For whatever reason, female musicians have dominated the past two decades in terms of the sheer number of talented, musically and lyrically, performers. The artists listed below have all been productive during their careers producing multiple worthwhile albums. I’ve selected two of the best by each artist, usually an earlier and a later album for those who’ve had longer careers.
The dates listed beside their names are those of their earliest and most recent album (not including concerts or compilations).
The name is a link to the AllMusic guides entry for an overview and discography for each.
They are grouped by a very general classification of musical genre. However they are all so stylistically versatile and talented as to defy a narrow genre label.
I’ve highlighted the 13 most strongly recommended artists and albums by using italics.
Jazz influenced:
Joni Mitchell 68-07 Blue (71), Hejira (76), Turbulent Indigo (94)
Rickie Lee Jones 79-09 Rickie Lee Jones (79), Evening of My Best Day (03)
Kat Edmonson 09-12 Take to the Sky (09), Way Down Low (12),
Suzanne Vega 85-07 99.9 Degrees (92), Beauty and Crime (07)
R & B, Blues influenced:
Bonnie Raitt 71-05 Takin’ My Time (73), Nick of Time (89)
Joan Osborne 95-08 Relish (95), Pretty Little Stranger (06)
Patty Griffin 96-10 1000 Kisses (02), American Kid (13)
Country influenced:
Emmylou Harris 75-11 Luxury Liner (77) , Wrecking Ball (95)
Rosanne Cash 79-09 King’s Record Shop (87), Black Cadillac (06)
Kim Richey 95-10 Bitter Sweet (97), Chinese Boxes (07)
Gillian Welch 96-11 Revival (96), Time the Revelator (01)
Diverse and eclectic:
Michelle Shocked 86-09 Short Sharp Shocked (88), Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (05)
Ani DiFranco 90-08 Not A Pretty Girl (95), Canon (07)
Erin Mckeown 99-09 Distillation (00), Hundreds of Lions (09)
Norah Jones 02-09 Feels Like Home (04), Not Too Late (07)
Country, R & B mix:
Lucinda Williams # 79-11 Lucinda Williams (88), Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (98)
Shelby Lynne * 89-10 Identity Crisis (03), Just a Little Lovin (08)
Mary Gauthier 97-10 Mercy Now (05), Between the Daylight and the Dark (07)
Rock & Roll tradition:
Chrissie Hynde 80-10 Learning to Crawl (84), Break Up the Concrete (08)
Sheryl Crow 93-10 Sheryl Crow (96), Detours (08)
Sam Phillips % 87-11 Cruel Inventions (91), Martinis and Bikinis (94)
K T Tunstall 06-10 Eye to the Telescope (06), Drastic Fantastic (07)
* Avoid pre-2000 # Recent albums disappointing % Different style after 2000
Please Send Comments/Questions to Neeedlesinthehaystack@gmail.com
needlesinthehaystack 
Leave a comment