I don't care much for rabid fans playing the "my fave is better than your fave" game. It's stupid, and I doubt real musicians play that game. Music is not a competition. It all builds on what came before, and that includes ALL types of music. I like Dylan, I like Joni (although she seems to have been having a bad day or something), I like Jackson Browne. Leave it to the truly stupid to debate what's 'best'.

There isn't anything truly new under the sun. Western scales, chords, chord changes, fragments of melody based on western scales and chords, words, and structure--all there ever is is all there ever was. These things HAVE to already exist if they're to have meaning to anybody else.

The only thing that changes, the ONLY creative thing, the thing that changes based on the ones doing the writing, is how they combine all that stuff to get their idea across. Then WE get to decide if we like it or not, if it means anything to us.

But I'm never going to understand the sad ego that needs music to be a competition. Maybe they've been watching American Idol.