Joan Baez - Joan Baez

Released in 1960 on Vanguard Records, this self-titled debut is a foundational text of the American folk revival. Before the electric guitars and massive festival stages, there was just Joan, her acoustic guitar, and a voice of stunning, bell-like clarity. The stark, high-contrast cover art perfectly matches the unadorned, traditional ballads inside, like 'Silver Dagger' and 'House of the Rising Sun.' Spinning this original pressing is a hauntingly intimate experience; it feels like sitting in a quiet Cambridge coffeehouse, watching a 19-year-old visionary change the course of modern music.