Weekend Rock Question: Who is the Best Songwriter of All Time?

Clockwise from top left: Holland-Dozier-Holland, Joni Mitchell, Prince and Diane Warren

Michael Ochs Archive/Getty, Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic(Warren)

Last week, we asked Rolling Stone readers to name their favorite live act of all time – and we compiled the votes into an official top 10 list.

Photos: Random Notes

Now it's time for a new weekend rock question: Who is the best songwriter of all time? We encourage you to be open to all genres in your voting, and to consider non-performers like Dianne Warren and behind-the-scenes teams such as Holland-Dozier-Holland and the Matrix in addition to singer-songwriters such as Joni Mitchell, Prince and Bob Dylan.

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You can vote here in the comments, on facebook.com/rollingstone, or on Twitter with the #weekendrock hashtag.

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Song Stories

“Baby Got Back”

Sir Mix-a-Lot | 1992

While watching a Budweiser commercial during the Super Bowl, Sir Mix-a-Lot thought the skinny female models in the ad didn’t represent reality. So he wrote this ode to ample bottoms, featuring its famous to-the-point lyric: “I like big butts and I cannot lie.” MTV banished the video, featuring shaking booties and sexually suggestive fruit, to 9 p.m. or later. “I thought my career was over,” he told Rolling Stone. “Then I called Rick Rubin, and I told him the video was banned, and he was like, 'Great!' We sold another 2 million records.”

More Song Stories entries »

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