Editor’s Note: From Albumism’s inception back in 2016, we’ve remained unabashedly and unequivocally passionate about our mission of celebrating the world's love affairs with albums past, present and future.
But while our devotion to the album as an art form has remained steadfast, as evidenced by our deepening repository of individual album tributes and reviews, we’ve admittedly seldom taken the opportunity to explicitly articulate our reverence for the virtues of artists’ complete album repertoires as a whole.
Hence why we’ve decided to showcase what we believe to be the most dynamic discographies of all time in this recurring series. In doing so, we hope to better understand the broader creative context within which our most beloved individual albums exist, while acknowledging the full breadth of their creators’ artistry, career arcs, and overall contributions to the ever-evolving musical landscape.
We hope you enjoy this series and be sure to check here periodically for the latest installments.
JONI MITCHELL
Studio Albums: Song to a Seagull (1968) | Clouds (1969) | Ladies of the Canyon (1970) | Blue (1971) | For the Roses (1972) | Court and Spark (1974) | The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975) | Hejira (1976) | Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (1977) | Mingus (1979) | Wild Things Run Fast (1982) | Dog Eat Dog (1985) | Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm (1988) | Night Ride Home (1991) | Turbulent Indigo (1994) | Taming the Tiger (1998) | Both Sides Now (2000) | Travelogue (2002) | Shine (2007) | Readers’ Poll Results
Joni Mitchell is a rare bird. Not many start out a folk artist and find themselves working with a giant of jazz on his last LP. Charles Mingus requested Mitchell as a collaborator; Mingus wrote four of the 11 tracks and she wrote the lyrics, including a set for his famous standard “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.” A record full of experimental and minimalist jazz among other things, Mingus was released in 1979 and recorded in the months leading up to his death.
Mitchell’s discography is a microcosm of this one record—experimental, jazzy, unexpected, and shapeshifting. Few evolve as much as Mitchell has in her six decades as a recording artist. Her debut Songs to a Seagull (1968) is a quiet announcement. She would make waves with her second LP Clouds (1969) that includes her most famous song, “Both Sides, Now,” which was recorded first as a single by Judy Collins and released a year before Clouds came out. It’s since been covered by artists from Anne Murry to Jimmie Rodgers to Leonard Nimoy.
The 1970s is Mitchell’s most commercial and critically successful decade including Ladies Of The Canyon, Court and Spark, and her seminal 1971 LP Blue. By the second half of the decade Joni’s creativity would wander further away from folk and pop and into jazz and jazz fusion with The Hissing of Summer Lawns in 1975 and Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter in 1977. Perhaps this is the push she needed to say yes to Mingus, which would then trigger further collaboration with an array of musicians; her 13th LP in 1988, Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm, has a personnel including Willie Nelson, Peter Gabriel, Don Henley, Billy Idol, and Tom Petty.
Known for her impressive vocal range and unique guitar tunings, Joni Mitchell is one of the greatest songwriters of her generation. Mitchell only ever lived up to her own expectations and defied those of others. Her artistic output as a composer, musician, and painter is a legacy for any creative to aspire to. My favorite Joni Mitchell records are the most well-known, the ones my mother still sings along to: Blue, Court and Spark, and Ladies of the Canyon. But life is long, as is Mitchell’s discography, and I have a lot more time to explore her long, adventurous catalog.
Sarah’s 3 Favorite Joni Mitchell Albums of All Time:
1. Blue (1971)
2. Court and Spark (1974)
3. Ladies of the Canyon (1970)
VISIT Joni Mitchell’s Official Store
LISTEN & WATCH: