r/bobdylan • u/deloncigarette • 4h ago
Question Why did he do this?
i know this is a pretty known meme within certain social media circles but was there a reason behind this style? genuine question
r/bobdylan • u/twistedfloyd • Dec 19 '20
Hello all,
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 OFFICIAL r/BOBDYLAN COMMUNITY 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.
You can find the playlist here:
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.
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 OFFICIAL r/BOBDYLAN COMMUNITY 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).
Find the playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/66P3b9uwFGpJfOsUn4sAaB?si=rD6sXiZZTaWGkHQkyw37Ug
LIVE ALBUMS NOT INCLUDED IN BOOTLEG SERIES
*- 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
BOOKS WRITTEN BY BOB DYLAN
The roadmap includes each album, album highlights and covers every major Dylan release including the Bootleg Series.
Once again, the roadmap acts as a recommended guide. It is not meant to be an authoritative stance on Dylan or his music.

Here is the link to the roadmap to be viewed on its own page. The R/BobDylan Visual Roadmap
THE r/bobdylan A-Z SONG CONTEST
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.
A-Z Song List Spotify Playlist
A- All Along The Watchtower
B- Ballad of A Thin Man
C- Changing Of The Guards
D- Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
E- Every Grain of Sand
F- Forever Young
G- Girl From The North Country
H- Hurricane
I- It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
J- Jokerman
K- Knockin' On Heaven's Door
L- Like A Rolling Stone
M- Mr. Tambourine Man
N- Not Dark Yet
O- One More Cup Of Coffee
P- Positively 4th Street
Q- Queen Jane Approximately
R- Romance In Durango
S- Shelter From The Storm
T- Tangled Up In Blue
U- Up To Me
V- Visions Of Johanna
W- When I Paint My Masterpiece
X- Desolation Row (Wildcard round since there is no X titled Bob Dylan song)
Y- You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
Z- Mississippi (Wildcard round since there is no Z titled Bob Dylan song)
THE r/bobdylan STUDIO ALBUM SURVIVOR SERIES
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.
Down in the Groove
Under the Red Sky
Knocked Out Loaded
Christmas in the Heart
Dylan
Triplicate
Empire Burlesque
Fallen Angels
Shadows in the Night
Saved
Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid
Together Through Life
Self Portrait
Good as I Been to You
Bob Dylan
Shadow Kingdom
Shot of Love
World Gone Wrong
The Basement Tapes
Slow Train Coming
Planet Waves
Tempest
New Morning
Infidels
Nashville Skyline
Street-Legal
Another Side of Bob Dylan
Modern Times
Oh Mercy
Rough and Rowdy Ways
"Love and Theft"
John Wesley Harding
The Times They Are a-Changin'
Desire
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Time Out of Mind
Bringing It All Back Home
Blonde on Blonde
Highway 61 Revisited
Blood on the Tracks
r/bobdylan • u/cmae34lars • 4d ago
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.
This week we will be discussing Farewell.
r/bobdylan • u/deloncigarette • 4h ago
i know this is a pretty known meme within certain social media circles but was there a reason behind this style? genuine question
r/bobdylan • u/Next_Concentrate_153 • 14h ago
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r/bobdylan • u/groundcontrl2majrtom • 9h ago
I find it interesting that people will call Bob Dylan the greatest songwriter of all time, but so much of the discussion outside his actual fanbase seems to focus on early acoustic songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Mr. Tambourine Man.” Those are great songs, but there is so much more to his discography.
He has such a large and diverse body of work, yet I feel like a lot of it doesn’t get talked about enough outside his fanbase. Of course, his electric trilogy gets plenty of recognition too, but even then, the conversation often seems to come back to a handful of songs like “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Just Like a Woman.”
I wonder how many people think they don’t like Dylan because they don’t connect with the early folk material they associate with him. If they listened to something like Nashville Skyline or The Basement Tapes, they might find a completely different side of him to connect with.
There are so many different phases of Dylan’s career that I really feel like there’s something for almost everybody. But unless you already have a reason to explore his catalog, a lot of those albums and songs can go under the radar.
r/bobdylan • u/RubysSmile • 15h ago
Three true music legends, Bakersfields own, Buck Owens presenting one of his iconic fender telecaster electric guitars to Bob Dylan, with Merle Haggard looking on!
r/bobdylan • u/RubysSmile • 13h ago
r/bobdylan • u/Totallyadog • 16h ago
r/bobdylan • u/philosoph321 • 6h ago
“Honest with Me” is a song from Love and Theft that I think gets overlooked even though it’s a cool, driving blues with great lyrics.
Here’s a live version from 2001, just a couple of months after the album’s release.
r/bobdylan • u/mateochamplain • 2h ago
From Bob Dylan's Interview for 20/20 (1985) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjRNZaeRt88
“I want to figure out what’s happening. I did look into it. It didn’t necessarily make life easier, but it definitely made it clearer. Again, a lot of things, really—hard to say in a few words what I gained from it. But it’s always easier if you understand something than if you don’t. If you don’t understand something, you’re just tossed about. If there’s a storm coming up, it’s always much easier on you knowing that it’s only going to last a certain time.
Is there another world after this one? This is a testing ground. This is a place you have to work certain things out. You have to work out where your place is and who you are. But we’re all spirit—that’s all we have. Just walking, dressed up in a suit of skin. And that we’re going to leave that. You make of it what you make of it. Nothing’s forever—everything is temporary. You don’t leave any nice place behind. You just have to have some kind of focus on what you need and what people force you to need. It’s only your work you’re leaving behind.
