I refrained from mentioning Mark Heard because his CDs are so damn hard to find. But I'm crazy about Dry Bones Dance and Second Hand, and to a lesser extent Satellite Sky.
I'd like to also tell you about a kid I'm REALLY digging right now. His name is kyle. mcmahon & he is REALLY REALLY good. I first heard of him because he produced a track on the Tina Turner record in June & I went to his site: kylemcmahon dot com & was blown away by his songs!
I also really dig Mellissa Etheridge! She can go from Rock to singer songwriter, but boy, when she does, she just blows my mind!
Definitely give a listen to Patty Larkin. She's based in New England and is a phenomenal singer/songwriter in an alternative folk vein. Most of her CDs feature a full band, but if you want a taste of just how good she is pick up her live CD titled "A Gogo". It's an amazing recording of just Patty and her guitar in front of a live audience. Awesome.
Here's a link to it at Amazon with samples, although they have the title list incorrectly as just "Gogo".
I believe Paste Music is the only place you can buy Mark's cds new. I think his widow made an exclusive deal with them. I would try to get his discs from paste instead of ebay so his family will see some money from the sales.
Hey Chet, I dont think anyone has answered your question about anyone from the Archive so I will try and suggest a couple from there. Two that are head and shoulders above anyone else on there are Martin Sexton and Ryan Adams, both great in different ways, Martin performs alot buy himself and like most artist Ryan has a band. I also would second Ellis Paul, great songs with much humor in them. I will give you a short list of others you might like.
Hamel On Trial Luka Bloom David Bromberg Greg Brown Joe Ely Lyle Lovett John Hiatt Alejandro Escovedo Todd Snider Tom Waits
Try Michael McDermott. He can play lovely acoustic songs and he can rock out like few others, but always his lyrics are meaningful and his music beautiful. He just released a new album called Ashes which is terrific although I think his best album was the one before called Last Chance Lounge. Check out http://www.michael-mcdermott.com or http://www.pauperssky.com for more information if you're interested.
There's a guy from North Carolina called David Wilcox who is really good. While his shows are mostly just him and his guitar, he does branch out a bit on his albums. Some people have compared him to James Taylor, and in many ways I think that's accurate, but I think David Wilcox writes better and wittier lyrics overall. His songs (as well as his live banter between songs) seem to tell great stories about everyday topics and the joys and struggles of making it in this world. Check out his website (www.davidwilcox.com) for more.
*Note: I'm not affiliated with David Wilcox in any way, but I've posted his web address for the curious.
I went to one of his shows about 5 years ago, in all places, some sort of church. Nice songwriter, really good guitarist, and a good storyteller. His stuff is alright, but maybe a bit too James Taylor-esque for some
Some others: Rufus Wainwright (son of Louden) Sondre Lerch Jason Mraz (more pop than other, but still ok) Jamie Cullum Elliot Smith (RIP) Fiona Apple India.Arie (1st album much better than 2nd) Elvis Costello (though some might not classify him this way) Brendan Benson Jeff Buckley David Gray
And A couple of immortals Bob Dylan Neil Young Burt Bacharach Carly Simon Carole King Cat Stevens Jerry Garcia
I just saw a guy named Amos Lee opening up for Norah Jones. He was really good, just voice and guitar. He is also just about the wittiest guy with onstage banter I've seen too. I bought one of his CDs so he could tip the Waffle House waitress.
Ray Wylie Hubbard Guy Clark Townes Van Zandt Jon Dee Graham Kacy Crowley Nancy Griffith Jimmie Dale Gilmour Butch Hancock Ian Moore Bob Schneider Robert Earl Keen Billy Joe Shaver