What are Neil Young's biggest songs?

28 June 2025, 10:00

The Godfather of Grunge headlines Glastonbury Festival this weekend - but what are his most popular songs in the digital era?

By Radio X Classic Rock

@xclassicrock

1. Heart Of Gold: release date 28th January 1972 (UK)

   This evergreen track remains Young's only Number 1 single in the USA and his native Canads and is his most streamed track of all time, with over 492 million plays on Spotify. The song has been certified Gold in both America and the UK. The clip of Young performing the song on the BBC in 1971 has amassed just under 17 million views on YouTube. Taken from the classic album Harvest, the song features backing vocals from James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt and has been covered by everyone from Boney M to Roxette.

   

   Neil Young - Heart of Gold (Live) [Harvest 50th Anniversary Edition] (Official Music Video)

2. Neil Young - Harvest Moon: release date 2nd November 1992

   The title track of Young's 1992 album harked back to the days of Harvest, two decades earlier. The track made Number 36 in the UK charts and has been certified Gold in this country. It's since had over 298 million streams on Spotify and over 122 million views on YouTube.

   

   Neil Young - Harvest Moon [Official Music Video]

3. Neil Young - Old Man: release date 16th June 1972 (UK)

   Alongside Heart Of Gold, this track was issued as the other single from the Harvest album, peaking at Number 31 in the USA. It's now had over 182 million streams on Spotify and over 16 million views on YouTube.

   

   Neil Young - Old Man (Live) [Harvest 50th Anniversary Edition] (Official Music Video)

4. Neil Young - My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue): release date 7th September 1979 (UK)

   Together with its heavy rock version (Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black), this pair of songs bookended the album Rust Never Sleeps, which had a huge influence on the alternative rock generation of the 80s. The song was written as a response to punk and the death of Elvis Presley, but the line "It's better to burn out than to fade away" was chillingly later quoted in Kurt Cobain's suicide note. The track has had over 124 million streams on Spotify and 12.5 million views on YouTube.

   

   My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) (2016 Remaster)

5. Neil Young - Rockin' In The Free World: release date 14th November 1989

   An acoustic version of this song opens the 1989 album Freedom, while this rock version closes it. Inspired after a tour of the Soviet Union was cancelled, the song was first released as the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989. The track has had over 101 million streams on Spotify and over 19 million YouTube video views.

   

   Rockin' in the Free World

6. Neil Young - The Needle & The Damage Done: release date 1st February 1972

   In the notes for the compilation Decade, Young noted of this song, "I am not a preacher, but drugs killed a lot of great men." A mournful, bitter lyric about the musicians he knew that were claimed by heroin, this song first appeared on the album Harvest in 1972. The track has had over 56 million Spotify streams, while the version from Young's MTV Unplugged session has seen over 26 million YouTube video views.

   

   Neil Young - Needle And The Damage Done [Unplugged]

7. Neil Young - Down By The River: release date 14th May 1969

   This track closes side one of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Young's first outing with the band Crazy Horse, which also spawned the track Cinnamon Girl. Down By The River has had over 54 million Spotify streams and over 20 million streams of the official audio.

   

   Down by the River (2009 Remaster)

8. Neil Young - Out On The Weekend: release date 1st February 1972

   The opening track on the classic album Harvest has notched up over 46 million Spotify streams and over 1.2 million views on YouTube in the digital age.

   

   Neil Young - Out on the Weekend (Official Audio)

9. Neil Young - Only Love Can Break Your Heart: release date 19th September 1970

   This moving waltz-time ballad is taken from the album After The Gold Rush and marked Young's first solo Top 40 hit in the USA. There have been many cover versions, most notably Saint Etienne's indie dance interpretation from 1991. The song has had over 37 million Spotify streams and over 5.2 million YouTube video views.

   

   Only Love Can Break Your Heart

10. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Helpless: release date 11th March 1970

    Written by Young about his childhood battle with polio and recorded by the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the musician performed this song with The Band at their Last Waltz show in 1976. Helpless has had over 39 million Spotify streams and over 1.1 million YouTube views of Young's original version.

    

    Helpless