There could be a gender thing going on (most of our standard evaluations of music are from men). The women I knew / know preferred Blue; I was more of a Court and Spark fan. I think the legacy of Joni Mitchell is still unresolved. Maybe in 10 or 20 years from now (I'll probably be dead by then), we may be able to understand the unique contributions of Joni Mitchell. Until then, it wouldn't hurt to give her works another listen or two.