Well, this is almost impossible to do. For me, it really depends on my mood, what time of year it is, what is going on in my life, so many factors. I think with Dylan, putting on an album is a reflection of what's going on in my mind, and so there are too many factors to narrow it down to one favorite.
That being said, I voted for Highway 61 because it is my favorite from his 'classic' period, and every tune is incredibly good. Most of these were also covered by the Dead, and became favorites as cover tunes over the years.
My favorite new album is Time Out Of Mind and favorite archive release is the latest, Tell Tale Signs.
The other all-time favorite, from his middle period, which I came close to voting for instead, is Slow Train Coming. It is a really solid album, with Mark Knopfler on lead. The critics panned it at the time, writing Dylan off as turning 'Christian' but thirty years later, it's clear to see he was writing some prophetic lyrics on that album - In the home of the brave, Jefferson turnin' over in his grave - wow...
Sometimes I feel so low-down and disgusted
Can't help but wonder what's happenin' to my companions,
Are they lost or are they found, have they counted the cost it'll take to bring down
All their earthly principles they're gonna have to abandon?
There's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend.
I had a woman down in Alabama,
She was a backwoods girl, but she sure was realistic,
She said, "Boy, without a doubt, have to quit your mess and straighten out,
You could die down here, be just another accident statistic."
There's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend.
All that foreign oil controlling American soil,
Look around you, it's just bound to make you embarrassed.
Sheiks walkin' around like kings, wearing fancy jewels and nose rings,
Deciding America's future from Amsterdam and to Paris
And there's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend.
Man's ego is inflated, his laws are outdated, they don't apply no more,
You can't rely no more to be standin' around waitin'
In the home of the brave, Jefferson turnin' over in his grave,
Fools glorifying themselves, trying to manipulate Satan
And there's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend.
Big-time negotiators, false healers and woman haters,
Masters of the bluff and masters of the proposition
But the enemy I see wears a cloak of decency,
All non-believers and men stealers talkin' in the name of religion
And there's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend.
People starving and thirsting, grain elevators are bursting
Oh, you know it costs more to store the food than it do to give it.
They say lose your inhibitions, follow your own ambitions,
They talk about a life of brotherly love, show me someone who knows how to live it.
There's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend.
Well, my baby went to Illinois with some bad-talkin' boy she could destroy
A real suicide case, but there was nothin' I could do to stop it,
I don't care about economy, I don't care about astronomy
But it sure do bother me to see my loved ones turning into puppets,
There's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend.
Copyright ©1979 Special Rider Music