Bob Dylan by the Numbers: The Catalog, Measured
By Dan Cohen · Published 2026-06-24
We measured all 95 Bob Dylan songs in our library — tempo, dynamic range, texture, how abruptly each song shifts, how hard the vocal pushes — and rolled it into a single intensity score from 0 to 100. No other site scores a catalog this way. Here is Bob Dylan by the numbers: muscular in the middle — neither sleepy nor relentless, with room at both ends.
The catalog at a glance
- Average intensity: 38/100
- Average dynamic range: 5.4/10
- Average tempo: 104 BPM across 95 timed songs
- One of the widest emotional ranges we've measured for any single artist — a 70-point gap from calmest to most intense.
The calmest Bob Dylan songs
- Make You Feel My Love — intensity 11/100, 72 BPM, dynamic range 3/10
- Key West (Philosopher Pirate) — intensity 11/100, 70 BPM, dynamic range 3/10
- Blowin' in the Wind — intensity 12/100, 80 BPM, dynamic range 3/10
The most intense
- Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 — intensity 81/100, 102 BPM, dynamic range 8/10
- Subterranean Homesick Blues — intensity 75/100, 100 BPM, dynamic range 8/10
- All Along the Watchtower — intensity 72/100, 113 BPM, dynamic range 7/10
The biggest quiet-to-loud swings
- Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 — dynamic range 8/10
- Subterranean Homesick Blues — dynamic range 8/10
- Like a Rolling Stone — dynamic range 8/10
Tempo extremes: slowest is Desolation Row (60 BPM), fastest is Sara (180 BPM).
Every song here has its own measured profile — tempo, dynamics, sonic twins, what it's good for — on its page. Start from the Bob Dylan artist page.
Computed from Music I Want's own measurements of 95 Bob Dylan songs as of 2026-06-24. The intensity score combines dynamic range, tempo, texture, sudden changes, vocal force, and predictability. Figures update as the catalog is refined.