Well, to me pop songs are songs, and therefore qualify as songwriting. Just because many of us prefer the type of rock songs Bob Dylan wrote to the type of pop songs the Beatles wrote shouldn't mean that Dylan is better than Lennon/McCartney as songwriters.

I really do put Lennon/McCartney right up there with the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, Rodgers/Hammerstein, etc. I think Dylan is the rung below that as far as songwriting goes.

Let's face it, Dylan just don't do love songs as well as a songwriter needs to, in order to enter the ethers of the greats that stand the test of time.

I love a lot of Dylan's songs, but that is because they are "of my era" and nostalgia plays a huge role in that, as someone noted above. There is that rule of thumb that says we applaud our own memories of songs and how they acted as soundtracks of our lives, more than we applaud great songwriting.

For instance, as I thought of the two Queen examples I gave above, I decided that I wouldn't put "We Are the Champions" on the list. That is a soundtrack of the era sort of song. But "We Will Rock You" belongs in the "great song" category, IMO, because it is the one song I can think of that truly defines the "arena rock" genre of music.

I don't know how well I'm articulating the difference here. Also, it is difficult when there are Dylan devotees in the midst who insist (subjectively, not objectively in my view) that Dylan is the best of the best for all time, period, end of discussion.