Personnel: Neil Young (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano); Neil Young (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Frank "Poncho" Sampedro (vocals, guitar, electric guitar); Graham Nash (vocals, acoustic guitar); Stephen Stills (vocals, electric guitar, piano); Danny Whitten, Crosby, David & Graham Nash, J.J. Cale (vocals, electric guitar); James Taylor (vocals, banjo); Billy Talbot (vocals, bass guitar); Ralph Molina (vocals, drums); Linda Ronstadt (vocals, background vocals); Nils Lofgren (guitar, piano); Teddy Irwin (guitar); Grant Boatwright, Johnny Christopher, Vic Jordan, Steve Gibson, Jerry Shook, Dale Sellers, Bucky Barrett (acoustic guitar); Ben Keith (steel guitar, keyboards); Rita Fey (autoharp); Rufus Thibodeaux (fiddle); Sheldon Kurland, Larry Harvin, George Kosmola, Martha McCrory, Lawrence Lasson, Maryanna Harvin, Carole Walker, Rebecca Lynch, George Binkley III, Roy Christensen, Virginia Christensen, Carl Gorodetzky, Stephanie Woolf, Marvin Chantry, Gary VanOsdale (strings); Bill Peterson (flugelhorn); Spooner Oldham (piano, organ); Andy McMahon (piano); Dallas Taylor , John Barbata, Kenneth A. Buttrey, Karl Himmel, Chad Cromwell (drums); Farrell Morris (percussion); James Taylor (background vocals); Nicolette Larson (vocals); Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Stray Gators.

Recording information: Broken Arrow Ranch, Woodside, CA (01/17/1969-09/22/1991); Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA (01/17/1969-09/22/1991); Home Studio, Topanga, CA (01/17/1969-09/22/1991); Quadrafonic Sound Studios, Nashville, TN (01/17/1969-09/22/1991); Record Plant Studio 3, Hollywood, CA (01/17/1969-09/22/1991); Redwood Digital Studios, Woodside, CA (01/17/1969-09/22/1991); Wally Heider Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA (01/17/1969-09/22/1991); Woodland Sound Studios, Nashville, TN (01/17/1969-09/22/1991).

All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology.

Director: Elliot Roberts.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Frank "Poncho" Sampedro; Tim Drummond.

How does one represent the career of one of the most distinctive, powerful singer/songwriters of the 20th century in the space of a single CD? By keeping it simple and sticking to the milestones. That's exactly what GREATEST HITS accomplishes, by presenting 16 of Neil Young's most beloved compositions. The gritty, fuzz-guitar fury of Young's work with Crazy Horse ("Cinnamon Girl," "Hey Hey, My My [Into the Black]") brushes up against the acoustic-based, country-tinged "Old Man" and "Only Love Can Break Your Heart," as well as haunting, soul-baring ballads such as "The Needle and the Damage Done." Few would deny that the 1970s were Young's richest decade, and this collection strongly focuses on those years, skipping most of Young's genre-hopping '80s albums and grandfather-of-grunge '90s recordings, but the gems from those years would make a rewarding sequel to this concise, sterling anthology.