Rick, we'll agree to disagree. I'm probably a little younger than you (43), so by the time I became familiar with Dylan's first album, I had already heard lots of hot-shot guitar players. I discovered Dylan in around 1968, when I was ten; I started with Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61, and Blonde On Blonde, and then worked backwards to catch up with his earlier stuff. Perhaps if you heard it when it first came out, it sounded more impressive, because you had fewer recorded examples of great guitar players to compare it to. I do agree with you about his strings and tuning -- he was pretty casual about that stuff.

Steve N, we probably agree more than we disagree. His playing works for what he's doing, primarily because it supports the songs without getting in the way. And yes, I can certainly do my share of pseudo-Travis picking while I sing; it's really not as difficult as it may sound (I live in Massachusetts if you really want lessons). I do agree that Dylan is (or at least was) a master at the talking blues. But to my way of thinking that's not so much a question of being a great guitar player as it is (1) being a great singer, which I think he is, and (2) being able to "split your brain" so that the singing and guitar playing can go on simultaneously without having to be in lock-step (comes with practice, just like the singing/Travis picking does).

Good discussion, guys.