10 Essential Stephen Stills Songs In Chronological Order

Stephen Stills Songs

Photo: Eva Rinaldi from Sydney, Australia [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Our 10 Essential Stephen Stills Songs list examines Stephen Stills’s career and attempts to pick out a few chestnuts from all aspects of it. Like our David Crosby list, we will examine Stephen Stills’ solo albums, his work with Crosby Stills Nash & Young, and his earlier band Buffalo Springfield. This is by no means a definite list of Stephen Stills’s songs but rather just a sneak peek at some of the most essential songs he has released throughout his 50-plus-year career.

Our 10 Essential Stephen Stills songs list is placed in chronological order. This was tough because Stephen Stills had so much success in the late 1960s and early 1970s with Buffalo Springfield, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and his solo career. We could have filled a list of the top 50 Stephen Stills songs from just that early five-year period. However, Stephen Stills has continued to write and record songs up to 2017. So, we have spread this list out over the years in the best way we could while limiting it to ten. Stephen Stills wrote every song in this list.

# 10 – For What It’s Worth

We open our 10 Essential Stephen Stills Songs list with a legendary song written by Stephen Stills when he was a member of Buffalo Springfield. The great Stephen Stills song “For What It’s Worth” was released on Buffalo Springfield’s second pressing of their debut album, Buffalo Springfield, which was released in 1966. The song “For What It’s Worth” was released initially as a single and added to the album on the second pressing.

“For What it’s Worth” was a massive hit for Buffalo Springfield in 1966, reaching the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Interestingly, every song on Buffalo Springfield’s debut album was written by Stephen Stills or Neil Young.

# 9 – Four Days Gone

Buffalo Springfield released three studio albums before the band broke up. In 1968, Stephen Stills left the group to form Crosby Stills and Nash. Richie Furay formed POCO with Jim Messina, who would later join Kenny Loggins as part of Loggins and Messina. Neil Young became essentially Neil Young. We would have loved to have chosen more Stephen Stills songs from Buffalo Springfield for our Stephen Stills songs list, but we had so much more to cover, which limited our choices. Our second choice was released on Buffalo Springfield’s final album entitled Last Time Around. The great song “Four Days Gone” also featured excellent lead guitar work by Mr. Neil Young.

# 8 -Suite: Judy Blue Eyes

If you had to pick one Crosby Stills & Nash sons that you could ever listen to again, tell me it would not be “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.” This incredible piece of music was written by Stephen Stills and released on the band’s debut album, Crosby Stills & Nash. The album was released in 1969. the song “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” was released as the second single from the album after the release of “Marrakesh Express” as the band’s debut single.

Stephen Stills‘ “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” was exceptionally long for a single, clocking in at over seven minutes. Nonetheless, the song was a top 40 hit, peaking at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became a staple on FM radio, becoming one of the most-played classic rock songs ever.

# 7 – Helplessly Hoping

Stephen Stills’ song “Helplessly Hoping” was also released on the Crosby Stills & Nash debut album. The song was placed as the b-side to the album’s debut single, “Marrakesh Express,” written by Graham Nash. From an arranging point of view, Stephen Stills dominated that album as he was responsible for almost all the record’s guitar, bass, and keyboard parts. Dallas Taylor played drums, and Crosby & Nash added some guitar parts here and there, but in the end, most of the instrumentation on the album was performed by Stephen Stills.

# 6 – Carry On

Neil Young joined Crosby Stills & Nash in 1970 to form the quartet Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The four brilliant musicians would record their first album together entitled Déjà Vu. Choosing whose songs got recorded and released between these four brilliant musicians and songwriters must have been tough. Stephen Stills got three of his songs recorded for the album, including one he co-wrote with Neil Young. The album’s opening track was written by Stephen Stills entitled “Carry On.” The song was released as the fourth single from the record.

# 5 – Love The One You’re With

While Crosby Stills, Nash & Young were enjoying tremendous success with their work together on record, the four talented musicians were also celebrating the releases of their solo albums. In 1970, Stephen Stills released his first solo album entitled Stephen Stills. The album’s leadoff track and first single, “Love The One You’re With,” became Stephen Stills’s most successful solo single. The song reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. One could not turn on the radio in the early 1970s without hearing Stephen Stills’ “Love The One You’re With.”

Stephen Stills‘ first solo album featured an incredible cast of musicians. Two of the greatest guitar gods of all time, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, played on some of the album’s songs. Ringo Starr, Booker T. Jones, Rita Coolidge, David Crosby, and Graham Nash also performed on the record.

# 4 – It Doesn’t Matter

The great Stephen Stills song “It Doesn’t Matter” was released on the album Manassas, which was also the name of the new band Stephen Stills band in 1972. The group recorded two albums from 1972 to 1973. While hardcore Stephen Stills and Crosby Stills Nash & Young fans are familiar with Manassas, the group has not gotten the recognition it deserves on a more massive scale in classic rock history. The group consisted of Stephen Stills, Chris Hillman, Al Perkins, Paul Harris, Dallas Taylor, Calvin Samuels, and Joe Lala.

