Best of Neil Young studio records

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i mean,it's Neil Young, dammit!

Poll Results

Option	Votes
After The Gold Rush .......... Neil Young............... ...... 1970	17
On The Beach .................. Neil Young............... ...... 1974	16
Rust Never Sleeps ............ Neil & Crazy Horse..... ...... 1979	11
Tonight's The Night ........... Neil Young............. ...... 1975	10
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere Neil & Crazy Horse..... ...... 1969	8
Zuma ............................ Neil & Crazy Horse..... ...... 1975	6
Time Fades Away .............. Neil Young............... ...... 1973	5
Eldorado ....................... Neil & The Restless.... ...... 1989	3
Trans .......................... Neil Young............... ...... 1982	3
Harvest ......................... Neil & Stray Gators.... ...... 1972	2
Freedom ....................... Neil Young............... ...... 1989	2
Ragged Glory ................. Neil & Crazy Horse..... ...... 1990	2
Sleeps With Angels .......... Neil & Crazy Horse..... ...... 1994	2
Decade ......................... Neil Young............... ...... 1977	2
Everybody's Rockin' .......... Neil & Shocking Pinks... ...... 1983	1
Mirror Ball ................... Neil & Pearl Jam....... ...... 1995	1
Comes A Time ................. Neil Young............... ...... 1978	1
Dיjא Vu ......................... C, S, N, & Y............ ...... 1970	1
Journey Through The Past .... Neil Young.............. ...... 1972	1
American Stars & Bars ........ Neil Young............... ...... 1977	0
Harvest Moon ................ Neil Young............... ...... 1992	0
Lucky Thirteen ............... Neil Young............... ...... 1993	0
Unplugged ..................... Neil Young............... ...... 1993	0
Last Time Around ............. Buffalo Springfield...... ...... 1968	0
Buffalo Springfield Again ..... Buffalo Springfield...... ...... 1967	0
Broken Arrow ................ Neil & Crazy Horse..... ...... 1996	0
Year of the Horse ........... Neil & Crazy Horse..... ...... 1997	0
Looking Forward .............. C, S, N, & Y............ ...... 1999	0
Silver & Gold ................. Neil Young............... ...... 2000	0
Road Rock .................... Neil Young .............. ...... 2000	0
Greendale	0
Prairie Wind	0
Arc ............................ Neil & Crazy Horse..... ...... 1991	0
Weld .......................... Neil & Crazy Horse..... ...... 1991	0
Long May You Run .............. Stills/Young Band....... ...... 1976	0
Live Rust ...................... Neil & Crazy Horse..... ...... 1979	0
Hawks And Doves ............. Neil Young............... ...... 1980	0
Re-ac-tor ..................... Neil & Crazy Horse..... ...... 1981	0
Buffalo Springfield ............ Buffalo Springfield...... ...... 1967	0
Old Ways ..................... Neil Young............... ...... 1985	0
Landing On Water ............ Neil Young............... ...... 1986	0
Life ............................ Neil & Crazy Horse..... ...... 1987	0
This Note's For You .......... Neil Young............... ...... 1988	0
American Dream .............. C, S, N, & Y............ ...... 1988	0
4 Way Street .................. C, S, N, & Y............ ...... 1971	0
Neil Young ...................... Neil Young............... ...... 1969	0
Living With War	0

― Zeno, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:00 (seventeen years ago) link

what will be 2nd to "On The Beach"?

― Zeno, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:01 (seventeen years ago) link

Dיjא Vu ......................... C, S, N, & Y............ ...... 1970

Don't know this one. Was it a concept album about Columbus?

― Marcello Carlin, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:01 (seventeen years ago) link

there are live records all over this thing.

― QuantumNoise, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:04 (seventeen years ago) link

ignore!

― Zeno, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:04 (seventeen years ago) link

...or if you really think it's the best - choose!

― Zeno, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:05 (seventeen years ago) link

also, i doubt on the beach will be #1 unless the number of pitchfork reading revisionists/exoticists on ILM is higher than i thought.

― ian, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:27 (seventeen years ago) link

but it is his best record, and pfrk has nothing to do with it.

