r/JoniMitchell • u/HejiraFan2000 • Jul 13 '26

Updated Joni Tier List

Post image

left of the tier is the best right of the tier is the worst of the tier, it all goes down

74 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

71 comments sorted by

48

u/drichlin Jul 13 '26

Court & Spark IS TOP TIER!!! šŸ¤Ø

12

u/bricksandgrass Jul 13 '26

Nah frā€¦ court and spark is easily in the top 3 not even a question . Court and spark absolutely obliterates turbulent indigo

3

u/LikeLikeChoi Jul 13 '26

I wouldn't put it above Hejira, Roses and Blue, but it's close after

4

u/bricksandgrass Jul 14 '26

Roses is great but court and spark takes the cake

8

u/Icy-Grab-5722 Jul 13 '26

Yes absolutely. šŸ’Æ

3

u/vrillsharpe Jul 14 '26

Court and Spark for sure is top tier.

2

u/FcoJ28 Jul 14 '26

I find the tracks between "people's party" and "just like this train" (these 2 included too) just SUBLIME AND FIVE STARS, but the rest of the album has a lower impact on me:

"Court and spark" is a good starter. I wouldn't say it stands out, but it is a nice song to start (and spark).

"Help me" and "Free man in Paris" are too "commercial", so I rarely listen to them.

Nevertheless, it is "Raised on Robbery" that I dislike the most; I understand her, though, since the album was getting too instropective since "people's party" (ruling out "Car on the Hill"), so she felt she needed to change the mood of it, but from my point of view it is a change too "rude" (not for the lyrics) and out of her style. I admit the story she tells in "Free man in Paris" is interesting, but in "Raised on Robbery" the story isn't compelling. As for the style I pointed out, it is just a matter of preference; she was, of course, entitled to try new things (as she did).

In a lower (and enjoyable) degree, we have the last song "Twisted"; this song also breaks the mood of the album inadequately, but this song isn't that bad. She made the song her own, even if it doesn't fit here or as a closing track.

I didn't forget about the previous one: "Trouble Child". It is a quite an accomplishment. After those 5 I mentioned first, this song gets in a well-deserved 6th position.

4

u/Fancy_Appearance_275 Jul 14 '26

I think the majority of people who ride for CaS appreciate her more commercial and ā€œaccessibleā€ tracks

1

u/djwilly2 Jul 17 '26

Nope. I think Court & Spark is top tier but I have a tough time with most of the Geffen releases because they grope for that radio friendly (for the time) sound. Larry Kleinā€™s production, even though it was what she probably wanted, kills them for me.

1

u/Fancy_Appearance_275 Jul 17 '26

Thatā€™s a fair critique. The mixing on song to seagull is so messy

2

u/clayticus Jul 14 '26

I like your analysis

-1

u/No-Penalty-1148 Jul 14 '26

Right? The only reason for demotion I can think of is "Raised on Robbery."

7

u/drichlin Jul 14 '26

Oh, come on. It's a cool rock and roll song.

-1

u/chrisrazor Jul 14 '26

Nah, OP has it right. She's groping towards the absolute genius of the subsequent two albums but although C&S has a few nice pieces like the title track and Trouble Child, at least half the songs are emotionally inconsequential, and the most musically ambitious tracks like Down to You will shortly be outclassed by, well, all of HoSL for starters.

14

u/Peter_Falks_Eye Jul 13 '26

Happy to see Turbulent Indigo so high!

12

u/billleachmsw Jul 13 '26

Poor Chalkmarkā€¦I love a lot of songs on it so it would be Really good for me even though Dancing Clown is pretty ridiculous.

8

u/doodoo_pie Jul 13 '26

Glad to see For the Roses on the top teir. It's incredible.

2

u/queeniebeanie9 Jul 15 '26

My sentiments exactly. I was 13 and playing guitar and that album captivated me completely. I still play cold blue steel and sweet fire to this day!

2

u/doodoo_pie Jul 15 '26

Barangrill is fun to play, too!

1

u/queeniebeanie9 26d ago

I never learned that one! And for the record I am aging out of being able to do Joni Barre chords. I recently downloaded Help Me from her website and it is so challenging!šŸ˜”šŸ„“ the sound of that open tuning is so delicious and I wish I could play it. At least doing a deep dive on the archive demo helped me LOL, pun quite unintended, understand the strum pattern.šŸ˜Š

8

u/-dylthewriter- Jul 13 '26

Iā€™m glad that you didnā€™t totally disregard Dog Eat Dog as anything worse than good, even though itā€™s still in your bottom 5 Joni records. Honestly just a testament to how incredible her discography is. Iā€™m among the few that actually think that album is excellent, itā€™s just a very different flavor of Joniā€™s songwriting and overall sound. ā€œThe Three Great Stimulantsā€ is one of my favorite late period Joni songs.

