Dark Chords on a Big Guitar is the twenty-fourth studio album (and twenty-sixth overall) by Joan Baez, released in September 2003.

The album is more rock-oriented than her prior releases, and it is mostly composed of work by Generation X songwriters, including Natalie Merchant, Ryan Adams and Steve Earle.

The title was taken from a line in Greg Brown's song "Rexroth's Daughter".

Critics and listeners were surprised that Baez's voice had lost little of its original power and beauty[citation needed], given that she was sixty-two when she made the album.

The album, produced by Mark Spector, was recorded at Allaire Studios, Shokan, New York, from January to April 2003.