For over half a century, Neil Young has been rock and roll’s enduring enigma. A man who has charted his own course with ferocious independence, his music has veered from delicate acoustic folk to blistering, distorted garage rock, often without warning. He has been both a commercial superstar and a reclusive outlier, a voice of a generation who refuses to be defined by anyone but himself. Through it all, fans and critics have endlessly debated the contents of his soul, piecing together his influences from the sonic tapestry of his work. But Young himself has remained famously tight-lipped about the artists who truly reside in his personal pantheon. Until now.

At the age of 79, in a rare moment of candid reflection, the typically reserved icon has finally pulled back the curtain, naming the five musicians who have meant the most to him. This isn’t just a casual playlist; it’s a sacred map to the heart of one of music’s most revered and mysterious figures. The names on this list are not just inspirations; they are peers, rivals, friends, and titans who, like Young, fundamentally altered the DNA of modern music. They are the pillars upon which his own legendary career was built, and the revelation provides a stunning new context for his life’s work.

The Poet Laureate: Bob Dylan

It’s impossible to speak of modern songwriting without mentioning Bob Dylan, and for Neil Young, Dylan is more than an influence—he is the benchmark. Young placed Dylan at the very top of his list, a nod to the man who single-handedly elevated the lyrical content of popular music from teenage romance to profound, complex poetry. Young saw in Dylan a kindred spirit: a folk artist who refused to be confined by the genre, who embraced the electric guitar to the horror of purists, and who always prioritized the raw, unvarnished truth of his message over polished perfection.

Their careers have run on parallel tracks for decades, often intersecting and drawing comparisons. Both artists possess uniquely unconventional voices that many initially dismissed, yet their raw, emotional delivery became their most powerful instrument. Young has long admired Dylan’s relentless creative spirit and his chameleon-like ability to reinvent himself. “He’s a master,” Young has stated in the past, acknowledging the sheer depth and breadth of Dylan’s catalog. For Young, Dylan wasn’t just writing songs; he was chronicling the human condition with a poet’s eye and a prophet’s fire.

The Laurel Canyon Visionary: Joni Mitchell

Neil Young and Joni Mitchell share more than just a Canadian passport; they share a history forged in the creative crucible of the 1960s. Emerging from the same Canadian folk scene, they both migrated south to California’s Laurel Canyon, becoming central figures in one of the most creatively fertile periods in music history. Young’s reverence for Mitchell is born of deep, firsthand admiration for her unparalleled genius as a songwriter, musician, and arranger.

While many of her peers were working with standard chords and song structures, Mitchell was exploring complex jazz voicings, unconventional tunings, and lyrical narratives of breathtaking emotional intricacy. She painted with a sonic palette that no one else possessed. Young witnessed this brilliance up close, recognizing that her artistry operated on a different plane. Her ability to weave together deeply personal confessions with universal truths, all while pushing musical boundaries, set a standard for vulnerability and innovation that has profoundly echoed throughout Young’s own work, especially in his more introspective acoustic moments.

The Electric Shaman: Jimi Hendrix

If Dylan and Mitchell represent the soul of songwriting, Jimi Hendrix represents the liberation of sound. When Hendrix burst onto the scene, he didn’t just play the electric guitar; he completely redefined its possibilities. For a guitarist like Neil Young, who would go on to build his own legacy on feedback, distortion, and raw sonic power with his band Crazy Horse, Hendrix was nothing short of a revelation.

Young has spoken of being utterly mesmerized by Hendrix’s command over his instrument, transforming it from a simple tool into a conduit for otherworldly energy. Hendrix could make his guitar scream, cry, and sing with a vocabulary no one had ever heard before. This wasn’t just technical skill; it was pure, unadulterated expression. The raw, visceral power and the willingness to explore the outer limits of noise and texture that Hendrix championed became a cornerstone of Young’s own electric identity. Hendrix proved that chaos could be beautiful, and that the loudest, most distorted sounds could carry the deepest emotions—a lesson Young took to heart.

The Raw Nerve: John Lennon

The Beatles changed the world, but for Neil Young, it was the soul-baring honesty of John Lennon that left the most indelible mark. While The Beatles as a whole were a phenomenon, Lennon’s solo work, particularly with the Plastic Ono Band, stripped away all artifice. It was raw, confessional, and often brutally painful—a direct line into the psyche of a man grappling with his fame, his past, and his place in the world.

This unflinching vulnerability resonated deeply with Young, whose own songwriting often feels like an open wound. Songs like “Mother” and “Working Class Hero” showcased a level of emotional nakedness that was both shocking and profoundly liberating. Lennon proved that true strength in songwriting came not from hiding behind clever metaphors, but from confronting one’s demons head-on. This ethos of radical honesty became a guiding principle for Young, shaping timeless classics like “The Needle and the Damage Done” and the entire “Tonight’s the Night” album.

The Fiery Brother: Stephen Stills

Perhaps the most personal and complex name on the list is Stephen Stills. Their relationship is the stuff of rock and roll legend—a volatile, brilliant, and deeply intertwined partnership that fueled two iconic bands: Buffalo Springfield and the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. They were more than bandmates; they were musical foils, competitive brothers locked in a creative dance that pushed both to the height of their powers.

Their legendary “guitar duels” on stage were not just performances; they were conversations—sometimes arguments, sometimes celebrations—played out on six strings. Stills was a technically masterful and versatile musician, a multi-instrumentalist whose structured brilliance often provided the perfect counterpoint to Young’s more raw and unpredictable style. While their personal relationship was often fraught with tension, the musical chemistry was undeniable. Including Stills on this list is Young’s ultimate acknowledgment of that powerful, often difficult, but creatively essential bond. It’s a testament to the idea that the deepest inspiration can sometimes come from the one standing right beside you, challenging you to be better.

This list is more than a collection of names; it’s a self-portrait. In Dylan, we see Young’s reverence for the word. In Mitchell, his respect for fearless artistry. In Hendrix, his love for sonic freedom. In Lennon, his commitment to raw truth. And in Stills, the acknowledgment of the fiery, competitive brotherhood that forged his own legend. After all these years, the enigmatic Neil Young has finally shown us his hand, and in doing so, has given us a deeper understanding of the man and the timeless music he created.