who do you think the best songwriters of all time are?

michael jackson
hetfield/ulrich
lenny kravitz
desmond child
dozier/holland
prince
lionel ritchie and the commodores
jagger/richards

leonard cohen

__________________
said thanks for the insults and compliments
you'll never forget my face no more

and it's hard to tell but i think arctic monkeys could have potential long term, but you'd need to give it another 20 years.

Nick Cave
Bob Dylan
Leonard Cohen
Bowie
Lennon
Neil Young
Frank Black
PJ Harvey
Paul Simon
Van Morrison


Those are the ones I think have past the test of time and whose lyrics fascinate me. Sorry it's a rather dull and obvious list.
At the moment, I think Bon Iver is really great. I also think Damien Rice needs to write another album as good as 'O'.