History YMMV / BobDylan

* SeasonalRot: Varies from person to person and most people find at least one song they like on even the least liked Dylan albums. The least loved period of Dylan's work seems to be from the 80s (though most of the albums have some group that appreciates them, especially ''Oh Mercy''). That said, ''Self Portrait'', ''Dylan'', ''Saved'' and ''Down In The Groove'' seem to be seen as his least rewarding albums. ''Dylan'' probably has it worst though, it was compiled from outtakes, had no input from Bob himself and hasn't even been released on CD.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Here's a fun game. Find any familiar rock artist from the same era. Compare their first album entirely before ''Highway61Revisited'' to their first entirely after. (Even Music/TheBeatles? ''[[EspeciallyZoidberg Especially]]'' Music/TheBeatles.)

* CoveredUp: All too often (this list could take its own page), with JimiHendrix's version of "All Along the Watchtower" being the most prominent example, and it's often considered to be * better* than Dylan's version. Dylan himself seems to think so since he apparently now plays the song in Hendrix's style in live performances.

** "Mr. Tambourine Man" (TheByrds)
** "My Back Pages" (TheByrds, TheRamones)
** "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (WarrenZevon, Music/EricClapton, Music/GunsNRoses, ColdChisel)
** "Maggie's Farm" (RageAgainstTheMachine)
** "I Shall Be Released" (TheBand, The Heptones)

** "If Not for You" (GeorgeHarrison)
** "To Make You Feel My Love" (Adele, BillyJoel, GarthBrooks)
-->'''Bob Dylan:''' [Introducing "To Make You Feel My Love"] This is a song [[SarcasmMode I wrote for Garth Brooks]]. [[FrankSinatra Regrets, I've had a few...]]
* CrowningMomentOfFunny: "The sun's not yellow it's chicken."

** And for some people, his interactions with JohnLennon...

** Or the ''{{Playboy}}'' interview by Nat Hentoff: Bob ended up editing all his answers into surrealistic evasions, with Hentoff's cooperation. (Allowing the subject to edit his answers is SOP at ''The Paris Review'', interestingly. But not like that.)

** "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (WarrenZevon, EricClapton, Music/GunsNRoses, ColdChisel)

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Here's a fun game. Find any familiar rock artist from the same era. Compare their first album entirely before ''Highway 61 Revisited'' to their first entirely after. (Even Music/TheBeatles? ''[[EspeciallyZoidberg Especially]]'' Music/TheBeatles.)

** "To Make You Feel My Love" (Adele, BillyJoel, Garth Books [see below])

* CrowningMomentOfFunny: "The sun's not yellow it's chicken.

* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: After the infamous "Judas!" heckle during a 1966 concert at Manchester Free Trade Hall (not the Royal Albert Hall, as is commonly believed), Dylan responds, "I don't believe you. You're a liar!" He then turns to the band and shouts, "[[PrecisionFStrike Play fucking loud!]]" Then comes the thundering opening chords of "Like a Rolling Stone".

* SeasonalRot: Varies from person to person and most people find at least one song they like on even the least liked Dylan albums. The least loved period of Dylan's work seems to be from the 80s (though most of the albums have some group that appreciates them, especially ''Oh Mercy''. That said, ''Self Portrait'', ''Dylan'' and ''Down In The Groove'' seem to be seen as his least rewarding albums. ''Dylan'' probably has it worst though, it was compiled from outtakes, had no input from Bob himself and hasn't even been released on CD.

* ArchivePanic: To date he's released thirty-four studio albums and fifty-eight singles. Then there are the many live albums, ''Bootleg Series'' albums, and other compilations.

* GrowingTheBeard: "Blowin' In the Wind" marks the start of his truly original, thoughtful songwriting

* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: After the infamous "Judas!" heckle during a 1966 concert at Manchester Free Trade Hall (not the Royal Albert Hall, as is [[DidNotDoTheResearch commonly believed]]), Dylan responds, "I don't believe you. You're a liar!" He then turns to the band and shouts, "[[PrecisionFStrike Play fucking loud!]]" Then comes the thundering opening chords of "Like a Rolling Stone".

** "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (WarrenZevon, EricClapton, Music/GunsNRoses)

* ArchivePanic: To date he's released thirty-four studio albums and fifty-eight singles. Then there are the many live albums, ''Bootleg Series'' albums, and other compilations.

* BrokenBase: The split between "Dylan the protest singer" and "Dylan the rockstar" is ''legendary''.

