I think that much of Dylan's later work is more sophisticated musically than his early stuff, even though the lyrics may be (arguably) a bit less inspired.

In other words, it may be almost as irrelevant to compare two songs from the same worter as it is to compare the work of one writer to another. Music, after all, is not a competitive sport; it may be an exaggeration (or wishful thinking) to employ the cliche "It's all good," but there is certainly no limit to the number of good, and even great, pieces that might be created.