Top 10 Best Songs by Janis Joplin

Released posthumously and her only number one hit. Written by Kris Kristofferson. It starts as a quiet country song and ends in a joyful jam. "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose." It's the story of two drifters hitchhiking through America. Janis sounds free, happy and wistful. A road movie in music form and her most beautiful legacy.

Her major breakthrough hit with Big Brother and the Holding Company. "Come on, take another little piece of my heart now, baby." It's the ultimate cry of self-sacrifice in love. She gives everything, even though it gets trampled. The raw energy leaps from the record. The song that made her a superstar.

Sung a cappella, recorded shortly before her death. It's a cynical prayer for material things: a car, a color TV, a night out. It's funny, bitter and prophetic. You hear her laugh at the end. It's a pure, unpolished moment that captures the essence of her hippie ideals (and the disappointment in them).

The title is what she does: cry. It's a blues-rock ballad where she comforts a man who comes back after a failed relationship. The ad-libs are phenomenal. "Baby, baby, baby!" She stretches the words into pure sound. It's intense, dramatic and vocally one of her most impressive performances.

The famous aria from Porgy and Bess, but as a psychedelic acid-rock trip. The guitars weave around each other. Janis sings it with unique phrasing, full of pain and longing. It's dreamy and nightmarish at once. A unique interpretation that shows how she could blend jazz and rock.

The blues classic by Big Mama Thornton, but Janis shredded it to pieces. Her performance at Monterey Pop Festival with this song made her famous overnight. She stamps, cries and begs. "It ain't fair." The guitar solos are messy and psychedelic. An explosion of emotion and skill.

A cover of an old musical song (Rodgers & Hart). It's soft, tender and heartbreaking. "Sit there and count your fingers." It's about loneliness and feeling like you don't belong anywhere. Janis sings it almost childlike and vulnerable. It shows the soft side behind the wild hair and feather boas.

A soul-rock song that pumps you up. The title says it all: she begs her beloved to do his best for the relationship. The energy is manic. Janis goes from whispering to screaming in seconds. The brass propels her forward. It's a song that always caused an explosion of sweat and passion live.

A soulful song with a large horn section. It's about existential loneliness and accepting that some things will never work. "Time keeps moving on." Janis sings it with deep, lived-in resignation. It's less hysterical than her other work, but equally moving. Soul music straight from the heart.

A song she wrote herself. It starts with a tight drumbeat and funky guitar. Janis sounds here tough and self-assured. She tells a wavering man to choose: join in or get out ("Move over"). It's energetic, bluesy and shows she wasn't just a victim, but a strong woman.