10 best Neil Young songs of all time

Neil Percival Young (November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer and songwriter. After starting his musical career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles and joined the folk-rock band Buffalo Springfield.

Since the beginning of his solo career, Singers Room writes, with the support of Crazy Horse, he has released such popular albums as Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969), After the Gold Rush (1970), Harvest (1972), On the Beach (1974) and Rust Never Sleeps (1979). Young was also a member of the band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, with whom he recorded the album Déjà Vu, which reached number one on the charts in 1970.

Young's virtuoso, peculiar style of guitar playing, original, deep lyrics and signature high tenor determined the success of his musical career. As for the style of music of the "King of Grunge", it is mainly a combination of folk, rock, and country.

Neil Young has won several Grammy and Juno awards. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: in 1995 as a solo artist and in 1997 as a member of the Buffalo Springfield band.

In 2023, Rolling Stone magazine included Young at number 30 on its list of the 250 greatest guitarists of all time. According to the magazine, he was also included in the list of the 100 Greatest Musicians. And according to Acclaimed Music, he is the seventh most popular artist in the history of modern music.

21 of his albums and singles have been certified gold and platinum by the RIAA in the United States. In 2006, Young was awarded the Order of Manitoba, and in 2009, he became an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Here are the 10 greatest hits of all time by Neil Young, according to Singers Room

Heart of Gold

"Heart of Gold" is a song by Neil Young, which appeared on his fourth album Harvest and became his only No. 1 single in the United States. In Canada, it first reached number one on the national RPM singles chart on April 8, 1972, and on that day Young was number one on both the singles and album charts. According to Billboard magazine, this song was ranked 17th in 1972.

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine included it in the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at number 297.

Old Man

"Old Man" was released as a single from the album Harvest, on Reprise Records, in the spring of 1972 and peaked at #4 in Canada and #31 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Harvest Moon

"Harvest Moon" is a song by Neil Young, released as the first single from the 1992 album Harvest Moon. It reached number 36 on the UK Singles Chart.

The song uses the motif of the moon, which, according to Young, is very important to him and has quasi-religious overtones.

Cinnamon Girl

"Cinnamon Girl" debuted on the 1969 album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, which was also Young's first album with the Crazy Horse backing band.

Like the other two songs on Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, "Cowgirl in the Sand" and "Down by the River," Young wrote "Cinnamon Girl" while lying with a high fever in his home in Topanga, California.

Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

"Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)", along with its acoustic counterpart, "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)", opens Young's 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps.

The song was influenced by the punk rock of the late 1970s, particularly Young's collaboration with the American art-punk band Devo, and what he saw as his growing irrelevance.

Rockin' in the Free World

"Rockin' in the Free World" is a song from Young's seventeenth studio album, Freedom (1989). The album concludes with two versions of the song, similar to Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) from Young's album Rust Never Sleeps, one of which is performed mostly in an acoustic arrangement and the other in an electric one.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Rockin' In the Free World" 214th on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Down by the River

"Down by the River" appeared on the 1969 album with Crazy Horse - "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere". In the liner notes to the 1977 anthology album Decade, Young explained its context, stating that he wrote "Down by the River," "Cinnamon Girl," and "Cowgirl in the Sand" while delirious in bed in Topanga Canyon with a temperature of 103 °F (39 °C).

Ohio

"Ohio" is a protest song and counterculture anthem written by Neil Young in response to the Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970, and performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. It was released as a single, accompanied by Stephen Stills' "Find the Cost of Freedom," and peaked at #14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #16 in Canada.

Although live versions of "Ohio" and "Find the Cost of Freedom" were included on the band's 1971 double album, 4 Way Street, studio versions of both songs did not appear on LP until the band's 1974 compilation, So Far.

The song also appeared on Neil Young's compilation albums Decade (1977) and Greatest Hits (2004).

After the Gold Rush

"After the Gold Rush" is the lead track from Young's 1970 album of the same name. In addition to After the Gold Rush, it also appears on the compilation albums Decade, Greatest Hits, and Live Rust.

In 1974, the English vocal group Prelude performed this song a capella, and it became a hit in many countries.

In the list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, compiled by Rolling Stone magazine, "After the Gold Rush" is ranked 322nd.

Helpless

"Helpless" is a song by Neil Young, recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) on their album Déjà Vu in 1970.

Young performed this song with The Band at the band's last concert, in its first lineup, on Thanksgiving Day 1976 (Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco).