A challenge The New York Times faced in compiling their list of the ’30 Greatest Living American Songwriters’ was representing as many genres as possible. Rather than adhere to the traditional white male guitar-and-a-pen concept of songwriting, they wanted to open the conversation to other forms of songcraft.

I think that’s the right approach for a list like this. Popular music in 2026 is different than the folk and rock derivative music of the 20th century. Rap, for example, has been a dominant musical form for three decades. It needs to have a significant presence in this project, and it does.

That said, I didn’t have the same responsibility when creating my own list. I had the freedom of concentrating only on what I like, not what the masses like. And as a result, my list is significantly lacking in quite a few genres (it’s also extremely, tragically, white).

Missing genres include EDM, heavy metal, KPop, jazz, and punk. And The New York Times opted not to include any of those genres either, so I guess we’re on the same page there.

But three other genres I avoided found ample representation on the NYT list: Hip-hop/Rap, R&B, and Latin.

The rap acts on the list are Missy Elliott, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, OutKast, and Young Thug.

I can’t speak to Young Thug’s inclusion, but the brief sampling I’ve done of his catalog does not have me rushing to seek out more. The Times credits him with deconstructing rap after it became palatable to the mainstream, and that may be historically significant, but it doesn’t make for songs I want to hear.

The other four rap artists are certainly titans of the genre, and I’m not going to quibble with Pulitzer Prize-winning Kendrick Lamar being recognized for his craft. I’ve just never been a big rap music fan, so even its best practitioners won’t end up on my list.

The same goes for R&B, a genre I just can’t get into. From the R&B ranks, The New York Times recognized Babyface, Lionel Richie, and Valerie Simpson (the surviving half of Ashford & Simpson). Of those, I have the most affection for Richie, who has released one album I consider a must-have.

Finally, The Times recognized two Latin artists: Bad Bunny and Romeo Santos. I enjoyed the hell out of Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance, but I don’t think somebody whose first studio album came out in 2018 should be on this list. Santos, on the other hand, has been recording for more than 25 years, but his music is completely new to me.

If this project wasn’t restricted to American musicians, I might find room for the Colombian Shakira on my own list. But, alas, mine will be an all-English affair.