Bobby Brown knows better than most what it's like to watch the world mourn an iconic artist.

TMZ caught up with the New Edition alum at LAX on Monday, where he told us how the world lost "another great one" when Dolly died last week.

As you know, Whitney Houston's cover of Dolly's "I Will Always Love You" was an instant classic.

Check out the video ... Bobby tells us Whitney absolutely loved performing the words Dolly wrote.

He tells us both the late legends' legacies will live on ... because they'll always be remembered for the music and entertainment they've given the world.

And like Bobby tells us ... they'll definitely be missed.