u/1carus

Line for line, lyric for lyric. Rzeznik has a strong case for the greatest lyrist ever. Joni Mitchell, Bon Iver (Justin Vernon), Sting, and Sarah McLachlan all have equal claim as well. Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, are all very clever but lack the beauty and simplicity of Rzeznik. Rzeznik is able to write deeply personal and specific lyrics that become universal in their specificity. He also is able to create original lines without sounding like a cliché or Hall Mark card or dripping with oversentimentality which is nearly impossible to achieve...and yet he does so consistently.

For anyone who is searching for brilliant lyricists and AMERICAN BORN SONGWRITERS:

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver
Chris Carraba of Dashboard Confessional
Jewel
Natalie Merchant of 10,000 Maniacs
Ethel Cain
Sam Beam of Iron & Wine
Jason Wade of Lifehouse
John Rzeznik of Goo Goo Dolls
Maynard James Keenan of Tool/A Perfect Circle/Puscifer
Michael Stipe of R.E.M.
Mark Kozelek of Sun Kill Moon
Evan Stephens Hall of Pinegrove
Moby
Cat Power
Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails
Brandon Flowers of The Killers
Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem
Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse
Queens of the Stone Age

And to sell you on some of these artists' prose:
Bon Iver: “I wear my garment so it shows. Now you know”/"Honey, understand that I have been left here in the reeds, and all I'm trying to do is get my feet up from the crease"
Dashboard Confessional: "So kiss me hard 'cause this will be the last time that I let you You will be back someday And this awkward kiss that tells of other people's lips Will be of service to keeping you away"
Jewel "'Cause your hands are in my hair, But my heart is in your teeth, babe"
Natalie Merchant: "Contempt loves the silence, it thrives in the dark. With fine winding tendrils that strangle the heart"
Iron & Wine: "There are things that drift away Like our endless, numbered days Autumn blew the quilt right off the perfect bed she made And she's chosen to believe In the hymns her mother sings Sunday pulls its children from the piles of fallen leaves"
Lifehouse "A strangled smile fell from your face"/"Would you catch me if I fall out of what I fell in? Don't be surprised if I collapse Down at your feet again"
Goo Goo Dolls "I'd give up forever to touch you"/“And even though the moment passed me by, I still can’t turn away”/"Tell me lies that you know I need"
R.E.M. "I've watched the stars fall silent from your eyes"
Sun Kill Moon "Can't count to all the lovers I've burned through So, why do I still burn for you? I can't say Sorry that I could never love you back I could never care enough in these last days"
Pinegrove: And there's brambles scratching at the window And there's silver shining on the thorns I could've sworn the moon's singing to me Shining a phase so strange and torn
Nine Inch Nails: "I believe I can see the future. 'Cause I repeat the same routine. I think I used to have a purpose. Then again, that might have been a dream"
The Killers: "And the decades disappear like sinking ships But we persevere, God gives us hope But we still fear What we don't know The mind is poison Castle's in the sky Sit stranded vandalized The drawbridge is closing"
The Gaslight Anthem: "In the deep, dark parking lot pressed up against my car With your hands around my neck I felt the pounding of your heart And the summer night was giving in to the lure of Autumn’s sway I can’t seem to forget that night or how I heard you say"
Modest Mouse: “We made ourselves a pillar We just used it as a crutch”
Queens of The Stone Age: “Tears of pleasure. Tears of pain. They trickle down your face the same”