The best Beatles songwriter was Lennon and McCartney. Paul wrote his best songs while with the Beatles and so did Lennon. After the Beatles I think Lennon wrote more interesting lyrics while McCartney probably had the more enjoyable music. I think the group had a real chemistry that may never be equalled. Even George Harrison never quite wrote as well without the band.

soft? might we winnow the soft from the peaceful?

If it weren't for Paul there would be no Sgt. Pepper no Abby Road. These were his creations to keep the Beatles going. Him and Lennon were deffinately the Best composers of all time in rock. But Paul was the one that encouraged change. Say what you will but he was the best Musician of the Bunch. The greatest Bass Players (Stanley Clark Jack Bruce Entwhistle) all admitted they copied his style and admired what he did to the Bass in Rock music. Ozzie Osborne admires him and follows him to all of his shows. Now that kind of admiration is uncomparable when fellow Musicians follow you. To top it off he Wrote most of the Beatles Later Hits (Get Back Let it Be Hey Jude Lady Madonna, Penny Lane) The List gopes on he can write any kind of Music. Pop (yesterday) hard rock(helter skelter) Soul(got to get you into my life) Rocknroll( Back in the Ussr) Come on he can write anything and His Melodies were beyon compare Even Lennon admitted to him ("I Probably like your songs more than mine) But you put the two of them together they were the BEST. But alone Mccartney stands on top. Lennon to me was Yokos Puppet what a SUCKER. At least Linda could sing not great but could sing Not whail like a wounded DOG. Linda didn't want to be in WIngs Paul kind of forced her. Yoko wanted to grab Lennons coat tails of Beatle fame to shove her Advant Garde crap down our throats. ANd what Lennon did to Julian is inexcusable. Julian spent more time with Paul than his own Father when he was alive. SAD I saw pauls cocnert in Las Vegas in 2002 He was Fantastic and the best Rock concert I have been to to Date. He was Perfect on Stage. Being a Guitarist and a Music Lover I give Paul BIG 5 Stars

On the plus side he's a talented musician and though I'm not a fan he is a proven songwriter. He also comes across as quite a decent bloke. On the minus side he's written some cloying drivel, as listed by Guava Monkey. Give My Regards to Broadstreet is also an all time turkey.

McCartney is great at whatever kind of music he does but his love songs were untouched by other artists. They came from the heart as he was truley in love with Linda.

His early solo stuff was pretty good but then he totally wussed out and made some glossy, cheesy, junk.

Paul McCartney is the best musican of all time from his song writing to his playing every instrument with such skill if you know any thing about music you have to agree that if not the best he is one of the best along with lennon, hendrix, harrison, gilmour, jagger, clapton, waters, srv, richards along with other great rockers

His stuff since the Beatles is pretty patchy although you can't go far wrong with a song like "Maybe I'm Amazed" or "Live and Let Die" and to be honest, cringingly embarrassed though I am to admit it, I liked "Pipes of Peace". Without John Lennon to write at though, he seemed to lose his way, I guess they both did. That said, as a die hard Beatles fan I have to give him five stars for songs like "Eleanor Rigby", "For No One" and the eternal gem "Lovely Rita".

I'm in the camp that believes his solo career has been somewhat disappointing. I think that McCartney (1970) and Band on the Run (1973) were very good albums, and the "Live and Let Die" single was brilliant. It may be unfair to expect him to maintain the heights the Beatles reached, but his awful collaborations with Wonder and Jackson, his dreadful "Wonderful Xmastime" holiday dreck, the many saccharine, cutesy hits like "Silly Love Songs" and the beyond abysmal 2001 song, (which makes my bottom 10 songs ever) "Freedom" have disfigured his legacy. Don't get me wrong, undoubtedly McCartney's heart was in the right place with this song about 9/11, but the tune is simply absolutely dreadful.

He was a Beatle. He wrote Eleanor Rigby and For no one. He played the bass like an angel. He could even play a lot of other instruments.

