Folk/Rock choices that are well recorded

Second some from Tom Russell. I'm not familiar with all his work but I have and really like "The Man From God Know's Where" and "Modern Art," very well recorded and good tunes, but "Hotwalker," while very interesting and a good listen, is more of a spoken word narrative that you would not listen to very often. Worth a listen but borrow a copy or buy it used.

John Prine's albums are usually very well recorded. The early stuff on vinyl is very good too.

David Grisman and Jerry Garcia put out a series of folk/blugrass/country/old time music albums that are very good.

We showed you ours now you show us yours Canuck.
Doc Watson. Let me repeat that, Doc Watson. Everything I have is on vinyl but some of the finest music ever recorded and some are very high fidelity. The finest flat picker on the planet and compelling vocals. Buy all that you can find.

Guy Clark is usually listed in the country section but I would call him a singer/songwriter in the folk tradition. A true genius with the pen and a great performer. Start with "Boats to Build" for great songs and sonics. His duets with Emmylou Harris are mesmerizing, most duets with her are. One of my favorite albums of all time.

Townes Van Zandt, maybe not show off your stereo fidelity but great, great music. The 4 CD set "Texas Troubador" has 8 of his albums and pretty much covers his best work.

Ones that I've been impressed with musically and sonically recently include:

Dave Alvin's Ashgrove and his earlier Blackjack David

Katy Moffat's Angel Town and Loose Diamond CDs

Gillian Welch's Soul Journey

Lucinda Williams new Live @ The Fillmore is very good for a live recording

And, I agree, Tom Russell's recent CDs are excellent.

One that is old but an excellent recording - not to mention great music - is Peter, Paul and Mary. Their self-titled first album is one of the better recorded I have and the CD is first rate too!

Here is another vote for Tom Russell. When I describe his style to others I tell them to think "Harry Chapin with a Southwest motif". My nomination for his best sound and overall performance would be "Borderland". In fact, I burned a compilation of Borderland and Modern Art (four tracks)and gave it to my local hi-end dealer. They were so blown away they now use it to demo their showcase system (Wilson Grand Slams, VTL Siegfried mono blocks, and of course, a dcs stack).

You might take a look at Nickel Creek- some of it freaks me out with its "fusion-ness" but some is really great.