― Zeno, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:29 (seventeen years ago) link

gold rush for me. boring and obvious choice I know

― akm, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:30 (seventeen years ago) link

on the beach isn't his best but it's still fucking great, obviously

― pretzel walrus, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:31 (seventeen years ago) link

they're ALL fucking great, obviously. i ought to revive my "neil young has recorded the largest percentage of the world's great records" thread. i voted for "comes a time" because jesus fuck what a record.

― ian, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:33 (seventeen years ago) link

i would have chosen "gold rush",but i only like half of the songs there

― Zeno, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:34 (seventeen years ago) link

i'm going with Time Fades Away.

― QuantumNoise, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:34 (seventeen years ago) link

Man, "LA" and "Love In Mind" and "Don't be Denied" and "last Dance" and yeaaah, that's an excellent one.

― ian, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:39 (seventeen years ago) link

i just put "LA" on. i love music.

― ian, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:39 (seventeen years ago) link

except it's not really a studio record, huh?

― ian, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:40 (seventeen years ago) link

Rust Never Sleeps.

― kornrulez6969, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:41 (seventeen years ago) link

wht dont they release "time fades" on CD already?!

― Zeno, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:44 (seventeen years ago) link

archivezzz box?

― ian, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:44 (seventeen years ago) link

I guess I'll pick On the Beach over Time Fades Away and Zuma, largely because "Ambulance Blues" is my favorite song by anyone period, but it's like choosing a favorite child.

― Brent, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:48 (seventeen years ago) link

voted for "On The Beach" but there are probably ten others in close competition. But side 2 of OTB is mid blowingly awesome every time I hear it. Right now, my fave moment is the solo on the title track -- shows how subtle/delicate Neil can be on guitar when he wants to be.

― tylerw, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:49 (seventeen years ago) link

the only track i skip is "Vampire Blues" - wtf is this..

― Zeno, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:51 (seventeen years ago) link

vampire blues is GREAT!

― ian, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:56 (seventeen years ago) link

it would make sense to get rid of all the live and collaboration records on this list, it's not like there's not enough to choose from without them.

― chris, Monday, 30 April 2007 15:03 (seventeen years ago) link

zeno said we could vote for live records, and that makes sense because Young released so much new stuff as live recordings. Rust Never Sleeps and Time Fades Away basically serve the same purpose as studio recordings.

― QuantumNoise, Monday, 30 April 2007 15:09 (seventeen years ago) link

ZUMA!!!

― Marco Damiani, Monday, 30 April 2007 15:11 (seventeen years ago) link

plus,the rawness of the sound of some of Young's greatest stuff (tonight's the night,zuma...) almost ounds like live records,so,yes,it does make sense to choose live records as well

― Zeno, Monday, 30 April 2007 15:13 (seventeen years ago) link

Eldorado4

― Bill Magill, Monday, 30 April 2007 15:19 (seventeen years ago) link

Actually just Eldorado. It was either that or Zuma

― Bill Magill, Monday, 30 April 2007 15:20 (seventeen years ago) link

atgr

― gman, Monday, 30 April 2007 15:52 (seventeen years ago) link

decade

― abanana, Monday, 30 April 2007 15:58 (seventeen years ago) link

Unfair poll, really, since 12 or 13 of those records qualify as great and as many as five qualify as masterpieces. I vote for After the Gold Rush because it's such a singular accomplishment ... no other record has ever captured that aesthetic. I'd personally put that, On the Beach, Rust Never Sleeps, Tonight's the Night, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere and Freedom in the lead group. Second tier would include Harvest, Comes a Time, Trans, Ragged Glory, Sleeps With Angels, Silver and Gold and Greendale.

― Jiminy Krokus, Monday, 30 April 2007 16:06 (seventeen years ago) link

Oh and Zuma ... put that in the lead group. Doh!

― Jiminy Krokus, Monday, 30 April 2007 16:07 (seventeen years ago) link

wht dont they release "time fades" on CD already?!

i read a Neil interview in mojo in the mid-1980's where he said he never wanted to re-release TFA. he said it was to personal and he didn't want to hear it again

― outdoor_miner, Monday, 30 April 2007 16:10 (seventeen years ago) link

even though it's not really a "studio" album, i voted for Rust Never Sleeps...but man w/Neil it's tough....Tonight's the Night and After the Goldrush were close...

― M@tt He1ges0n, Monday, 30 April 2007 16:12 (seventeen years ago) link

TFA.

― JN$OT, Monday, 30 April 2007 16:13 (seventeen years ago) link

"he said it was to personal and he didn't want to hear it again"

he doesnt have to,just put it out on CD.

― Zeno, Monday, 30 April 2007 16:21 (seventeen years ago) link

Tonight's the Night by a country mile

― Shakey Mo Collier, Monday, 30 April 2007 16:24 (seventeen years ago) link

but Zeno, you must know how much of a control freak the guy is; that's why i reckon he'd not release it unless he was in complete control of the mix, etc.

― outdoor_miner, Monday, 30 April 2007 16:39 (seventeen years ago) link

ok,but doesn't he care that people do listen to it anyway,and in a quality less good than it supposed to be?!

either way,sooner or later it will come out on CD i think.

― Zeno, Monday, 30 April 2007 16:50 (seventeen years ago) link

can't answer that, but i do think all of those songs will appear in some form on the long awaited boxset series

― outdoor_miner, Monday, 30 April 2007 17:04 (seventeen years ago) link

this is an impossible choice

― félix pié, Monday, 30 April 2007 17:12 (seventeen years ago) link

I went with Zuma

Barstool Blues!!

― dmr, Monday, 30 April 2007 17:24 (seventeen years ago) link

zuma would have been second probably. i was partially being contrarian with the Comes A Time vote, because i think it's one of the more under-rated neil LPs.

― ian, Monday, 30 April 2007 17:53 (seventeen years ago) link

Nobody's gonna pick Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere?

― JN$OT, Monday, 30 April 2007 18:00 (seventeen years ago) link

i'm sure plenty of people are. we're listening to that one RIGHT NOW.

― ian, Monday, 30 April 2007 18:11 (seventeen years ago) link

I think Everybody Knows is #4 ... Tonight's the Night #2, Rust Never Sleeps #3. maybe?

― dmr, Monday, 30 April 2007 18:14 (seventeen years ago) link

THEY ARE ALL VERY GOOD

― dmr, Monday, 30 April 2007 18:15 (seventeen years ago) link

I'd go ATGR, TTN, RNS, and then...

― JN$OT, Monday, 30 April 2007 18:16 (seventeen years ago) link

Maddenlingly, (with the exception of Decade), the man has never made an LP I enjoy all the way through. An opinion I seem to share with nobody - or at least nobody who doesn't consider that part of his charm. Whatever...For me, nothing beats the bye-bye '60s one-two punch of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and After The Gold Rush, of which I'll choose the latter for evoking memories of lying in a burned-out basement.

― Myonga Vön Bontee, Monday, 30 April 2007 18:27 (seventeen years ago) link

Skipping 11 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

and then there's, "it's too dark to put the keys in my ignition . . . and the morning sun has yet to climb my . . . hood ornament"

― kamerad, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 07:38 (seventeen years ago) link

Zuma or TNT. How can one man choose?

― gnarly sceptre, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 09:59 (seventeen years ago) link

I'll probably be the only one who votes for it, but I've always thought Ragged Glory was his best.

― Reatards Unite, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 12:18 (seventeen years ago) link

You're not!

― StanM, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 12:52 (seventeen years ago) link

wht dont they release "time fades" on CD already?!

I forget what thread it came up on (ny archives thread?), but time fades away was mastered on HDCD along with on the beach and a couple of others. neil didn't like the mix so it was shelved. luckily it leaked.

speaking of contrarian, I voted for journey through the past 'cause I went through a month period where it was all I listened to. ha!

(correct answer is probably otb anyway, side 2 is perfection)

― Edward III, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 14:56 (seventeen years ago) link

"Zuma".................... or "Tonight's the Night"............ nah, has to be "Zuma" for the guitar playing.

― Tom D., Tuesday, 1 May 2007 14:58 (seventeen years ago) link

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/edwardiii/timefadesaway.png

― Edward III, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 15:00 (seventeen years ago) link

Hey, Moran, "Weld", "Live Rust", "Road Rock" etc aren't exactly studio albums

Nether is Arc, Rust Never Sleeps, Life and I can't rememeber if Unplugged is live or not since I can't stand to listen to that damm horrid organ he was using.

― Mr Noodles, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 15:33 (seventeen years ago) link

Deja Vu's not really a Neil Young album, but it's my pick. If that were axed, I'd go with either EKTIN or Harvest.

Or, if I were feeling like poisoning the well, I'd mount my Trans revisionism stand.

― I eat cannibals, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 15:37 (seventeen years ago) link

...neither is "4 Way Street" (xpost)

― Tom D., Tuesday, 1 May 2007 15:38 (seventeen years ago) link

Ragged Glory is pretty good but you gotta dock it down a notch for "Mother Earth," imo ...

― dmr, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 15:39 (seventeen years ago) link

― Zeno, Thursday, 3 May 2007 07:43 (seventeen years ago) link

Omemee rocks.

― cli0019, Thursday, 3 May 2007 08:37 (seventeen years ago) link

and the oscar goes to...

― Zeno, Saturday, 5 May 2007 10:06 (seventeen years ago) link

I missed this poll. Would have increased the win for "After The Goldrush" had I voted.

― Geir Hongro, Saturday, 5 May 2007 10:14 (seventeen years ago) link

I missed it too, Zuma would have fared slightly better.

― Drooone, Saturday, 5 May 2007 10:16 (seventeen years ago) link

One vote for Everybody's Rockin'?!?

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Saturday, 5 May 2007 12:02 (seventeen years ago) link

none for Harvest Moon... maybe I should've given my vote for that one, it deserves a ranking. ah well, too late

― the Dirt, Saturday, 5 May 2007 12:26 (seventeen years ago) link

"neil young has recorded the largest percentage of the world's great records" Yes x1ooo.
Being without internet at home made me miss this one. My guilty Pleasure is Re-ac-tor, but I would have voted for Zuma.

― brg30, Saturday, 5 May 2007 14:28 (seventeen years ago) link

nice foto finish. i didn't vote as i couldn't decide between goldrush and on the beach!

― alex in mainhattan, Saturday, 5 May 2007 14:37 (seventeen years ago) link

Only Reatards Unite and me went for Ragged Glory? :-(

― StanM, Saturday, 5 May 2007 14:38 (seventeen years ago) link

totally surprised at the 90s crap people prefer over American Stars & Bars!!! wtf - that has "Homegrown", "Bite the Bullet", "Like a Hurricane"...

― Shakey Mo Collier, Saturday, 5 May 2007 14:52 (seventeen years ago) link

American Stars & Bars is way underated. As are Comes a Time, Hawks and Doves and Reactor.

― JN$OT, Saturday, 5 May 2007 14:57 (seventeen years ago) link

"will to love" is one the best young tunes

― QuantumNoise, Saturday, 5 May 2007 15:09 (seventeen years ago) link

I would have voted for Ragged Glory.. theres too many polls and they never stay on the new answers page long enough for me to actually see them.

― billstevejim, Saturday, 5 May 2007 17:56 (seventeen years ago) link

That's definitely been a problem, alright.

― JN$OT, Saturday, 5 May 2007 18:17 (seventeen years ago) link

one month passes...

Who voted for Mirror Ball?

― Jiminy Krokus, Wednesday, 20 June 2007 19:17 (seventeen years ago) link

Who voted for Sleeps With Angels?

― kornrulez6969, Wednesday, 20 June 2007 19:20 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm listening to Trans now ... boy is that an amazing record ... and it's like the guy's seventh or eighth best. It's one of these albums where once you know the story behind it, it becomes incredibly poignant. It's his cosmic connection with his son: past, present and future.

Again, this poll was unfair, man.

― Jiminy Krokus, Wednesday, 20 June 2007 19:37 (seventeen years ago) link

who's the joker that voted for everybody's rockin'?

― M@tt He1ges0n, Wednesday, 20 June 2007 19:55 (seventeen years ago) link

I have never heard that album.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Wednesday, 20 June 2007 23:03 (seventeen years ago) link

three months pass...

totally surprised at the 90s crap people prefer over American Stars & Bars!!! wtf - that has "Homegrown", "Bite the Bullet", "Like a Hurricane"...