There is an excellent site called,The Evolution of Paul Mccartney's Bass Playing. Stanley Clarke,Billy Sheehan,Will Lee and Sting all say what a great and influential bass player he has always been. The Rolling Stone Album Guide also calls Paul a remarkable bass player.They also call john and paul the two greatest song writers in thge history of rock. So does The All Music Guide who also say that John and Paul were among the greatest singers in rock music! Paul McCartney like John Lennon was,is an extrodinaryly talented person! He got it from his musically talented father Jim McCartney who like Paul had the same natural musical ability and his father was deaf in one erar drum because he busted it at age 14. But he taught himself how to play the piano and he became an accomlished classical jazz pianist. He had his own jazz band in the 1930's called Jim Mac's band and they were popular in clubs and he even wrote some of his own music. Paul and wings recored it and one of the songs on The Wings At The Speed of Sound Album from 1976. Paul's best sound in his solo career including Wings was in the 1970-1975 period and there are a lot of great obscure gems to be found. Mostly as B sides and album tracks. I love the Wings albums Red Rose Speedway and Venus and Mars which is a great rock record! His 1982 Tug of War Record is pretty good too not mention the Band on The Run album! I love him so much I hope he lives to be 90 if he wants to. The poor guy lost his mother Mary to breast cancer when he was just 14 and he had a dream where he saw her again 12 years after she died and he said she was so real in the dream and it was so good to see her again. In this dream she told him to just accept things as they are and that's when the beautiful song Let it Be and it's his mother Mary who he is talikng about. His mother was like a Saint she was a nburse and a midwife who everybody loved. Paul's earlist memories of her are of people bringing her presents thanking her for her work.

There is an excellent site called,The Evolution of Paul Mccartney's Bass Playing. Stanley Clarke,Billy Sheehan,Will Lee and Sting all say what a great and influential bass player he has always been. The Rolling Stone Album Guide also calls Paul a remarkable bass player.They also call john and paul the two greatest song writers in thge history of rock. So does The All Music Guide who also say that John and Paul were among the greatest singers in rock music! Paul McCartney like John Lennon was,is an extrodinaryly talented person! He got it from his musically talented father Jim McCartney who like Paul had the same natural musical ability and his father was deaf in one erar drum because he busted it at age 14. But he taught himself how to play the piano and he became an accomlished classical jazz pianist. He had his own jazz band in the 1930's called Jim Mac's band and they were popular in clubs and he even wrote some of his own music. Paul and wings recored it and one of the songs on The Wings At The Speed of Sound Album from 1976. Paul's best sound in his solo career including Wings was in the 1970-1975 period and there are a lot of great obscure gems to be found. Mostly as B sides and album tracks. I love the Wings albums Red Rose Speedway and Venus and Mars which is a great rock record! His 1982 Tug of War Record is pretty good too not mention the Band on The Run album! I love him so much I hope he lives to be 90 if he wants to. The poor guy lost his mother Mary to breast cancer when he was just 14 and he had a dream where he saw her again 12 years after she died and he said she was so real in the dream and it was so good to see her again. In this dream she told him to just accept things as they are and that's when the beautiful song Let it Be and it's his mother Mary who he is talikng about. His mother was like a Saint she was a nburse and a midwife who everybody loved. Paul's earlist memories of her are of people bringing her presents thanking her for her work.

Thanks, man.

I give credit where it's due. I like Yesterday (cuz I can relate) and Let It Be (the lyrics are interesting).

One of the greatest composers of our time the other is John Lennon. All I have to say is Yesterday the most covered song of all time. How can you say any thing bad about the guy that wrote that song. I am sure this will be used againist Sir Paul but he does not read music and yet he is one of, if not the most, successful composers of all time.

actually there's a lot to be said. McCartney is all right. not the best Beatle to take a shot at a solo career, but certainly the most consistent, even if his musical vision hasn't evolved beyond 1971's RAM album. that said, Macca has been responsible for some good top-40 music and a lot of schlock. he seems to have redeemed himself over the past 10 years releasing three fine albums in a row(Flamming Pie, Run Devil Run, and Driving One); the latter of the three proving McCartney is, at 62, willing to experiment, albeit a little bit, w/music again. although i wish the guy would make an album closer to resembling his promsing 1970 debut.

