What’s your favorite song? I’m looking to expand my JM catalog.
Been listening to early Joni Mitchell for 30 years now and I never get tired of it. Not a big fan of her later stuff (and by later, I mean post-1975).
I love the first four albums, but the first two the most.
What do you already know?
The three MP3s I have are Both Sides Now, Help Me, and Big Yellow Taxi. I was looking to buy some more, but don’t want to buy whole albums.
Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire, no, People’s Parties, or Cactus tree, wait, Carey, but then there’s Chelsea Morning (did you know Chelsea Clinton was named for that song?) oh! oh! Free Man in Paris.
Or any of these.
Sorry, I can’t decide.
You know, I have the feeling that if I do buy the whole albums I won’t be disappointed in the least bit.
Her voice is truly an instrument.
Big fan, here. I’ve seen her several times, from her hippie days to her tour for Court and Spark, where she looked like a lawyer in a three piece suit. Favorite songs:
Rainy Night House
I Had a King
The Gallery
Morning Morgantown
Song for Sharon
Court and Spark
Carey
Little Green
Urge for Going
There’s a lovely recording of her 1970 concert with James Taylor, at the Royal Albert Hall, floating around. They sing a duet of Close Your Eyes that is transcendent. Great stuff.
Seriously, reconsider this idea.
As albums, the tracks work together as a whole. On Song to a Seagull, there isn’t a single track amiss, and nor is there one on Clouds. Blue tells a wistful story (though there is one dodgy Christmas song on it). Really, get the albums - they’re really cheap on iTunes.
Based on that, I’d recommend:
Chelsea Morning
The Gallery
Carey
California
Free Man in Paris
You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio
Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire (interesting blend of sweet, breezy music and dark, grim lyrics)
In France They Kiss on Main Street
Most of these were radio hits, either Top 40 or FM-progressive. Unlike jjimm, I’m a huge fan of Joni’s later, jazzier and more exploratory music, but it’s pretty different from the songs you mentioned.
ETA: Wow, the tide turned while I was writing that post. They’re right. Get the albums.
I enjoy her live collection, Miles of Aisles, recorded with Tom Scott’s band. I was at one of the shows from which it was compiled.
For studio stuff, I like Blue and Court and Spark best.
I’m not a fan, but I liked a lot of her stuff. My favorite has always been “A Case of You.”
I’m not familiar with her music post-1974 or so. I’ve heard (and I guess read on this thread) that it’s jazz-oriented. Overall, I’m not.
Fan here. Saw her interviewed. Laments production influences on artistry. Favorite: Big Yellow Taxi.
Circle Games makes me cry every time. I remember little Kid Kalhoun saying, “Mommy! Play the Painted Ponies!!”
Big yellow taxi
Woodstock
Carey
Circle game
Raised on robbery
Twisted, Court and Spark, Circle Game
If you want to try one example of her later jazzier stuff, try downloading Coyote. Bass god Jaco Pastorius was on this and most of her tracks in those days.
I like both early Joni and Pastorius-era Joni, but for different reasons… the former because I’m an old hippie and the latter because of the jazz influence.
Acccording to my iPod, my favorite Joni Mitchell songs are “Carey,” “Coyote,” “Free Man in Paris,” “Goodbye Porkpie Hat” (actually a Mingus tune with her lyrics), “Furry Sings the Blues,” and “You Turn Me On I’m A Radio.” Ah, objectivity.
Coyote.
I agree with getting any of her earlier albums, to start with anyway. One of my favourites is For the Roses.
Are you referring to River? Although the lead-in is eight bars of (stylised) Jingle Bells, it’s a song about heartbreak, not Christmas.
As soon as you mentioned her name, I was humming “they paved Paradise - put up a parking lot…”
Quality singer. 
My favorite song of hers is Help Me from Court and Spark. It has a great bridge and Wilton Felder of the Crusaders plays bass on it (and the rest of the album, I think.) He actually is the saxophone player in the Crusaders but he plays bass on Court and Spark.