Three artists on the New York Times ’30 Greatest Living American Songwriters’ list came close to making my own list, but I reconsidered including them.

One is Stevie Wonder, who is without question a musical genius and one of the most iconic and celebrated American songwriters and performers in history. If I were compiling some sort of “objective” list of the greats, he would be on it.

But as much as I recognize Wonder’s talent, and really enjoy some of his albums and songs, he’s never been a favorite. And I decided my list should reflect my specific passions, for better or worse.

Another is Dolly Parton, whom I adore as a singular personality and country music legend. But I simply don’t know enough of her music to include her on my list. The three or four songs of hers I know well are classics, sure, but I would want to dive into her voluminous catalog before claiming her as one of my favorite songwriters.

I just might do that one of these days, and at that point she may well bump somebody off of the list and claim her rightful spot.

The same argument keeps Willie Nelson from making the cut. The man has released 104 studio albums and I’ve listened to exactly one of them all the way through. I can’t in good conscience put him on my list of favorite songwriters based on reputation alone.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get around to listening to even a fraction of those albums. And the man is 93, so I’m not sure how long he’ll be eligible for the “living” part of the ‘Greatest Living American Songwriters’ list. But I won’t count him out just yet.