It's Paul McCartney. There is nothing else that really needs to be said.

Paul did write some good songs, but he seems like a lightweight to me. He was always the most commercial Beatle. He is a good bass player though, I'll give him that. UPDATE: After watching Paul McCartney deliver a fantastic performance I'm upping his rating to a 5. This guy is still rockin' at 62! He put last year's half-time show to shame. You keep rockin', Paul. Bless your heart.

He and Lennon are simply the greatest ever. mccartney- the greatest rock composer of all time and the fourth best composer in history (beethoven, schubert, mozart, mccartney)

i like the beatles just as much as the next person but why the hell is he in the rock and roll hall of fame?????????? wings is laughable at best and people think McCartney is great as a solo artist.....get a life......he's all too full of himself and overrated.

great early; sell out later.

I can't stand the guy. Recently I heard him preaching about the IRA and how he didn't want goverment involvement in Ireland. He's only saying these things so that they don't blow him up too. The lead singer of Pink Floyd said he should give more money away to charity, and McCartney refused to comment. In other words he is a tight old bastard!

sfalconer says he's the best composer of all time, what a load of cr*p, he's not even in the top 10 moron

The charge: Ebony & ivory, Frog Chorus, Mull of Kintyre, Long & whining road, Let them in, Silly love songs, Pipes of piece, No more lonely nights, 'Give my regards to broadstreet'. The defence: temporary insanity The verdict: guilty of airwave pollution

his best solo albums (that I know): 1.Ram 2t.McCartney 2t.Band on the Run 4.Flaming Pie 5.Venus and Mars 6.Flowers in the Dirt 7t.Tug of War 7t.Driving Rain 9.At the Speed of Sound 10.Back to the Egg

When commenting upon Paul McCartney's work for this list, one must remember that this is an entry for his solo work and with Wings, and not his work with the Beatles. As McCartney was undeniably the most successful Beatle as a solo artist, this suggests that he could still write well crafted songs without much collaboration. While the Beatles were very much a full-length artist (especially in their latter years), McCartney and Wings were essentially a singles band which is appropriate for this soft rock list or the RateItAll pop/rock list. Nevertheless, given how prolific McCartney was (and remains), almost any singles compilation is going to miss some of his essential lesser known tracks, for instance the original studio recording of "Maybe I'm Amazed" from "McCartney" (1970), "Helen Wheels" and "Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five" both from "Band On The Run" (1973), the various live versions of both Beatles and Wings standards from "Wings Over America" (1976), the title track for "London Town" (1978), the studio recording of "Coming Up" from McCartney II (1980), the oft forgotten "Take It Away" from "Tug Of War" (1982), and the rare 12" "discofied" version of "Goodnight Tonight." Despite all of all this, most fans are more than satisfied with the encompassing compilation "Wingspan: Hits And History" (2001) even though it misses some of the aforementioned tracks, or includes them in single edit versions. The bottom line is that McCartney continued to show excellence in his solo career notwithstanding the occasional irritation (eg "My Love").

HE really is just awful. Snotty and arrogant, and he did nothing for the Beatles but make them worse. Which was hard to do, considering how they are just awful to begin with. But he does get one star for effort I guess...bleah.

You either love his music or hate it. And yes, it's been up and down over the years. But he still puts on one of the best live rock shows there is. Thanks to Paul for a life of great music, even after the Beatles!

OBVIOUSLY the better songwriter

PAUL'S WORK IS UNEVEN --HE SEEMS TO HAVE AN INSECURE FEELING OF HIS MUSICAL LEGACY. WHY ELSE WOULD HE CHANGE THE ORDER OF THE SONGWRITING FOR THE BEATLE SONGS THAT EVERYONE KNOWS HE PENNED? THESE LITTLE FITS OF EGOCENTRISM DAMAGE HIS REPUTATION. TO BE TRUTHFUL IT SEEMS AT TIMES THAT HE CREATES MUSIC JUST TO CREATE MUSIC--THERE'S LITTLE PASSION IN IT. OTHER TIMES HE DOES OK. THERE'S NO LENNON ANYMORE AND THE ENVIRONMENT THAT CREATED GREAT MUSIC DOESN'T EXIST AND NEVER WILL. STILL, HIS WORK IS BETTER THAN A LOT OF OTHERS.'LONDON CALLING' WAS A SUPERIOR ALBUM AS WAS 'BAND ON THE RUN'. HIS 'LIVE IN USA 2002' WAS A GOOD EFFORT.