At a certain time, all the people from history will stand up. I believe in the resurrection. There are certain things—certain knowledge—that I’m not sure is available right now on a mass level. It may be sometime, because some of it is a little extreme. It might go against what a lot of people already think. A lot of what’s happening today throughout the world operates under something like a spiritual religious order, but it’s actually happening more in terms of a financial empire. And this is from what I can see—it has nothing really to do with spirituality or the next world, or the soul—the trip that the soul’s on. I could go deeper, but I’m not sure how much of it I want to state right out and say, because I’m not sure how much of it applies here. Oh yeah, sure—I think this whole thing’s got to end. Well, there’s a messianic kingdom that would be coming in. When it comes in, some people say tomorrow—I don’t particularly think it’s going to be tomorrow, but I believe it’s going to happen.”
r/bobdylan • u/Lazy-Craft-4119 • 12h ago
So I live in England and decided, what the hell, I’m gonna tick off a bucket list item which is to see Bob outside the UK, and booked a ticket to see him in Milan in less than three weeks.
I’ve seen him a few times in England over the past few years so I know what to expect when it comes to the actual concert but I just wandered if I should expect anything different with it being abroad, or if there was any advice to make the most of it regarding the experience or memorabilia perhaps?
Thanks
r/bobdylan • u/mithelesh05 • 2h ago
Im a late genz kid who doesn't have favourite genre or artist or anything like that. so when i was searching for famous artists, I came across bob dylan. I tried listening to some of his famous hits, the lyrics are really. good, but its not something I can fall in love with. I mean I dont if its really my type (idk my type ). I wanna appreciate and admire his music (and music as a whole ). help me guys
idk if im clearly stating what I have in mind, sorry for the bad articulation.
thanks in advance!!
r/bobdylan • u/RamblinGamblinWillie • 1d ago
Edit: that’s not my only speaker for those wondering. I have a Dolby Atmos setup (L,R,C,LS,RS,LC,RC, sub). Receiver switches between my tv and turntable. I hid the wires in the walls mostly.
r/bobdylan • u/JamieLawrence1995 • 6h ago
To those who aren’t aware of this, you’ll enjoy it x
r/bobdylan • u/DYLANBOOKS • 1d ago
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The new (“December”) issue of MOJO has 15 pages exploring Dylan on Tour ‘66-‘26, with four features - 1966 (by John Harris), 1976 (Ray Padgett), summer 2026 (Jesse Jarnow) and the rest (Mat Snow). And tons of photos.
Viva MOJO! Great timing.
Let the European tour 2026 begin!
r/bobdylan • u/Witty-Armadillo343 • 1d ago
Last and only time I saw Bob was in 2023. He did the usual set he's been running with the last years: Rough and Rowdy Ways songs, a cover or two, and some deep cuts (I think we got Every Grain Of Sand that night). Was one of the best shows I've ever seen.
Personally, I'm just so excited to see Bob again and have no actual expectations of what he will play or what the tour will be like. I feel so lucky he's still doing this for us.
I've just been thinking lately what the deep cuts at my show (Gothenburg) will be, who will be playing guitar for him, whether there'll be any change from the Rough and Rowdy setlist, etc.
Feel free to share any thoughts related to the upcoming tour!
r/bobdylan • u/Sumr008 • 2d ago
r/bobdylan • u/Slow-Rise8707 • 1d ago
Hey everyone,
I wanted to share a theory on Bob Dylan’s famous sunglasses from 1964–1966.
For a long time, the main theories have been Ray-Ban Wayfarer, Imperial Mohawk, Polaroid 616, Caribbean, or various Frame France options. Personally, I always leaned toward a French origin.
Recently, however, I came across some vintage ROW DDR frames (Rathenower Optische Werke from former East Germany). During the Cold War, ROW exported large numbers of frames to Western Europe for foreign currency.
After comparing high-resolution photos of Dylan from 1964–1966 with these ROW frames side by side, the structural similarity is striking.
Where they match:
- Brow line curvature and upper silhouette
- Inner lens shape and proportions
- Temple taper and overall profile
Where they differ:
- Bridge shape: The depth and curve don't match exactly.
- Rivets/Hinges: The angles and front hinge placement aren't a 100% match to Dylan's pair.
Why East Germany makes sense:
If Dylan bought his pair while touring Europe, ROW is a solid candidate. These frames were actively distributed in Western Europe back then. Furthermore, Dylan’s pair had no external branding, which is typical for many unbranded European exports of that period.
Disclaimer:
I'm not saying this is 100% solved. Without catalog model numbers or direct provenance, it's just a strong structural candidate to add to the discussion.
I mainly wanted to suggest ROW DDR as an interesting piece of the puzzle. Would love to hear your thoughts, especially if anyone has vintage ROW catalogs or trade info from the 60s!
r/bobdylan • u/Smudgatronic • 1d ago
What in your opinion are Dylan’s greatest and worst vocal performances.
I think his greatest is ‘Just Like a Woman’ at the Manchester Free Trade Hall gig. Beautiful and full of yearning.
His worst…..not a whole song but on the ‘I shall be released’ medley in the last waltz, it takes him about 2,3 bars at the start of the third verse to find the right note and it cracks me up every time. 😂
r/bobdylan • u/studytimevinyl • 2d ago