Your favorite songwriter ever?

[markolas]

Hard to say. Joni Mitchell would be close to the top, even though she's crazy now.

Laura Nyro would be up there, too. Jackson Browne is a good one, but his songs depress me more often than not - he's hard for me to listen to. Dolly Parton doesn't get enough credit as a songwriter, but she's another great one. I wouldn't put Stevie in the upper echelons of singer-songwriters, but when she's good, she's really good.