His music speaks for itself.However I feel in the last twenty years has stopped moving forward and is looking back,something he had not done before which was at the heart of his of greatness.As much as love him I feel he has begun to believe his own legend,which is very dangerous for anyone. He is more worried about how he will be remembered anymore thn moving forward.And he seems to want the world to remember he alone was the Beatles ,forgetting the greatness of the Beatles was the four of them.He will and should be remember as one of the greatest tunesmiths of all time a great artist in any era.A underrated guitarist and the best bass player period in one word a marvel.

sir over rated!

He has a lot of talent I liked him in the Beatles, and some of Wings songs. Not only does he have a pleasant singing voice, he has written some wonderful songs. A 4.5 to me.

better than seconal if you want to sleep or die.

Why do so many people think that Lennon was so much better than McCartney? Paul was much more talented than John!

Maybe if I look hard enough a six star rating will appear so I can give Paul what he really deserves.I mean, he came from the tiny poor town of Liverpool and ended up as the responsible genius for the most famous band in the history of rock n'roll. Though I'm young, I know a truly great song when I hear it.He's been doing great on his own,and has been in many bands besides the Beatles. I'm telling you, I'm a Beatles freak, which gives me the right to say that Paul is a cool guy.He's also a caring kind person, because half of his salsary goes to the needy.He's great.That's all I can say.Who knows, after all his other accomplishments,maybe he'll discover discover a cure for cancer through music.

What does a vegetarian worm eat? LINDA McCartney!

So great and so cute

I'm giving Paul a three because I think he was great as a Beatle. No, I don't think he was the best songwriter in the group, nor do I rate him as the "genius" or any of that crap. But he was great. He wrote many classic songs in that group, some of which have not withheld the test of time like that of his fellow bandmembers, but they were loved still the same. The problem I have with him is that he never really carried that greatness on to his solo years. I liked a *bit* of his debut album...Maybe I'm Amazed is beautiful, and there are a few raw, fun tunes on there. "Ram" is nice and not mentioned, although I iften see it given too much credit when people do start discussing its "underrateness." Its a nice album. The others were OK. "Band On The Run" is completely overrated. "Flowers in the Dirt" I liked to some degree, and "Flaming Pie" is alright. That's another one that is given a lot more credit than it should be...there's some great songs, but a lot more junk. And that's my basic opinion of his solo career. A lot of junk. The unreleased tracks are sometimes better than the released, but not that much better. I like Paul. I always will. I hate his arrogance and pettiness, but he's a part of my life because the Beatles are pretty much grounded that way. John was always the best to me, and then George, but Paul is great. Just not like George, and certainly not like John.

Yeah, I know, I'm committing heresy...I'm sorry, but since he broke up with John he hasn't done anything worth listening to, and he's done way too much sugary bubbelgum crap that I find just nauseating.

As a Beatle, with John Lennon's acerbity to counterbalance his taste for treacle, McCartney was a genius. On his own, his record is less impressive. He's a capable tunesmith, but his weakness for fluff and schmaltz combined with his choirboy voice are, alas, fatal.

Here is proof that as a group, most people just dont know good music when they Hear it!! If you dont think this guy is one of the greatest you just need to get into playing video games and quit worrying about music. He was the best of writers within the Beatles and was the only one of them who had what it takes to build another great band.(Wings) Not to take anything away from John but I was raised in Enland in the early sixties and Paul just seemed to have more of that 'star power' that all the others. When my band is playing and I cant connect with the crowd, all I need do is kick off "I Saw Her Standing There" and at least 10 Peaole are dancing and singing the words with me. Its a undniable sound!! Beatles and Sir Paul forever!!

