Smokylies.org

Thank goodness women other than Linda Tripp have been recording this year — and two of them have just released terrific new CDs. Long before there was a Lilith Fair, Joni Mitchell set the stage — and the creative standard — for women who wrote, played and sang their own songs.

Now, at 54, she’s produced “Taming the Tiger,” one of her strongest, most accessible albums in years. As always, Joni orchestrates her poetic, provocative lyrics with peerless jazz, pop and rock, but this time, she’s even got some upbeat numbers, like the wry “Happiness Is the Best Face-Lift” and the sexy “Crazy Cries of Love.”

Fellow Grammy winner Sheryl Crow, 36, has already sent her first catchy single, “My Favorite Mistake,” spinning toward the top of the pop charts. The rest of her new collection, “The Globe Sessions,” is equally infectious, including “You Don’t Bring Me Anything But Down” and the rocking “There Goes the Neighborhood.”

Don’t miss the unlisted, “hidden” track that appears after the 11th number: It’s a musical response to Kenneth Starr, deploring all the “allegations, interrogations, investigations and more taxation” and declaring, “You Waste My Time.” Neither of these artists will do that.

Song collection, creative, songs