"new country" music recomendations please

Roseanne Cash
Trisha Yearwood
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Beth Nielsen Chapman ("Sand and Water" is magnificent)

Some very good reccomendations listed here. All are enjoyable country music. However, very, very few of the artists and albums listed are along the vein of Mary Gauthier. For one thing most of the suggestions are country western, not the same style as Mary Gauthier.
Mary's life experiences with alcohol, drugs, prison, and unconventional sexual orientation, make her the real deal in the "I got drunk, went to prison, my dog died, my wife left me, etc." style of music.
It is the difference between listening to someone like Light'n Hopkins sing and play the blues, as opposed to some musician that is technically proficient but, never lived the life.
I'm with you, Aer, Miss Gauthier is something special. Go to her website and see if she has a live show coming near you. She is even better in person.

Julie Miller
Gillian Welch
Blue Rodeo
Garrison Starr
Kathleen Edward

Solomon Burke, Nashville
Richard Buckner, Devotion & Desire
Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez, Red Dog Tracks
Jesse Sykes, Oh My Girl
Hank III, Straight to Hell (it's pop country that H3 hates)

Check out Freakwater, especially 'Endtime' and 'Springtime'. Not sure why they are not better known. Maybe a little too edgy for most country fans.