I started listening to Bob Dylan when my dad suggested that I buy Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits on CD when I was probably 14. I think listening to Bob Dylan was the height of my dad's rebelliousness during the 1960s. I appreciate that my Dad steered me away from some garbage CD that I probably would have bought otherwise and got me started into the huge catalog of great songs that Bob Dylan has written and performed.
I started growing my Bob Dylan collection after that and I consider myself a fan, but not to the level of some really obsessed folks out there (not throwing stones...I have other idols). I don't see Bob Dylan as any kind of guru / icon (organic gardening?) but I have really enjoyed his music. He has gone through all kinds of "phases" and I like all of them - folk, rock, country, Christian, etc. If I had to name my favorite Bob Dylan album it would be 1997's Time Out of Mind. I'd recommend buying it and listening to it front to back if you don't own it already.
I've seen Bob Dylan in concert in Topeka, Oklahoma City, Manhattan and five separate times in KC, dating back to when I was at K-State and took a late night trip to see him at the Uptown Theatre (which is still probably my favorite Bob Dylan concert).
Even if you're not a huge fan, you are likely to have at least a few Bob Dylan songs (perhaps even some that you'd be surprised that he wrote that were made famous by other artists) that you could/would like. Of course, given the sheer volume of music he has made (45 studio albums to date, plus the bootleg series and all sorts of live albums) that only makes sense.
Anyway, Happy Birthday, Bob Dylan! Please keep touring so I can take baby Vera to a concert some day (don't worry, I'll make her wear ear plugs).
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