little known musicians we should hear


I know i'm missing out on some great obscure or relatively obscure music. please give me your recommendations. include anyone (or any lp) you love and recommend without reservation, if it may not be well known.

my short list would be:

alejandro escovedo-singer/songwriter/gtr player/band leader
the hank dogs - u.k. folkies w/ 2 albums
anne briggs - more folk from the u.k.
richie haven's new lp "the well" (if you ever loved any of his stuff, you need this!)
I just don't know any great obscure classical, jazz or rock...uh, the velvet who?

honourable mention:
"u.s. mombs" (my 16 yr old's a drummer. this is her thrash band. so sue me, I like seeing it in print)
tagyerit
The new Patricia Barber- Verse, Charlie Watts- Long ago & far away, yes the Stones drummer with a very smooth big band that is wonderful and the last cd you need to hear is Randy Waldman - Unreel. Barber's cd is in the same league as Cafe Blue. Charlie watts plays light drums and no he doesn't sing Bernard Fowler handles vocals. Waldmans cd is uptempo "hot" jazz, great sound on Concord Jazz.
If you like the blues, Little Toby Walker-Cool Hand (acoustic and alone) Kerry Kearney Band-Welcome to the Psychedelta (good mix blues, delta, rock-high energy stuff). Bought these recently on Long Island, NY after seeing them preform at a blues festival. Good stuff
Cheers
Ncarv, Towne Van Zandt is great! I think he did something with Steve Earl recently (maybe it was a tribute). A few others:
Osibisa (african "rock/jazz")
Colin James & the Little Big Band (two albums)
Laurie Lieberman -- she may be pretty well known
Government Mule -- they should be familiar, but just in case