Where to find sidebar menu Object Tools I'm following tutor4u's tutorial on blender and he does something under Object Tools, specifically under Object, join. I can't find that on my blender 2.76b.

Attached is a pic of mine and his sidebars.
It looks like you may have something selected that isn't a mesh. Try deselecting by pressing A until nothing is selected, then select the meshes you want to join.