What is Joni`s best album?

pero   2009-Apr-11 at 14:04:53 I am sure, that the best music was created in the early seventies. So i vote for the album "For The Roses" (1972). It is very creative, honest and tender with its piano, flute, acoustic guitar and horns.

BobNC   2009-Apr-11 at 14:45:46 It would be very difficult for me to pick only one album as Joni's best. She, unlike most any other artist, had such a long creative streak in the 70s. My vote would be "Blue." "Blue" would be followed by "Hejira" and "Court and Spark."

cali57   2009-Apr-13 at 23:33:18 Hejira.

prefabspr   2009-Apr-17 at 07:44:52 Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, Hejira

arden   2009-Apr-17 at 08:59:50 That's a difficult question! For the Roses (the guitar playing i really like), her most 'poppy' album? Court and Spark and off course Hejira (her masterpiece)! But i also like the others...;-) I can not choose...

Arabian   2009-Apr-17 at 20:02:28 it's too difficult but i would also say Hejira, followed by i don't know... maybe blue..

Zanobbi   2009-Apr-18 at 00:55:02 Hejira, Turbulent Indigo, For the Roses

Hendo   2009-Apr-18 at 03:31:09 Ladies Of The Canyon today , but same as best song, it will be another answer tomorrow.

TomBecker   2009-Apr-18 at 04:49:56 I'll say it again -- her first five albums are the best, in my opinion. "For the Roses" and "Ladies of the Canyon" are at the top of the heap, thematically, although "Song to a Seagull," and "Clouds" each have a unique impact and contain some of her very best individual tracks. I don't think "Blue" holds up quite as well as the others but it's not far behind. I'm tempted to classify "For the Roses" as Joni's very best album but it really depends on your mood. One day, a record will sound pretty good while on another day the same music will come off as absolutely brilliant. As for "Court and Spark," I couldn't stand it. People who knew next to nothing about Joni thought C&S was terrific and many of the so-called "experts" started singing her praises, you know, the schmucks with the cushy jobs who usually don't know their asses from a hole in the ground but constantly pretend that they are the only ones whose opinion really counts? After C$S, I didn't take Joni seriously for the next two or three decades, figuring she'd sold out and/or fallen under the spell of mediocre musicians who wanted to hop onboard the JM bandwagon instead of being full-fledged artists like her early colleagues were.  (edited: 2009-Apr-18 at 05:01:08)

ghanick   2009-Apr-18 at 20:06:11 Hejira, For The Roses, Turbulent Indigo

Zanobbi   2009-Apr-19 at 02:46:11 And I forgot the beautiful "Hissing of summer lawns"

ericfenby   2009-Apr-23 at 07:45:03 Mingus of course!

commiepetit   2009-Apr-29 at 07:34:03 Hejira and Mingus, but actually Shadows and Light is the best band ever playing live some of Joni's best songs, I would so much liked to be there...

avantgarde999   2009-May-01 at 11:11:22 I dunno...this is hard. I'll always be close to For the Roses as it was my introduction to Joni a la my dad's turntable. I'll never forget that powerful bang on the piano in the opening of Banquet accompanied by the fizzle and pop of a record. STOP DIGITALLY REMASTERING EVERYTHING!

Stu   2009-May-02 at 08:24:18 That could be the most difficult question ever. Every album is unique. But I sure can agree with avantgarde999 about the digital remastering and stripping out emotional frequencies.

MichaelToronto   2009-May-25 at 12:35:53 Hejira. The most literate and complete and mystical album. Best album ever made, bar none. Lately I'm in renewed awe at Joni's "hat trick": Court and Spark / The Hissing of Summer Lawns / Hejira. 3 years, 3 masterpieces.

eclipse128   2009-May-30 at 18:38:39 I always think of Joan Didion's SLOUCHING TOWARDS BETHLEHEM when I listen to "The Hissing of Summer Lawns." I love that album, but I have to say that Don Juan's Reckless Daughter is my current favorite.

leadfootmelvin   2009-May-31 at 04:19:53 For me "Summer Lawns" and "Hejira" are inseparable and timeless masterpieces of post-impressionism. Companion pieces to Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks" and "Desire". and that's four of my desert island discs in two short sentences!

fell2earth   2009-Jul-04 at 14:03:32 In my humble opinion, For The Roses is one of the best albums since recordings began. I guess I like to dig in and stir up the pain. But I'm not throwing Court and Spark, Chalk Mark, Songs to a Seagull, Blue or Night Ride Home under any bus anytime soon

lionhill   2009-Sep-07 at 12:59:06 For me it's "Hejira", followed by "For the Roses" and "Hissing of summer lawns".

jessehultberg   2009-Oct-17 at 06:23:40 I wonder if most artists feel like their best album is their most recent? Now that technology has eclipsed the idea of "albums", it's easy to imagine that a body of work comprising of 8 or 12 or 15 songs all tied together is a thing of the past. But it's clear that this mode existed and still remains despite how difficult it is to sell to a listening public. My favorite Joni Mitchell album is "For The Roses". It's the album I prefer listening to after all these years. I don't know if this is true but, to me, "For The Roses" shows us an artist who had already perfected a certain style on "Blue" and wanted to turn the page and experiment. "For The Roses" was a transition album. Transistions are always fascinating. I'm surprised to see so many of you choose it here too. It shows how intelligent Joni Mitchell's fans are.

johnburrill   2009-Nov-14 at 23:35:28 At the moment it's Blue. But who knows what it will be tomorrow or next year... they are all brilliant for one reason or another.