Why would a car make a somewhat loud 'clunk' noise when accelerating from a stop?

if the car is rear wheel drive, sounds like a u-joint. If it is front wheel drive, sounds like a cv joint. It could also be your engine mounts wearing out. If the rubber insulation has worn out then the engine will shift slightly against the mount and make a clunking noise. This happened on my 96 Nissan Quest minivan.