Bob Dylan

When baby-faced Bob Dylan entered the studio in late 1961 to record his debut, no one expected such greatness. The album is packed with spirited, well-executed covers of old blues and folk tunes—including many eyebrow-raisers such as Bukka White’s “Fixin’ to Die”—which proved Dylan’s immense talent for song interpretation. The two originals here signaled an emerging, Woody Guthrie-inspired genius: “Song to Woody” beautifully blends poignancy and innocence while “Talkin’ New York” is rich with wit and insight, and both are uncanny accomplishments considering Dylan was only 20 years old.