8. Joni MitchellBlue
As a young Canadian, I was very aware of the Canada’s folk legacy. From Gordon Lightfoot to Neil Young. Of course, Joni Mitchell loosely falls into that broad category although her music is impossible to pigeonhole, really. Even as far back as Blue you could hear traces of jazz… oh, all sorts of things. Everybody seemed to have this album. It is one of those records that always seemed to hang in the air. The songwriting is sublime and has never dated. It is not a record that actually had any effect on the formation of Rush, but it was something that captured those times and can instantly transport me back there. I don’t know if it is her best album but it is certainly the one that cut through all the other music around. It is also very, very beautiful.
