The best version of "Knockin' On Heaven's" Door is the original version, in my opinion. It is deep in feeling, not overblown or exaggerated, and totally appropriate. It's in a western movie, and it sounds like a western song. The Guns 'n Roses version is a travesty in comparison.

But I guess that all depends on what you're looking for in the song.

The folk process involves dipping into past tradition, getting inspiration from it, and coming up with a new expression of it, hopefully a better one. Dylan did that with many trad and popular songs. So did thousands of other songwriters. People who call him a "thief" for so doing wouldn't care a hoot about it except for one thing...he succeeded and became very famous. That is why they don't like it.