For some artists, choosing a favorite album from their own discography is easy. For Stevie Nicks, it’s not. With a career that spans decades—six Fleetwood Mac albums, a beloved collaboration with Lindsey Buckingham, and eight solo records—it’s a daunting task to pick just one.
You could point to the classics: Bella Donna and The Wild Heart ruled the 1980s, and even lesser-known efforts like Trouble in Shangri-La (2001) and In Your Dreams (2011) have their defenders. Only Street Angel (1994) stands out as a project Nicks herself has criticized. But what does she consider her best work?
Surprisingly, Nicks once named her 2014 album 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault as the one she holds dearest. “I think that this is one of the best records I’ve ever made,” she said in a 2015 interview with MacLean’s. The record was built from unreleased demos she’d written in the 1970s and 1980s—lost gems that fans had only heard through bootlegs and unofficial uploads. Once those rough demos began circulating online, Nicks decided it was time to reclaim them.
“So they’re all starting from like 1969 maybe? I call them my 24 karat gold songs,” she told the Associated Press. She traveled to Nashville to give them new life, recording the material with fresh perspective, heart, and clarity.
One song she still wants to finish is called “City of Hope,” a tribute to her closest friend Robin Anderson, who died around the time Bella Donna was released. The name comes from the California hospital where Anderson spent her final days. “I spent a lot of time driving through the big sign that says ‘City of Hope’ when there was no hope,” Nicks recalled. “With a bottle of brandy and a gram of cocaine, thinking, ‘Please God, don’t let her die.’”
Though 24 Karat Gold may not have reached the commercial heights of her earlier work, for Nicks, it means more than just numbers. It’s a love letter to her past—a deeply personal album built from memories, pain, and resilience. And even years after its release, she still hopes to return to those vaults and share more.