“It Doesn’t Matter” was released as the album’s single. It registered on Billboard’s Top 100 but peaked at number 61. The song was written by Stephen Stills, Chris Hillman, and Rick Roberts. “It Doesn’t Matter” opened side three of the two-record set.

# 3 – Dark Star

In 1977, Crosby, Stills, and Nash released their second album as a trio. It had been eight years since the band released their debut album in 1969. Of course, there was Déjà Vu. with Neil Young in 1970, but the release of CSN in 1977 was surprisingly only the second album the trio had released together. Stephen Stills’ song “Dark Star” opened side two of the record. It was never released as a single, but it was a fan favorite instantly.

# 2 – Isn’t It So

Stephen Stills’ song “Isn’t It So” is the first Stephen Stills song on this list that was not released in the 1960s or 1970s. That’s not to say that Stephen Stills did not continue to release great music from the 1980s on. It defines the incredible body of work that Stephen Stills was responsible for in the 1960s and 1970s.

“Isn’t It So” was released on the Stills Alone album. The record was released in 1991. While bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden were releasing dark music that captivated the rock and roll scene, Stephen Stills was going it alone. Just Stephen Stills on a guitar with a handful of great songs sung in that legendary voice. Keeping it real, keeping it simple and keeping it great.

# 1 – Judy

We close out our 10 Essential Stephen Stills songs list with a great song from his album Everybody Knows. The album was released and billed as Stills & Collins. It was the first time that Stephen Stills and Judy Collins ever released an album together. The album was released in 2017. The song “Judy,” represented the second time Stephen Stills composed a song about Judy Collins, the first being Suite: Judy Blue Eyes. It is the perfect way to bookend our 10 Essential Stephen Stills songs list,

Updated January 11, 2024

16 Comments

  1. Avatar Dan Davis May 3, 2020
    • Avatar D May 5, 2020
  2. Avatar Steve Nakamoto May 4, 2020
  3. Avatar Anonymous May 4, 2020
  4. Avatar The Osc May 4, 2020
  5. Avatar Anonymous May 4, 2020
    • Avatar Brian Kay May 4, 2020
  6. Avatar rus May 4, 2020
  7. Avatar Michael Brito May 5, 2020
  8. Avatar Jef May 6, 2020
  9. Avatar Peter G July 21, 2021
  10. Avatar Anonymous July 21, 2021
  11. Avatar harry July 21, 2021
  12. Avatar TC July 23, 2021
  13. Avatar Ed July 23, 2021
  14. Avatar Anonymous January 14, 2024

Add Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Nine Inch Nails songs
Top 10 Nine Inch Nails Songs
Randy Newman Songs
Top 10 Randy Newman Songs
Dashboard Confessional Songs
Top 10 Dashboard Confessional Songs
Fountains of Wayne Songs
Top 10 Fountains of Wayne Songs
Eagles Albums
Picking Out Our Favorite Eagles Albums
George Harrison Albums
Our Favorite George Harrison Albums
Electric Light Orchestra Albums
10 Electric Light Orchestra Albums Everyone Should Own
Stevie Nicks Albums
Top 10 Stevie Nicks Albums
Monsters of Rock Cruise 2024: Day Five Review
Justin Hawkins of The Darkness Monsters Of Rock Cruise 2024: Day Four Review
Monsters Of Rock Cruise 2024: Day Four Review
M3 Rock Festival Is Back For 15th year! May 4 & 5 In Columbia, MD
Monsters of Rock Cruise 2024: Day Three Review
Russell Marsden Interview
An Interview With Russell Marsden of Band Of Skulls
Jeff Fabb of Black Label Society Interview
An Interview With Jeff Fabb of Black Label Society
Joey Vera of Armored Saint: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview
Mel Gaynor Interview
An Interview With Mel Gaynor, Formerly Of Simple Minds
Ace Frehley Albums
Complete List of Ace Frehley Albums And Discography
Status Quo Albums
Complete List Of Status Quo Studio Albums And Discography
Phantom, Rocker & Slick Albums
Complete List Of Phantom, Rocker & Slick Albums
Paul Young Albums
Complete List Of Paul Young Albums And Discography
Music CDs Comeback
Why Music CDs Have No Chance Of Making A Comeback
Classic Rock Bands Still Together But Overdue For A New Album
Classic Rock Bands Still Together But Overdue For A New Album
When Glam Bands Went Grunge In The 1990s
When Glam Bands Went Grunge In The 1990s
25 Most Famous Female American Singers Now!
25 Most Famous Female American Singers Now!
11 Tracks Of Whack Album Review
Walter Becker – 11 Tracks of Whack Album Review
Sammy Hagar Album Review
Why Sammy Hagar’s 1977 ‘Sammy Hagar’ LP Was One Of His Best
Grand Funk On Time Album Review
Looking Back At Grand Funk Railroad’s Debut Album ‘On Time’
Ghost Writer Album Review
How ‘Ghost Writer’ Turned Us On To The Music Of Garland Jeffreys