# NYT List of the 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [April 28, 2026, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619 "2026-04-28T12:34:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/1 "2026-04-28T12:34:13Z")
Gift link: > **[The 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/magazine/greatest-american-songwriters-alive.html?unlocked_article_code=1.eVA.XywI.XThPsk3iqWWS&smid=url-share)** > > More than 250 music insiders and six New York Times critics weighed in on who defines the new American songbook. Here are the artists they chose. I would say that I have some disagreements with the list. For example, Madonna wrote a lot of her own stuff and I’d put her ahead of Mariah Carey. Norah Jones isn’t on the list and neither is Alicia Keys, but Young Thug and Lana Del Rey are there. I think I know one Lana Del Rey song and it’s a cover of a Sublime song. Anyway, have at it! ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/2 "2026-04-28T13:25:38Z")
The list does not include Tom Waits, and is therefore clearly invalid. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/3 "2026-04-28T13:39:35Z")
No John Fogarty, Billy Joel, Bruno Mars. I’m sure there are some country singers named Zach or Zac or something that could be on the list. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/4 "2026-04-28T14:15:04Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > No John Fogarty, Billy Joel, Bruno Mars. I’m sure there are some country singers named Zach or Zac or something that could be on the list . Critics can pick at the edges of any Top-Something list like this. I agree that Billy Joel is a massive omission, apparently on the altar of here-and-now relevance. And it would seem Tom Waits could relegate, oh I don’t know, Fiona Apple or Young Thug to Number 31. There is a lot the list got right: The surviving members of Holland-Dozier-Holland. Valerie Simpson of Ashford & Simpson (RIP Nickolas Ashford). Dylan. Springsteen. Dolly Parton. Smokey Robinson. Stevie Wonder. Carole King. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/5 "2026-04-28T14:18:54Z")
Holy shit. They actually had Stephin Merritt on the list. He was the first name that popped to my mind, but I didn’t think he’d make a list like this. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/6 "2026-04-28T14:21:24Z")
I wonder if the NYT has received the cease and desist letter from Rolling Stone, yet. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/7 "2026-04-28T14:28:06Z")
Ack – where’s _ **Prince** _!?!? EDIT: Ahem. **Living** American Songwriters. I’ll leave this post in place to humble myself. 😑 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/8 "2026-04-28T14:29:02Z")
Dead. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/9 "2026-04-28T14:31:39Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Critics can pick at the edges of any Top-Something list like this. Yes I can! Missy Elliott, who I really like, wasn’t the solo writer for any of her songs – they were all collaborations with Timbaland. Should Timbaland be on the list, too? She’s really more of a beat poet than a songwriter – I think Timbaland wrote all the actual music. Lady Gaga is a better songwriter than Missy Elliot, in terms of actual song writing. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/10 "2026-04-28T14:34:02Z")
_Random thought:_ Would Lin-Manuel Miranda have been out of place on a list like this? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/11 "2026-04-28T14:36:16Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Missy Elliott, who I really like, wasn’t the solo writer for any of her songs – they were all collaborations with Timbaland. Should Timbaland be on the list, too? I wonder of some left-off artists were dinged for this, such as Bruno Mars. Whereas for some others, like Mariah Carey, collaboration was fine. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/12 "2026-04-28T14:38:19Z")
It would be weird to ding some and not others, though. Madonna has some solo-written songs. Does Missy Elliott really have any? Does Mariah Carey? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/13 "2026-04-28T14:54:10Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > It would be weird to ding some and not others, though . I think that’s exactly how lists like this get themselves “into trouble” – applying criteria inconsistently. > Does Mariah Carey? Like Elliot, she is a lyricist who collaborates with others that render the instrumentation, arrangement, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/14 "2026-04-28T14:56:26Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Would Lin-Manuel Miranda have been out of place on a list like this? I think these lists are… just lists, and I don’t know enough about many of the people on here to have an opinion, but I also felt that he’s an unexpected name who could sit comfortably in a list like this. And, while there is lots of different genre representation, there’s no one writing for musical theatre on this list. I also think it’s notable that Bob Dylan is not on the list. I’m not paying deep attention to the discourse among critics and style-makers, but that seems a wildly glaring omission- or at least deviation from the norm. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/15 "2026-04-28T14:58:44Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > I also think it’s notable that Bob Dylan is not on the list. Bob Dylan is on the list. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/16 "2026-04-28T15:01:03Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Ack – where’s _ **Prince** _!?!? I mean … Ack! Where’s David Byrne??? ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/17 "2026-04-28T15:54:51Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Bob Dylan is on the list. Where are my reading glasses!?!? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/18 "2026-04-28T15:58:09Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > I think that’s exactly how lists like this get themselves “into trouble” – applying criteria inconsistently. Yeah, but hasn’t it always been the point of these kinds of lists to generate discussion and argument over why this person was in and this person was not and whether criteria is applied consistently? I mean, I’ve never come across a list where I’ve heard most people say “yeah, that sounds about right.” I’m not necessarily saying they’re purposely made to be controversial (though I think there may be some element of that in some lists), it’s just the subjective nature of them makes them so. And that’s a feature: more controversy, more clicks, more buzz. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/19 "2026-04-28T16:06:44Z")
No Richard Thompson? This list is bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619/20 "2026-04-28T16:10:25Z")
Indeed! No Paul McCartney? No Jimmy Webb? No Elvis Costello? No Neil Young? No Aimee Mann? etc etc [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-list-of-the-30-greatest-living-american-songwriters/1029619.md?page=2)