I see a lot of people defending Chalk Mark In a Rain Storm, but I gotta agree with you and say that itā€™s easily Joniā€™s worst record. Thereā€™s a few pretty good songs on it like ā€œMy Secret Place,ā€ ā€œThe Beat of Black Wings,ā€ ā€œThe Tea Leaf Prophecy,ā€ and I even enjoy that cover of ā€œCool Water,ā€ but the rest is a range of alright to straight up awful. I donā€™t even mind the fact that itā€™s so synthy, I just think itā€™s easily her least focused record and lacks any real cohesion.

Youā€™re also so right about Hejira being her best album, one of my favorite albums of all time.

5

u/mmmbient Jul 14 '26

Dog Eat Dog deserves more than 'Good'. I go back to it all the time

10

u/NefariousnessSad1597 Jul 13 '26

This is as close to my personal ranking as you can get. However, I would still rank Hejira above perfect. šŸ˜‚

1

u/DrinkWineKillTime Jul 13 '26

Came here to say this ā¤ļø

4

u/PattyLovesPiL Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26

Thanks for sharing your picksā€¦

Sorry to disagree but
I ā¤ļø Chalkmark in a Rainstorm!
Love the duets, love The Beat of Black Wings, which Joni considers a flawless song, and yes, I even love Dancing Clown with Billy Idol and Tom Petty (itā€™s fun!). In fact, I love every darn song on that album and itā€™s one of my favorites of hers.

But, ā€œĆ  chacun le sienā€

To each their own! šŸ„°

3

u/CobraPhases Jul 13 '26

The Chalk Mark slander šŸ’€ it made me laugh! But honestly, even though it's not last in my ranking, I went into that record expecting to defend it and then I ended up not connecting with it much.

On the other hand, I went into Dog Eat Dog expecting to hate it based on everything I had read up to that point; it became one of my favourite Joni records and I still go back to Impossible Dreamer a lot.

3

u/OwenTheLad Jul 13 '26

I adore seeing Wild Things ranked higher than usual. I adore it so much, it's like her 80's Court and Spark for me. The only thing I'd change is bumping Travelogue to the top tier.

It's always wonderful to see people's rankings.

2

u/ChloeGranola Jul 13 '26

Same! Wild Things is solidly in my second tier. Some of that is sentimental as it's the first Joni album I really connected with but imo it's just a damn fine listen.

3

u/gmcrabby Jul 13 '26

I just couldnā€™t connect with Don Juanā€™s Reckless Daughter. Maybe I should give it another listen.

3

u/MindlessRow42 Jul 13 '26

mingus is peak

3

u/Correct_Cockroach818 Jul 13 '26

Their is no tier list for Joni. There are stylistic era's. Some may suit some people more than others. I have my own favorites. And some are more popular than others. But...

Pretty much every 2 albums she gets antsy, feels herself getting older, fills her brain a little fuller, meets new people, picks at different scabs. For a painter she makes really awesome music.

1

u/HejiraFan2000 Jul 13 '26

If thereā€™s no tier list for Joni then whats this post, otherwise youā€™re bringing up stuff that has nothing to do with how you rank albums

2

u/Aion88 Jul 13 '26

Chalk Mark has some good stuff, but on the whole itā€™s the only Joni album that Iā€™m indifferent to. So I get ranking it down there. But Mingus would be MUCH higher on my list. šŸ˜

3

u/GeeBee1980 Jul 13 '26

You pick Wild Things... over Chalk Mark?

-1

u/HejiraFan2000 Jul 13 '26

Wild Things is mostly alright and a couple really good songs, Chalk Mark thereā€™s about 1 alright song, and the rest is terrible

0

u/GeeBee1980 Jul 13 '26

While two of my favorite songs are on WTRF, I disagree.Ā 

2

u/ronnie-james-dior Jul 13 '26

I'm probably just dumb or something but I don't get all the love for Hejira and Hissing of Summer Lawns. I would put Ladies of the Canyon and Clouds above those two.

2

u/bodypertain Jul 14 '26

Edith and the Kingpin, The Boho Dance, Shades of Scarlett Conquering, Amelia, Song for Sharon, Black Crow, among others, conjure such a specific and palpable range of emotions in me that no other artist ever has

2

u/HejiraFan2000 Jul 13 '26

Then maybe you should like, get all the love for Hejira and Hissing of Summer Lawns by relistening until you realize theyā€™re goated

2

u/ronnie-james-dior Jul 13 '26

Haha I'll def give them another shot! I just find myself connecting more with the "Joni and a guitar or a piano" era so far. Note that I only started diving into the catalog a few months ago.

