Joni Mitchell – Blue
I only got into this record in the last year. Weird, I know, but I just missed it until very recently. Weirdly, I feel like she and I have such a similar melodic sensibility. What guides the melody is pure energy and affect – it's so unrestricted and free. Also, I love how she moves so quickly from utter idealism about, say, love to pure disillusioned assertions about its impossibility. She is such an absolute legend. Also, I just moved to California, so 'California' is pretty cute to me. I actually played this record during the move. Before then I was just oblivious to her work. There's a really childlike joy in the way that Joni Mitchell sings, she's just really playing. That's cool.