All of you are welcome to discuss lyrics too.

My favorite composers is SDB. Mind you, all his contemporaries were great too but IMO he was, let us say, the first among near-equals.

Even Shankar Jaikishan were a great duo. I think they were the MDs most well versed in WCM. It showed in their use of violins and their chord progressions.

Let me begin with a few songs that I think were good not only tune-wise but also in other technical aspects:
1. Ae dil mujhe bata de (very old song, I don't know which film; MD- Madanmohan) - an excellent WC piece repeated in both interludes.

2. Waqt ne diya - MD:SDB, sung by Geeta Dutt (was the film Pyaasa?). It had those typical olden day piano beats and a great bassy violin interlude.

3. Tum pukar lo - MD & singer- Hemant Kumar; I like it mainly for the lazy and romantic touch which Hemantda has given to this song while singing it. It includes a very good violin piece too. I also liked the chord progression for the pallavi.

4. Nakhrewali - (MD: SJ; singer-Kishore Kumar) amazing tune very well colored.

Of course what I have mentioned is merely infinitesimal. There's lots of further ground to cover.