It's interesting; Paul has always been belittled in the conversation when John's name is involved. How sad, actually. Tearing down Paul to build up John. What's so much more admirable about John Lennon as far as music goes? His solo career was crap, as people speculate about Paul's. Well, martyrdom does that, I guess. Wonderful Beatle, John was. It's funny; some wish Paul the worst -- even the loss of life. And mean it. For what[?] I wonder. For writing songs and making people happy? That's terrible, considering his best friend was murdered. But hey, let's not focus on the unjustly negative. Paul McCartney is what seems to be an intuitive genius. More so, a creative genius. It doesn't even make sense sometimes to think of how he ended up with so much insane talent. If I had one wish, it would be for people to form their own opinions, and not by reading the same stereotypical Beatle speculations that are in every biography etc. I may not be one to say this, but he was way, way, way, WAY [for emphasis] more contributive to the Beatles than widely thought. Quite obviously, if you look with your own unbiased eyes. Or maybe look a bit farther below the surface. It's too bad he always has to live in John Lennon's shadow of martyrdom and incredibly elevated status.

Awesome! The Beatles weren't that great, but Paul McCartney and The Wings kicked ass.

Not that I'm knocking on Lennon, but McCartney's solo career proved that he could write songs by himself and not be typecasted as Lennon's right hand man, in fact it was good to see Lennon and Harrison do the same thing, but McCartney had the songs that you couldn't help but move your head, tap your foot, or sing along to. He had great music. It's too bad that Linda died and so did his songwriting ability. "Band On The Run" will always be a kick a** song in my book.

Would've given him 5 stars but the rich schmuk is charging $100 for concert tickets. has had a mixed bag solo career but on the whole a creative one...has really redeemed himself w/his last few releases. probably, along w/bob dylan & Neil Young, really bringing rocks new Senior citizens into a respectable place. still--John and George are my personal favorites.

His career with Wings was great. They came out with many hits. He is also an underrated bassist. He deserves nothing but accolades for the brilliant tenure he had with The Beatles, the greatest band. His most recent albums have been great. He played well at the concert for New York that he organized.

Seen him live twice, two of the best shows I ever saw! Always my favorite Beatle (slightly ahead of John), has had a brilliant solo career. One of the few artists I can honestly say I have evey album he's ever made. From "Maybe I'm Amazed" to "Vanilla Sky" and all the songs in between. Paul is the best.

In 1972, he put out a very catchy tune called "Little Woman Love," and it was very popular on the radio that summer. Then it seemed to disappear from everyone's memory, and I've never once heard it played on an oldies station. It was on the flip side of "Mary Had A Little Lamb." Even people who liked "Little Woman Love" real well couldn't seem to remember it anymore. I started trying to buy the song after it vanished that summer, and it took me 14 years to locate it. In any case, it's suddenly been re-released on a Wings album called "Wild Life." You're lucky if you can find it.

He is my favorite Beatle and the main musical genius behind The Beatles. I think the music he has done on his own confirms this.

Never really got all repect he really deserves.

PAUL rules!

Paul McCartney seems to have been the melodic and harmonic "leader" of the Beatles. His inspirations were from Tin Pan Alley composers of the 30's and 40's so that his songs had more interesting chord changes and melodic intervals than what was the norn for the day. With very little musical education he has proven to be a Pop genius. I do wish he would learn how to notate music, it could only help. He has alluded to this. His songs are timeless and bring out the emotions that music was meant to. His influence on Lennon is obvious when listening to some of John's tunes that have a few chord changes that are not what one would expect. Hearing the unobvious is what Musical Art is all about. Plus they make you feel good. McCartney deserves more than 5 stars. Only 2 or 3 people a century come around like Paul. God Bless Him and his musical integrety.

Paul is great, though not my favorite Beatle (George is). Master songwriter, bass player, singer, etc... I really admire him for all the work he's done for animal rights as well. An outstanding musician and person! Go Paul!

GO PUAL! still alive and kickin!

Someone's knockin' at the door. Someone's ringin' the bell...do me a favor and put him out of his misery.

I have listen to him since I was a baby(70's). I use to go around the house and sing his songs all the time. I love him.

the third best Beatle. What a jackass!!!1

ahhh..sweet Paul. "Yesterday" should have been listed under his most popular songs.