Bob Dylan has so many records! So, if you’re starting a collection, where should you start? Should you begin at the most recent and go backwards? Or get his first album and go chronologically? Is it worth skipping around, picking and choosing? Or maybe you just want to go by which record from Dylan has the coolest album cover. Choices, choices.
Here below, we wanted to offer a possible way in. Even though Dylan boasts dozens of studio records and even more live albums and bootleg series, there is a way you can feel confident diving in to get to know the artist they call the Bard a bit better. So, you want to start a Bob Dylan collection? Here’s the best way to begin.
[RELATED: 3 Songwriters Who Were Called “the Next Bob Dylan”]
The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963)
This is Dylan’s second studio album—just look at that baby face on the cover! Also, what an iconic photo—the VW bus? Chef’s kiss! Dylan’s first record is great, too. But it’s something you can go back to later on in your Dylan journey. It’s mostly covers with a few originals and was done quick and cheap. But Freewheelin’ shows Dylan coming of age. It opens with perhaps his best known song, “Blowin’ in the Wind,” and it continues with others like “Masters of War” and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.”
Bringing It All Back Home (1965)
This is Dylan’s fifth album. By now, he’s really found his stride (though at any point, he threatens to change direction). He is making a statement right at the outset with the track “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” Dylan is more forceful. Gone are the flower power protest songs—or at least the aura that that’s what he did as an artist—and now he’s writing songs that punch you in the gut and walk back down the alley. Other tracks on this essential LP are “Maggie’s Farm,” “Gates of Eden,” “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding),” and “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.” But for those of you who still want a taste of the old acoustic stuff, he gave “Mr. Tambourine Man,” too.
Desire (1976)
This is Dylan’s 17th album and with it, he has more seasoning. He’s seen fame, felt adoration, met his heroes, and now he’s returned to himself to write more masterpieces. The record features several real standouts, including the odyssey-like “Isis,” the lush “Mozambique,” and the stirring “One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below).” This album is a nice portal into Dylan’s later catalog while still retaining some of the mystery and allure his earlier stuff offered fans.
Photo by PIERRE GUILLAUD/AFP via Getty Images
