3. Blood on the Tracks
After a few subpar albums in the early 70's, Dylan returned with a vengeance with 1975's Blood on the Tracks. Despite his claim that they were based off of short stories by Russian author Anton Chekov, critics have long seen the album as having been inspired by Dylan's separation from his wife, as most of the songs deal with themes such as loneliness and heartache. There's not a single song on Blood on the Tracks that fails in the slightest, beginning with Tangled Up In Blue, an extremely complex tale of an ended relationship, and continuing with other great songs such as Simple Twist of Fate, where the narrator muses on a one-night stand, Idiot Wind, a scathing diatribe against superficiality, Buckets of Rain, a more straightforward love song, and many others. Probably the best track on the album is Shelter from the Storm, a song full of potential meanings,anecdotes, and allusions both literary and biblical. Ranked as the 16th best album of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in their 2012 list of best albums, Blood on the Tracks has long been regarded as one of Dylan's best. Often considered to be his last truly great album, the success of Blood on the Tracks baffled Dylan to an extent. In an interview later in his career he remarked "A lot of people tell me they enjoy that album. It's hard for me to relate to that. I mean, it, you know, people enjoying that type of pain." Arguably his most confessional album, Blood on the Tracks features some of his most mature songs, told in gritty detail that makes them stay with you long after they are finished playing. The variety and impacting nature of Blood on the Tracks, told in some of Dylan's best poetry, makes it one of his best accomplishments.