1970 Soft Rock Hit Ranked 'Best Sad Song' of All Time

With so many songs about heartbreak, it's nearly impossible to name the greatest sad tune of all time. However, TimeOut magazine did just that and released a list of the "50 best sad songs ever written."

The ranking, published in September 2024, featured melancholy melodies like Mary J. Blige's 2005 hit "Be Without You," 2015's "Death With Dignity" by Sufjan Stevens, "Trouble" by Cat Stevens from 1970, "Brick" by Ben Folds Five, released in 1997, Leonard Cohen's "Famous Blue Raincoat" from 1971, "The Boxer" by Simon & Garfunkel from 1970, and "Strange" by Celeste, released in 2019. The list's top five songs included Sinéad O'Connor's 1990 cover of "Nothing Compares 2 U," Johnny Cash's 2002 cover of "Hurt," 2019's "hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have – but I have it" by Lana Del Rey, andJoni Mitchell's 1966 classic "Both Sides Now."

Neil Young's 1970 hit "Only Love Can Break Your Heart," featured on his acclaimed album After the Gold Rush, secured the ranking's top spot.

Graham Nash Shared Details About 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart'

According to Young's Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young bandmate, Graham Nash, the 1970 song regarding heartbreak was possibly based on his and Mitchell's 1970 split. In an interview with Uncut magazine, Nash stated, "That song means a lot to me because Neil wrote it about me and Joni."

"It's such a beautiful song. I knew it was about me the day Neil played it for me at [Stephen Stills'] house in Laurel Canyon. It's a beautiful song and it was incredibly important for me to hear what Neil had said because he was dead right, it is only love that can break your heart. We are strong, mankind, but these love things can really trip you up. He was only 24 when he wrote that. It's incredible how prolific he was," said Nash, now 84, during the Uncut interview.

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This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 3:27 PM.