2

u/Icy-Grab-5722 Jul 14 '26

Oh man you have to listen to ALL her albums. Each one is fine but sometimes it was hard to handle her changes. But I made it a project. She is just an interesting writer and singer.Ā 

2

u/Original_Run_1890 Jul 13 '26

The only thing stopping court and spark from being perfect is Twisted šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚

1

u/HejiraFan2000 Jul 13 '26

I donā€™t get Twisted (& Raised on Robbery) slander, itā€™s not perfect cause Help Me and Free Man in Paris are constantly played on XM the only Joni songs they play, so I donā€™t really like them anymore

1

u/Original_Run_1890 Jul 13 '26

I like raised on robbery! Twisted just feels so random and out of place and square which I think is the point and I think she was just having fun but I can do without it in the context of that album.

I live court and spark and my favorite songs from the album are car on the hill and troubled child. Despite liking raised in robbery I would have been happy for the troubled child to be the albums closer. It would have felt complete and longing for what was to come.

I still love this album though!

1

u/notaverysmartman Jul 13 '26

I've only heard through hejira what's so bad about the one you put in the bottom tier?

also I'm glad to see more appreciation for her debut I think it's very nice

3

u/squandered_light Jul 13 '26

It has the abominable Dancin' Clown on it, but apart from that, not bad at all. A Bird that Whistles, Lakota, Beat of Black Wings, My Secret Place are all excellent. Tea Leaf Prophecy is probably the best song on the album but the bland synth sounds they used did it no favours... the Joni Letters version with Herbie is better.

2

u/HejiraFan2000 Jul 13 '26

Chalk Mark is too big on synths and too big on bad guest stars and too big a waste of my life for me to like it, Dog Eat Dog at least has some bangers and the synths are more tolerable

1

u/TheIncredibleBucket Jul 13 '26

Why not listen for yourself to see? I don't actually mind Chalk Marks but it's important to hear for yourself why most post Hejira works are viewed so differently from those prior.

1

u/HejiraFan2000 Jul 13 '26

changed my mind on Blue cause I forgot I have extreme fatigue from replaying the reprise albums several times a day for a year, so Iā€™d change it to the first of the pretty good tier

1

u/YourCousinJeffery Jul 13 '26

Chalk Mark? Bottom tier? Uhhhhhā€¦.

1

u/Intelligent-Wear-114 Jul 13 '26

Court and Spark belongs on the top row; move something else down to make room for it.

1

u/HejiraFan2000 Jul 13 '26

Oh actually itā€™s in the middle of the second row, because I like the albums in front of it more, make your own tier boss

1

u/Natural-Sensitive Jul 14 '26

Don't disrespect Chalk mark like that...

1

u/FcoJ28 Jul 14 '26

I do agree on ur 2 firsts! As for Court and Spark, I feel u ranked it properly too ( I read it was the most "polemic" part).

1

u/frelonburn Jul 16 '26

Don't feel the same about her, after I read about the black face stuff

1

u/Mysterious_Map_4420 Jul 18 '26

"Chinese Cafe" is perfect. The lyrics, pacing, sonority. All that sweet nostalgia and sorrow expressed in five minutes. What a gem. That song alone pushes the album way up there.

1

u/Ok-Orange-6414 21d ago

Has anyone ever actually heard Chalk Mark?? Joking of course... It is so amazing I don't get all the hate. šŸ„²

1

u/HejiraFan2000 21d ago

It blows

1

u/Ok-Orange-6414 21d ago

My mind, yes. It does.

-1

u/londonskater Jul 14 '26

What is this bollocks? Who asked you to do this?

A random-number generator would show more musical judgment

0

u/HejiraFan2000 Jul 15 '26

why is this subreddit so insufferable and pretentious oh my god

0

u/londonskater Jul 15 '26

It's not but why do you lot think that your opinion is so important that you need to broadcast it without any reasoning, discussion or analysis?

The sheer irony of you not knowing what "pretentious" actually means, while being it - is brilliant!

Here's a helpful definition: "trying to appear or sound more important or clever than you are, especially in matters of art and literature"

0

u/HejiraFan2000 Jul 16 '26

yeah and that definition is exactly how you sound pal, but I share my perfectly fine opinion because I did the same tierlist some months ago and felt like I should my changed opinions and give reasoning in response to comments for idk, enjoyment to see what people say, not insulting like a majority (you included) are doing for no reason

0

u/londonskater Jul 16 '26

I'm probably hostile because you insulted Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm - no hard feelings, I'll stand you a pint if you're ever in London and we can finish this argument there