[priest]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdh /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are you serious? I can't think of any reason [John Wesley Harding] would be a favorite of all his albums.

Are you serious? You may not like it, but to act like it does not get 5 stars in every record guide ever published and is not widely considered one of his masterpieces is mystifying, to say the least. It's so universally well-regarded, I don't even need to defend my own assessment.

 

[Jeff Guidry]

Despite recommendations to the contrary, I think the compilation Biograph is a superb place to start with Dylan, giving a very good overview of his career up to the mid-eighties (when the compilation was released). It was my first serious exposure to Dylan, and as often as not what I listen to when I want to hear him, that and Highway 61 Revisited.

 

[Qonmus]

All good recommendations, so I'm just going to give you a list of what I consider essentials.

Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
The Times They Are-A-Changin'
Another Side of Bob Dylan
Bringing It All Back Home (My personal favorite)
Highway 61
Blonde on Blonde
Nashville Skyline
Blood on the Tracks
John Wesley Harding

The Basement Tapes and Desire are also quite good. There are also plenty of great live shows to get into.

 

[RagingForces]

Again, thanks for all the suggestions!

I have decided to go with The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan as my first real album entrance into his work. A number of factors went into this decision such as 1) its the second studio album, this album is the first of which is Dylan's major songwriting debuts according to Wikipedia. 2) I love the cover art. 3) John H. Hammond produced the record.

One thing I noticed is that there is a remaster of the album. I am listening to the original recording, but I suppose that technical side of me will have to experiment with the remaster as well

 

[evanft]

My recommendations:

- Everything up to and including Nashville Skyline
- Blood on the Tracks
- Desire
- The Basement Tapes
- Time Out of Mind
- Love and Theft
- Modern Times
- Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3
- Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs (2 disc)

 

[styler]

there is no "best" dylan album. there are so many great ones its just impossible to narrow down. from bob's perspective, its probably too much to ask for every album to have the depth of BOT and thats okay. i actually like many of the oddball albums and bootleg series the best. some of my personal favs:
 
Tell Tale Signs Deluxe Ed. (this is an amazing collection of recent dylan music, its really terrific)
Desire
Street Legal (remastered version)
Time Out of Mind
Love and Theft
Infidels
Oh Mercy
Bootleg Series 1-3
Rolling Thunder Review
 
 
also, when you get a chance, read Chronicles, excellent and entertaining. only bummer with chronicles is that it ends somewhat abruptly and he has yet to write a follow up.
 
 
lastly, there are many great tribute albums:
Chimes of Freedom
Is It Rolling Bob?

 

[styler]

Planet Waves too. great album.

 

[StratocasterMan]

It's not a bad time to revive an old Dylan thread, since the new box set "Another Self Portrait (1969-1971): The Bootleg Series Vol. 10" is just now out:
 

 
There's a two CD version, but true Dylan fans will want the four CD version. It's not for Dylan beginners, as this was Dylan's weirdest era when he was reportedly trying to "shed his audience." The four CD version includes a remastered version of "Self Portrait," a live concert from the 1969 Isle Of Wight festival with The Band, and two discs with alternative versions of tracks from "Nashville Skyline," "Self Portrait," and "New Morning."
 
I wouldn't recommend this as a starting place for Dylan newbies, but I'm thoroughly enjoying digging through these four CDs that were just released.