首先上滚石杂志对迪伦的评价：
Dylan’s vision of American popular music was transformative. No one set the bar higher, or had greater impact. "You want to write songs that are bigger than life," he wrote in his memoir, Chronicles. "You want to say something about strange things that have happened to you, strange things you have seen." Dylan himself saw no difference between modern times and the storied past – reading about the Civil War helped him understand the Sixties –which allowed him to rewire folk ballads passed down through generations into songs that both electrified the current moment and became lasting standards. Early songs like "Blowin’ in the Wind" became hits for others –Peter, Paul & Mary took it Number Two on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963; Stevie Wonder brought it Number Nine two years later – and reshaped the ambitions of everyone from the Beatles to Johnny Cash.
Then Dylan began to climb the charts on his own with music that turned pop into prophecy: "Subterranean Homesick Blues," "Like a Rolling Stone," "Positively Fourth Street," "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35." His personas shifted, but songs like "Tangled Up in Blue," "Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door" and "Forever Young" continued to define their eras in lasting ways. And alone among his peers Dylan’s creativity was ceaseless –2000’s Love and Theft returned him to a snarling sound that rivaled his electric youth, marking a renaissance that continues unabated. "A song is like a dream, and you try to make it come true," Dylan wrote. "They’re like strange countries that you have to enter." And so we do, marveling at the sights, over and over again.
A song is like a dream, and you try to make it come true. They’re like strange countries that you have to enter.
鲍勃·迪伦“能让你感觉到他的爱”——不仅如此，他笔下的词也让人难忘。
为了纪念鲍勃·迪伦为音乐史上做出的突出贡献，在《滚石》杂志“史上100名最伟大词作者”排行榜上，鲍勃·迪伦名列第一。
迪伦笔下的歌是具有变革意义的。他在他的回忆录（英文名为Chronicles,中译名为《像一块滚石》）中写道：“你想要写的歌曲源于生活，但高于生活。你想要描写你身上发生过的最奇怪的事，你见过的最怪异的事。”迪伦觉得当代与过去之间没有差别，阅读了关于内战的故事让他更好地懂得了六十年代，这也让迪伦写出的歌能够震撼他当时所生活的年代，又能够经久不衰，历久弥新。
迪伦早期的歌曲，例如"答案在风中（Blowin’ in the Wind）," 经Peter, Paul & Mary组合翻唱后登上了1963年公告牌音乐榜的第二名，1965年，史蒂夫·旺德翻唱的版本在1965年公告牌榜单中排名第九，当然这首歌也对很多人（包括披头士在内）产生了深远影响。随后的一系列歌曲，例如“敲开天堂之门（Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door）,”“Forever Young” 也对当时的环境产生了深刻的影响。迪伦是一棵常青树，似乎创作源泉永远不会枯竭——2000年的专辑《Love and Theft》中粗粝沙哑的嗓音让人觉得他还是那么年轻。迪伦在回忆录中写道：““一首歌就像一场梦，你试着想让梦想成真，它们就像是你不得不涉足的异乡。”
当代的词作者也在这张榜单上占据了一席之地——泰勒·斯威夫特（97），阿姆（91），坎耶·韦斯特（84），比约克（81），Jay Z（68），这张榜单呈现的正是那些经得住时间长久考验的艺术家与词作者的音乐。
榜单中排名前25的还有：
25. 兰迪·纽曼
24. 埃尔维斯·科斯特洛
23. 罗伯特·约翰逊
22. 范·莫里森
21. 娄·里德
20. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
19. Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry
18. Prince
17. 尼尔·扬
16. 莱昂纳德·科恩
15. Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland
14. 布鲁斯·斯普林斯汀
13. 汉克·威廉姆斯
12. Brian Wilson
11. 鲍勃·马利
10. 史蒂夫·旺德
9. 乔尼·米切尔Joni Mitchell
8. 保罗·西蒙Paul Simon
7. Carole King and Gerry Goffin
6. 米克·贾格尔&基思·理查德
5. Smokey Robinson
4. 查克·贝里
3. 约翰·列侬
2. 保罗·麦卡特尼
1. 鲍勃·迪伦