-- Shakey Mo Collier, Saturday, 5 May 2007 14:52

^^^^^ for reals.

― will, Saturday, 6 October 2007 16:05 (seventeen years ago) link

I missed this one, but it looks like the best album won.

― Geir Hongro, Saturday, 6 October 2007 17:32 (seventeen years ago) link

totally surprised at the 90s crap people prefer over American Stars & Bars!!! wtf - that has "Homegrown", "Bite the Bullet", "Like a Hurricane"...

um...but doesn't it also have "will to love"? it's like a turd on a birthday cake.

― Lawrence the Looter, Saturday, 6 October 2007 17:48 (seventeen years ago) link

i have a feeling a lot of people haven't checked out stars'n'bars, as it was out of print for ages, has little acclaim, and two of the great ones are on decade. i had the cassette back in middle school, myself, but haven't replaced it yet.

― da croupier, Saturday, 6 October 2007 17:49 (seventeen years ago) link

As far as recently reissued underrated works go, I'd take Re*Ac*Tor over it.

― da croupier, Saturday, 6 October 2007 17:52 (seventeen years ago) link

His 90s output was OK. "Harvest Moon" is way better than the ones who have gotten votes though.

― Geir Hongro, Saturday, 6 October 2007 17:53 (seventeen years ago) link

I have After The Gold Rush and On The Beach, and prefer the latter. With this information in mind, where should I go next?

― aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, Saturday, 6 October 2007 18:07 (seventeen years ago) link

Zuma, Tonight's The Night

― da croupier, Saturday, 6 October 2007 18:08 (seventeen years ago) link

And, if you like "Zuma", probably "Rust Never Sleeps".

― Geir Hongro, Saturday, 6 October 2007 18:22 (seventeen years ago) link

one year passes...

http://www.sjphoto.com/concert-web/images/Neil-Young-1974.jpg
"I am the coolester motherfucker in the world."
(1974.)

― ian, Sunday, 12 October 2008 21:23 (sixteen years ago) link

I wonder if I voted in this. (It would have been Tonight's the Night.)

― I'm the wire monkey, not the soft monkey (Rock Hardy), Monday, 13 October 2008 02:10 (sixteen years ago) link

I voted for Everybody's Rockin!

(not really...i didn't vote, but prolley would've voted for Gold Rush. It has magical healing qualities.)

― Cannabis Zed Omega (Drugs A. Money), Monday, 13 October 2008 02:38 (sixteen years ago) link

Disgraceful that "Zuma" only got 6 votes, one of which was mine. Been listening to it at the weekend, toadly awesome.

― Ich Ber ein Binliner (Tom D.), Monday, 13 October 2008 09:42 (sixteen years ago) link

zuma is good, but it is a bit too sloppy to be his best ever...my favourite trax are "Pardon My Heart" and "Barstool Blues".

― Cannabis Zed Omega (Drugs A. Money), Monday, 13 October 2008 23:17 (sixteen years ago) link

go here to download a bizarro world studio recording of CSNY doing "Cinnamon Girl" in 1969 -- maybe before the Crazy Horse version? http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=66
WEIRD. it's an instrumental, but gives you some idea of how their rendition would've sounded. not as good obviously.

― tylerw, Monday, 13 October 2008 23:31 (sixteen years ago) link

I think Zuma is regularly acknowledged to me among Neil's top-tier albums, though. Don't feel too bad that a few people may have voted for another one.

― ian, Monday, 13 October 2008 23:41 (sixteen years ago) link

Tonight's The Night is incredibly amazing. Side two is my jam, for all time.

― ian, Friday, 24 October 2008 01:39 (sixteen years ago) link

Who was the one who voted for "Everybody's Rockin'"? That's contrarian, surely. :)

― Geir Hongro, Friday, 24 October 2008 10:23 (sixteen years ago) link

five months pass...

the top 3 on this poll are perfect albums to be sure...I think Rust Never Sleeps is slightly better than On the Beach (which is what I'm listening to right now) but these three are very close in my estimation...

― I am Robertson Speedo (Drugs A. Money), Thursday, 26 March 2009 19:41 (fifteen years ago) link

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