Janis Joplin’s posthumously released album Pearl came out 50 years ago today (January 11), and it was an epic send-off to a once-in-a-lifetime singer who left this world all too soon.

Pearl was released about three months after Joplin’s death and would top the Billboard 200 album chart for nine weeks and go on to be certified four-times platinum.

There are so many classic songs from this album, but which one do you think is the best? In honor of the anniversary of Pearl, vote for your favorite song below!

9 Posthumously Released Albums Everyone Should Own

• Janis Joplin – ‘Pearl’

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  From the opening track of “Move Over” to the closing of “Get It While You Can,” this 'Pearl' is a diamond of an album.

• Otis Redding – ‘The Dock of the Bay’

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  Two months after Redding’s death via plane crash, we received this stellar album.  And that title track?  Simply a classic!

• John Lennon and Yoko Ono – ‘Milk and Honey’

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  Completed by Ono, 'Milk and Honey' was Lennon’s final studio release and came out four years after Lennon was murdered. The album featured the hit single “Nobody Told Me,” which was originally written for Ringo Starr to be included on his 1981 solo album 'Stop and Smell the Roses', but he ended up not recording the track.
• Marvin Gaye – ‘Dream of a Lifetime’

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  Gaye’s first posthumous release came out a year after his murder and featured the single “Sanctified Lady,” which hit number two on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart.

• Gregg Allman – ‘Southern Blood’

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  The most recent posthumous release on this list, Allman’s 'Southern Blood' was released four months after his passing. The album was made up of mostly cover songs but featured one original track with “My Only True Friend” that Allman wrote with Scott Sharrard.

• Johnny Cash – ‘American V:  A Hundred Highways’

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  The fifth installment of Cash’s American series, it became Cash’s first number one album in 37 years and featured one of the most haunting, cool versions of “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” that you’ll ever hear. 
• George Harrison – ‘Brainwashed’

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  Harrison’s final studio album came out about a year after he died and features tracks dating back to the late 1980’s.  It was completed by close friend Jeff Lynne and son, Dhani Harrison.

• Gram Parsons – ‘Grievous Angel’

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  Gram Parsons was only 26 when he died via an overdose of morphine and alcohol.  Four months later, his second solo album 'Grievous Angel' was released forever reminding fans what could have been.

• Roy Orbison – ‘Mystery Girl’

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  Like Redding, Orbison’s 'Mystery Girl' was released two months after his heart attack death and featured the hit single “You Got It.”

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