I think that it's sort of funny that I've had so many different number 1s already. I guess it's still pretty early on, but I got one of my favorite Bruce albums right away, and now one of my favorite Dylan albums right away.
Here's another with an unfair advantage, as I know it quite well. The call for equality and freedom throughout the album is strong, as are the compositions. Despite being one of Dylan's very early albums, and one that is primarily just a guitar as accompaniment, there's not much meandering or dragging. Even a song like "Masters of War," whose arrangement is so sparse, comes with enough lyrical content to unpack that it's never boring or bringing us down. "Down the Highway" and its bluesy tone might be the only exception to that.
"Bob Dylan's Blues" is great in a sort of tossed-off, 'whatever' type of song, full of sarcasm and jokes. "Oxford Town" is really fun-sounding but one of the album's most outright social equality song, telling of a boy trying to go to school who "comes to the door" but "couldn't get in, all because of the color of his skin." "Talking World War III Blues" is talky, but eerily relevant even today.
And "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," and "Blowin' in the Wind" are some of the best songs ever written.
PS. That album cover is also one of my favorite's of all time.
1. "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" (1963) by Bob Dylan
2. "Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ" (1973) by Bruce Springsteen
3. "Tapestry" (1971) by Carole King
4. "Tea for the Tillerman" (1970) by Cat Stevens
5. "Car Wheels On a Gravel Road" (1998) by Lucinda Williams
6. "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight" (1974) by Richard and Linda Thompson
7. "Number One Record" (1972) by Big Star
8. "Bookends" (1968) by Simon and Garfunkel
9. "The Bends" (1995) by Radiohead
10. "Stop Making Sense" (1984) by The Talking Heads
11. "Honky Chateau" (1972) by Elton John
12. "Burnin'" (1973) by The Wailers
13. "The Rolling Stones Now!" (1965) by The Rolling Stones
14. "Born Under A Bad Sign" (1967) by Albert King
15. "The Slim Shady LP" (1999) by Eminem
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