“Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley

Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" is the version that turned a Leonard Cohen song into a hymn for a new generation. Cohen first put it out on Various Positions in 1984, to little notice. John Cale's 1991 reading brought it new admirers, and that version is the one that inspired Buckley to record it for his debut album, Grace, in 1994.

It's just Buckley, his guitar and that voice. Andy Wallace produced, engineered and mixed it, and wisely stays out of the way: the guitar rings clean and patient, and Buckley's singing floats, swoops and whispers, turning Cohen's song into something that sounds like a private prayer overheard through a wall. Every syllable is weighed; every breath counts.

It took its time finding its audience, the kind of recording people pass to each other like a secret. Rolling Stone later ranked it number 259 among the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and alternative radio has kept it close ever since.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.