Any suggestions for good obscure music?

for some reason, sufjan stevens reminds me of yanni.

He runs hot and cold for me, but I do like that particular song. Now that you've gone and polluted my mind with that thought, I'll never listen to him quite the same! :-I

Listened to Judith Owen once. Sounds promising. It will stay on the play stack for a few more for further evaluation. Good tip.

How about Sera Cahoone? A Seattle indie-folk type, sad and lovely songs, recordings might be better, but aren't offensive. "Only as the Day is Long" is a special disc. Definitely a lot more obscure than some of what is mentioned here, though she has lately been opening for Son Volt.

For Christian music, check out the excellent and somehow inexplicable Ollabelle.

Enthusiastically seconding (thirding?) Richard Buckner's "Bloomed," which has remarkable songwriting; among the alt.country classics. I've not warmed up to many of his other discs, though I admire his willingness to try new things. His on stage surliness if often remarked on.

John

"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.

I'll second a vote for Buckner's early work, especially Bloomed. Sorry you didn't click with Focault...for me I prefer his stuff over Buckner's, especially from a songwriting standpoint. Buckner's definitively darker overall. I'll check out archive and the further recommendations, Loomis...thanks!