What are her best albums, or where should I start with her?

Condition of the heart and Dorothy parker are two of princes finest songs IMO.
I love these super melodies.

I don't know where to start with her.

Well, I got into Joni strictly from Prince's name dropping during some interviews I read (just like I did with the Cocteau Twins). I was 14 when I bought the "Miles of Aisles" CD, and I was hooked as a fan from the first listen. I didn't realize when I bought it that it was a live album. Usually, it's hard to "get into" an artist from listening to a live album, but I think this one is an exception. I like the live versions of all of the songs on this disc more than the studio versions, especially "A Case of You".

The thing with Joni is that her albums are stylistically varied (much like Prince's), so if you find that you like her, be sure to give each new album repeated listens before you dismiss it. I absolutely HATED "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" the first time I played it, but now it's one of my favorite albums of all time.

But again, I say buy "Miles of Aisles" first. It will give you a good overview of some of the best-known work from her early years. This album was recorded during a period when Joni was growing from a "folky" sound to playing with a jazz band, so you get the best of both worlds--some of the acoustic folky stuff that she was famous for and some jazz-influenced stuff that would define her sound in the coming years. If none of the songs on this album makes a Joni fan out of you, none of her albums will.

Any other Joni fans wanna back me up on this one?
[Edited 4/3/07 20:46pm]

Dupe post. Oops.
[Edited 4/3/07 20:39pm]

I agree with PicassoFace about that Miles of Aisles album! I remember that live album well too and it was released at a time when she was at her commercial peak. But the Court & Spark album is the album that really got me hooked to her work. So these some albums you should get in first:


Court & Spark


Miles of Aisles


The Hissing Of Summer Lawns


Hejira


Don Juan's Reckless Daughter

thanks guys

An obvious choice is to get "BLUE". I guarantee you wont be disappointed

Blue is my favorite and it features "A case of you"

Blue & Court and Spark

I'm one of the few advocates around here for her earlist folk stuff like Song to a Seagull, Clouds and Ladies of the Canyon.

Those are my faves.

GangstaFam said:

this is where I started
and from there I went to
Hejira, then Hissing, then Don Juan's...
and then Blue

When I started getting into her music I started with HITS just to get a feel of her variety of work. From there I bought her stuff at random.

I bought these in this order:

HITS
Shadow and Light
Court & Spark
Hejira
MISSES
Hissing of Summer Lawns
Miles of Aisles
Don Juan's Reckless Daughter
Clouds
For the Roses
Mingus
Wild things Run Fast

I don't have Songs to a Seagull, ladies of the Canyon or Blue but that's still to come.

This is what you need, right here. Get those and then you can work your way out:

silverchild said:

I would recommend:

Turbulent Indigo

Hejira

Hissing of Summer Lawns

and my FAVORITE record, period, Don Juan's Reckless Daughter

thanks alot 4 the advice, fellas