Any suggestions for good obscure music?

if you like folkie stuff, check out the third party, by jules shear. probably the worst selling record in major label history, it features extremely good songwriting (shear is a renowned songwriter who has written hits for cyndi lauper, the bangles, etc. and the subject of many of ex-wife aimee mann's bitter daitribes) w/ just one guitar and one voice; also has the chordsand lyrics transcribed in the liner notes, which is kind of a nice bonus. very engaging stuff.

i've also been listening to the epynonymous cd of a guy named john davis, who's the majordomo of the successful power poppers, superdrag. apparently, he was driving drunk one night when he found god and decided to make a "christian" record. now, no disrespect intended, but normally i'd rather swap spit with satan than listen to this genre, but the damn thing is beautiful--sorta like a lost brain wilson masterpiece--really really tuneful stuff. and obscure.

my final rec in the quietcore dept. is the live album by mark kozolek, called (unsurprisingly) mark kozolek live. he's the czar of a couple of critically-revered bands, red house painters and sun kil moon (well worth checking out); this disc is just him and a bunch of great songs. he's an estimable guitarist and a great, idiosyncratic singer sort of in the vein of a less depressive nick drake/elliott smith. like the above picks, this has the loomis seal of approval.

jax2--i'll definitely check out your alexi murdoch. i'll also throw out two more, than shut up:
1. richard buckner--devotion and doubt. a real twisted puppy, once described as sounding like uncle tupelo on a bad day; really pretty, tuneful, strange folkish/vaguely countryish stuff.
2. david kilgour--revered in new zealand, but largely unknown here; plays a sort of jangly, melodic, velvet underground electric pop not too far removed from early rem or yo la tengo. his earlier bands, the clean and the great unwashed are also great.

cheers from the jungle.

for some reason, sufjan stevens reminds me of yanni. foucault is on my ever-expanding list
i saw richard buckner playing outdoors on a saturday afternoon at the taste of chicago fest. he started out with a lengthy, obscene, unintentionally hilarous tirade about having to play next to a country line dance exhibit. he proceeded to play a brilliant hour long solo electric set, then simply walked off stage, further bewildering his audience. not the gregarious sort, i guess, though i've actually met him and he was very gracious.

"bloomed" is vg, albeit more conventional than buckner's later stuff, which can really get embedded in your brain if you let your guard down.
at jax2's suggestion, i did listen to some live stuff from jeffrey focault (on archive.org, the greatest website in the history of the world); he's good but didn't really grab me, perhaps because the songs weren't particualrly distinctive. however, while on the site i found some live shows by blitzen trapper, which are great. these guys really sound like the second coming of buffalo springfield or workingman's dead, with instantly memorable songs and that whole hippie vibe--one of the very few recent bands that are actually writing classic tunes instead of merely recreating a sound.
while browsing around, you might also check out low, from minneapolis (really pretty, quiet intense slowcore), mogwai (hypnotic guitar instro stuff from scotland) kevn kinney (ex-southern rocker turned folkie; sharp material, very tight playing and a lot of life).
keep the suggestions coming. back to work.