goodbye", which obviously reminded me of the verse "[...] double/on a cold, dark night on the Spanish Stairs" from WIPMM, Spanish Stairs and Spanish Steps being the same thing.
Do you think that there is a connection? I mean, did he add "Dublin Blues" to the setlist also because of this correspondence, like a sort of "stream of consciousness"?
Ho fatto un bob dylan alternativo post fama senza aver pubblicato nulla dopo l’incidente in moto che incontra una vecchia amante, con la caption presa da Isis, da intendere nella furente versione live
I know Bob is notorious (at least in recent years) for not doing encores, unless for a special occasion (he did an encore when I saw him in Nottingham a few years back because it was the same day Jerry Lee Lewis had passed), so I was surprised to see an encore on the first night of the European tour ?
Anyone who was there could they explain if it was a proper encore ? Did he leave the stage and return or did he just take an applause before playing the final song ?
Will be interested to see if this continues tomorrow night ?
For the past couple of years I've been keeping a spreadsheet of my favourite cover(s) of each Dylan song. (I originally intended to include just one cover of each song, but in some cases it proved too difficult to decide.) For those who like figures, it currently has 1364 covers of 515 different songs by 930 different artists. Since it's a spreadsheet, there are of course ratings as well. ;-)
Now I've decided to create Youtube playlists of covers of each Dylan album. For a change, I'm going to work backwards. But Rough and Rowdy Ways is a bit too recent to have a decent cover of every track, so I'm starting with Tempest. The playlist is here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSi5yceI3cvc
And here are the ratings (of the cover, not the song) on a scale of 5 (excellent) - 1 (hmm):
Artist
Title
Cover Rating
Benmont Tench
Duquesne Whistle
5
John Glase and The Burnt Remains
Soon After Midnight
4
Michel Montecrossa
Narrow Way
2
Arcadio Falcon and the Bandits
Long and Wasted Years
4
Erika Bengtsson
Pay in Blood
3
Joe Bonamassa
Scarlet Town
5
Wladyslaw Wegorek
Early Roman Kings
4
Michel Montecrossa
Tin Angel
2
Luke Vassella
Tempest
3
Steve Nelson
Roll on John
4
I expect there'll be a lot of disagreement about the ratings, which is fine. I'll be interested to see if anybody can point to better covers of any of these, particularly Narrow Way or Tin Angel.
Anyway hopefully the playlist will provoke some discussion. I'm planning to post one album a week (on Sundays of course!)
Early one morning the sun was shining
He was lying in bed
Wondering if she changed at all
If her hair was still red
And her folks they said their life together
Sure was gonna be rough
Never did like mamas homemade dress
Daddy's bank book wasn't big enough
And he was standing on the side of the road
Rain falling on his shoes
Heading out for the east coast
Lord knows he paid some dues
Tangled up in blue
He was married when he first met
Soon to be divorced
Got her out of a jam i guess but he used a little too much force
And they drove that car as far as they could
Abandoned it out west
Splitting up on a dark sad night
Both agreeing it was best
He turned around to look at her
She was walking away
Saying over he shoulder we gotta meet again someday
On the avenue
Tangled up in blue
Way up in the frozen woods
Teardrops touch the sky
The leaves are falling one by one
And the moments passing by
Sometimes I get so tired
Sometimes im getting away
Lucky you found another
Tomorrows another day
And all the while I was alone
The past was close behind
Seen a lot of people but
She never escaped my mind
She just grew
Tangled up in blue
Things were gettin’ to cost too much
Love had slipped through my hand
Certain truths are dancing
I never did understand
You bury the hatchet
You put her to bed
Sometime you go for a ride
Nothing ever looks the same
After you've been on the other side
It turns around watch it disappear
Whatever i was looking at
He never did find it here
Neither did you
Tangled up in blue
She lit a burner on the stove
I prayed to the dust
You look like someone i used to know she said
Someone i used to trust
Then she opened up her book of poems
That she left to you
Memorize those lines she said
They glow like _______?
Every one of them words rang true
Glowed like burning coal
On and off of every page
Like it was written in my soul
From me to you
Tangled up in blue
So now im going on back again
I've gotta get to her some how
All the trees? are dead and gone
Tomorrow might as well be now
Some of them went on the mountaintops
Some of them down in the ground
Some of their names were written in flames
Some of them just left town
Me, im still on the road
Headed for another joint
Well we always felt the same
We just saw from a different point of view
Tangled up in blue
If Robert Zimmerman was coming up nowadays, how would he go? Unfortunately, I don’t think moving to Greenwich village would cut it. Can you picture him spamming his instagram with his music?
Im going to Bob dylans concert tommorow and Ive only listened the times they are a changin, another side of Bob Dylan, bringing it all back home and highway 61 revisited in full and im currently listening to oh mercy what albums should i listen to before going to see him
OCTOBER 17, 2001 - Two security guards were sacked after refusing to allow Bob Dylan into his own concert. Dylan who had demanded that security on his "Love and Theft" tour should be tighter than ever didn't have a pass when he arrived backstage at the Jackson County Exposition Center in Medford, Oregon.
It wasn't clear whether the security guards, all in their 30s, recognized Dylan.
But even if they knew who Dylan was, the guards had strict orders from Dylan's security director that no one was to get backstage without an official credential. "He said no exceptions," Borovansky said. "Absolutely none."
So when a slight, wild-haired man tried to walk through the checkpoint, the guards stopped him. Dylan was surprised, and a brief scene ensued. One of the guards put her hands up and gently stopped Dylan. After his security director came over, incensed, both he and Dylan demanded that the guards be thrown out. Borovansky complied, although he said, "We prefer the term 'relocated.'" But he said he later told the guards they did "a great job."
I'm going to the show in a few weeks and I need to plan beforehand. Does anyone know at what time he came on stage and how long he sang for? Thank you!
