Got several here: in no particular order.

Paul Simon: while his excessive cleverness turns me off on occasion,
             So many of his lines stick in my head: "Everybody loves
             the sound of a train in the distance," "Still crazy
             after all these years," and countless others. I love
             his stuff from Graceland (of course) but his career
             spans much of the history of rock and roll.

Randy Newman: Newman creates a whole short story in three or four
             verses. His songs are often visual, which is a special
             gift. Greate melodies and arrangements that sound Turn-
             of-the-Century.

Gordon Bok: Gordon is one of those songwriters who is very much of
            a time and place. Gordon brings you home, in his
            songs. His voice and guitar are mesmerizing, and an
            important element of the song.

Bob Dyer:   Not well known, from Boonville, Missouri. We lost Bob
            this year, and it was a sad loss, indeed. Bob was
            another writer who created a believable universe. Most
            challenging, his songs mostly created vignettes and tall
            tales from a time before any of us were born. No one
            captured life on the Mississippi and the Missouri
            River like Bob did. And most likely never will

I'd go along with many other names listed above, but these are personal favorites, as requested.

Jerry