The New York Times released a list of the 30 greatest living American songwriters back in April, based on feedback from more than 250 music insiders and six Times critics. The list drew criticism from music fans, so the paper has now decided to give them their say.
The Times has now released a readers’ choice list of the 100 greatest American songwriters, noting, “As soon as we decided to make a list of the 30 greatest living American songwriters, we could guess how readers would respond to the results: with a combination of enthusiasm and outrage, quickly letting us know which of their favorites we had unconscionably forgotten.”
“We didn’t want all that passion to go undocumented. So we invited readers to assemble their own list — with a formal poll,” they added.
The new list is the result of over 25,000 ballots cast, resulting in “nearly 12,000 distinct choices,” which were narrowed down to 100 artists.
Of those 100 artists, many of them did not make the original list, including R.E.M. at #25, Jack White at #49, Pearl Jam at #52, Beck at #56 and Trent Reznor at #83.
Other songwriters recognized only by readers include: Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, The National, Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish and Finneas, Noah Kahan, Phoebe Bridgers, Justin Vernon, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus and Dave Matthews.
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