* CoveredUp: All too often (this list could take its own page), with JimiHendrix's version of "All Along the Watchtower" being the most prominent example, and it's often considered to be * better* than Dylan's version. Dylan himself seems to think so since he apparently now plays the song in Hendrix's style in live performances.
** "Blowin' in the Wind" (Peter, Paul, and Mary)
** "Mr. Tambourine Man" (TheByrds)
** "My Back Pages" (TheByrds, TheRamones)
** "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (WarrenZevon, EricClapton, Music/GunsNRoses)
** "Maggie's Farm" (RageAgainstTheMachine)
** "I Shall Be Released" (TheBand, The Heptones)
** "It Ain't Me Babe" (The Turtles)
** "If Not for You" (GeorgeHarrison)
* EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory: Many of Dylan's songs have overt connections to civil rights and/or philosophical and social themes.
* GeniusBonus: Numerous references in his songs to everything from Shakespearian characters and historical figures to pop culture and current events.
* GenreTurningPoint: The day he started playing rock music.
* GrowingTheBeard: "Blowin' In the Wind" marks the start of his truly original, thoughtful songwriting

* TearJerker: Some of the songs on ''The Times They Are a-Changin''', especially "The Ballad of Hollis Brown", when you consider that that kind of thing can often happen in real life, to say nothing of the real-life tragedies which inspired "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll", "Only a Pawn in Their Game", and the unreleased "Death of Emmett Till."
** To a lesser extent, "Sara," which he wrote about/to his wife after they separated.
** The best example is probably just about every song on ''Blood on the Tracks,'' which was written [[strike: after]] shortly before his divorce. It is commonly considered to be a defining example of [[BreakupSong break-up music]].
** "Sweetheart Like You," because of the implication that due to HumansAreBastards and CrapsackWorld, the genuinely good woman he's singing to won't be able to make it in the world.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: When he switched from acoustic to electric, many of his fans were ''not'' happy.
** When he switched from electric to country music for a couple of years, fans were not happy either. Ditto when he converted to Christianity and would only play his then-recent Gospel songs in concert for a while, totally abandoning any of his pre-Gospel work. Those who aren't diehard fans, who don't follow his work very closely, often have this reaction to his newer music (specifically his new, more gravelly, growly voice), and this applies double for when such people go to his concerts: questions of why he plays keyboard all or almost all of the entire time, and not his guitar, abound. With the announcement of a Christmas album coming out, time will tell what if any backlash it will inspire.
** Even before "going electric", Dylan faced criticism from the folk community for ditching protest songs in favor of a more impressionistic, surreal type of lyricism.

---> "What's my message?" Bob seizes a mercury arc light from the coffee table. "'Keep a cool head and always carry a light bulb!'"

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: After the infamous "Judas!" heckle during a 1966 concert at Manchester Free Trade Hall (not the Royal Albert Hall, as is [[DidNotDoTheResearch commonly believed]]), Dylan responds, "I don't believe you. You're a liar!" He then turns to the band and shouts, "[[PrecisionFStrike Play fucking loud!]]" Then comes the thundering opening chords of "Like a Rolling Stone".
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: Here's a fun game. Find any familiar rock artist from the same era. Compare their first album entirely before ''Highway 61 Revisited'' to their first entirely after. (Even TheBeatles? ''[[EspeciallyZoidberg Especially]]'' TheBeatles.)

* [[{{Ptitledz7rgdh9wrk1}} What Do You Mean, It's Not Didactic?]] Just about everything Bob Dylan ever wrote. It doesn't even seem to matter what he says in interviews about what a song does or doesn't mean (although more often than not now he just avoids those sorts of questions altogether).

** Or the ''{{Playboy}}'' interview by Nat Hentoff: Bob ended up editing all his answers into surrealistic evasions, with Hentoff's cooperation. (Allowing the subject to edit his answers is SOP at ''The Paris Review'', interestingly. But not like that.)

** Or the ''{{Playboy}}'' interview by Nat Hentoff: Bob ended up editing all his answers into surrealistic evasions, with Hentoff's cooperation. (Allowing the subject to edit his answers is SOP at TheParisReview, interestingly. But not like that.)

** Even before "going electric", Dylan faced criticism from the folk community for ditching protest songs in favor of a more impressionistic, surreal type of lyricism.

** Sweetheart Like You, because of the implication that due to HumansAreBastards and CrapsackWorld, the genuinely good woman he's singing to won't be able to make it in the world.

** "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (WarrenZevon, EricClapton, {{ptitlewiz5pz1p}})

** "I Shall Be Released" (The Band, The Heptones)

** "If Not for You" (George Harrison)

** "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (WarrenZevon, EricClapton, GunsNRoses)

* LoveItOrHateIt: His work as a whole is either revered or panned.