Every Neil Young Album, Ranked
Neil Percival Young grew up in Winnipeg, but he moved to America in the ‘60s to become the greatest rock star Canada has ever produced. For over 50 years, he’s remained restlessly creative and committed to his political ideals, an influential guitarist as adept at heartbreaking ballads as fiery protest songs. While other classic rockers have slowed down their output, Young has remained ever-prolific, releasing nine albums in just the last decade.
Neil Young’s latest album, Barn, with longtime backing band Crazy Horse, was released in December. But in recent weeks, he’s been in the news more for taking a stand against Spotify, removing his music from the streaming service over its backing of controversial podcaster Joe Rogan. Fortunately, there are still a lot of ways to enjoy the songwriter’s vast catalog, including his own Neil Young Archives service.
We’ve ranked 43 albums here: all of Young’s studio records as a solo artist or bandleader, plus some live albums that contained all-new material like Time Fades Away and Rust Never Sleeps. That includes a dozen albums with Crazy Horse and one-off collaborations with bands ranging from Pearl Jam to Booker T. & The M.G.’s. The list does not, however, include his work as a member of Buffalo Springfield or Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, film soundtracks, scrapped albums unearthed for the Archives series, or the live albums of familiar favorites.
43. Landing On Water (1986)
In the 1980s, many ‘60s and ‘70s rock icons released their biggest multi-platinum albums thanks to MTV and polished, synth-heavy production. But a maverick like Young could probably never thrive in the ultra-conformist ‘80s, and he spent almost the entire decade in an experimental wilderness.
Even his most overtly ‘80s-sounding album, Landing On Water, feels sickly and off, using clanging Synclavier textures poorly suited to songs Young first tried recording with Crazy Horse in 1984. While 1982’s Trans had a big heart underneath its chilly, futuristic exterior, Landing on Water is as rigid and soulless as Young’s music has ever gotten.
42. Are You Passionate? with Booker T. & The M.G.’s (2002)
Are You Passionate? features an intriguing pairing that’s full of potential: Young and Booker T. & The M.G.’s, the Memphis soul combo behind instrumental hits like “Green Onions” and other Stax Records classics by Otis Redding and Sam & Dave. Booker T. Jones’ iconic organ tone and Donald “Duck” Dunn’s busy, melodic bass lines give Passionate a sound like any other Young album, soothing and steady.
But the downbeat material doesn’t quite click with the band, and the album’s most famous song is its low point: “Let’s Roll,” an awkward attempt at an inspiring ode to the United Flight 93 passengers who died on 9/11. “The songs are too long, too slow, and they all sound the same,” wrote The Austin Chronicle’s Raoul Hernandez.
41. Psychedelic Pill with Crazy Horse (2012)
At 87 minutes, Psychedelic Pill is Young’s longest studio album, a feat never justified across nine rambling tracks. The poorly mixed transition from an acoustic intro into the full electric band during minute two of “Driftin’ Back” is one of Young’s sloppiest moments that doesn’t manage to sound accidentally charming or artful.
And the 27-minute song never really gets any better, with lyrics that gripe about big tech and MP3s before climaxing with the refrain of “Gonna get me a hip-hop haircut.”
40. Hawks & Doves (1980)
Young’s first album of the ‘80s was partly leftovers from the previous decade. The first side of Hawks & Doves features acoustic songs from two albums Young had recorded and shelved in the mid-‘70s, Hitchhiker and Homegrown (which were eventually released in 2017 and 2020, respectively, as part of his Archives campaign).
And even with some irritatingly chipper new songs recorded in 1980 for side two, Hawks & Doves feels slight and unfinished. The album’s muddled origins lead to music that leaves little impression, aside from the haunting “The Old Homestead” with The Band’s Levon Helm on drums.