If you’re in a musical rut and need to change your tune here’s a list of my all-time 50 favorite singer/songwriters. I’ve linked to a live clip that’s a good representative song for each artist. Disclaimer: this list is HUGELY skewed towards male singers (in fact there’s only one female on the list) plus, yes I play myself and of course dig my own music so I’m on there. If you have any good suggestions to balance out this list with the female gender, please make recommendations. I’ve just rarely found female singers that I connect with. But I’m sure there are great ones out there – add them in the comments if you have suggestions!
Joe Purdy
Sean Tierney
Jose Gonzalez
Nate Stone
Greg Holden
Mat McHugh
Shane Alexander
Matt Costa
Griffin House
Rocky Votolato
Brett Dennen
Dustin Kensrue
William Fitzsimmons
Colin Hay
Chad Stokes
Jack O’Neill
Ryan Adams
Jeffrey Gaines
Howie Day
Teddy Geiger
Xavier Rudd
Damian Rice
Alexi Murdoch
Conor Oberst
Elliot Smith
Jeff Buckley
Ray LaMontagne
Glen Hansard
Angus & Julia Stone
Joshua Radin
Avett Brothers
Kevin Devine
Joseph Arthur
Mike Doughty
Adam Stephens
Ryan Miller
Brian Chartrand
Mark Kozelek
Misha Chellam
Andy Mckee
Cat Stevens
Nate Ruess
Justin Vernon
Todd Snider
Sam Beam
Nick Drake
Bobby Long
John Prine
Charlie Mars
Sean Hayes
This list can’t be complete – who is conspicuously missing and who are the female equivalents to these guys?
Adam, never heard Cary Brothers or M. Ward – I'll check them out. Thanks for headsup on 10/10 tour- hadn't heard of that either. I use iLike to get notified when bands I like are passing through Phx. Griffin is really good- did you see him at Rhythm Room that last time he was here?
BTW, two other guys I completely forgot about that belong on this list: Ben Harper & Tim Reynolds. Links for the sake of consistency:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVXFP89EeqU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3loMJQJBBE
Sean
You should listen to Kelley Stoltz http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelley_Stoltz
Suggestions via Twitter from @azbillboard
"I'd add Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges, Mississippi John Hurt, Doc Watson, Ry Cooder."
Did Cary Brothers make the list? M. Ward? Dig both of them. Check out the Ten out of Tenn tour when it comes through. Griffin House played on it a year ago…really good musicians, all of them. (Griffin is probably my favorite "undiscovered" guy on the list…super nice guy to have a beer with too.)
Just got a great new suggestion from my brother- Nico Stai. Check this guy out, he's killer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEziAx8kwCM
[…] 50 acoustic artists you need to know […]
A few great girls…
Patty Griffen – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jac5tXhMUrE
Alison Krauss – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jac5tXhMUrE
Mindy Smith – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-N0EVsTaA4
jack johnson!
Luka Bloom. He's one of my favorite (or maybe even my favorite) acoustic guitarist/artist.
Here's a link for my favorite song Delirious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrOM4lhqqyo
For the guitar geeks: he runs his guitar through a bass amplifier with a chorus effect and has his guitar tuned in a weird way (DADGAD). This explains his amazing sound
(BTW: sorry for my bad english, I'm dutch)
damien rice
david gray
faithless – dont leave
PAUL WELLER
Gavin Clark
Richard Hawley
Steve Pilgrim
Alexi Murdoch is amazing.
Agreed! Check out Amos Lee. He’s also a touch r&b. Fabulous studio and live!
Dallas Green (city and colour) needs to be added to this list hes such a talented man
AGREED!
Bring Me Your Love is my very favorite album! Also he is truly awesome live!
i am listening to him now. and i am teaching myself to play sleeping sickness. i may be young but i adore all of his stuff so much
Agreed
AGREED! h'es my favorite singer
AMEN, he needs to be on this list, at the very top
Uhhhh… Sorry, but last time I checked, Sigur Ros was more of a Post Rock band, not acoustic… >.<
Post Rock ??? Definitely acoustic..
Damien Rice and Ray Lamontagne are my heroes in songwriting.
I learned a lot from both of them. The swell Season?
Can you make the list some longer?
Jack Savoretti
jason mraz and jack johnson please add this on the lists :D
Try tyrone wells..
Yeah I love jack johnson's music what about andy mckee? He's good in acoustic also and that japanesse boy what was his name again?
wow….you totally forgot dallas green from alexisonfire. city and colour. amazing!!
What about otis taylor he is fantastic
Jesse Ruben. The Ones That Matter, best album of the year.
Ray lamontagne owns this list in my opinion, most underrated man in music.
Willy Porter, http://www.willyporter.com
Ani Difranco!
John Mayer
Women acoustic singers (some) that I love :
Rachael Yamagata
Rosi Golan
Ingrid Michaelson
Sara Bareilles
Carrie Newcomer
and many many more..! =) great list!I did my research on the names that i've never heard before…thank you for expanding my music library.
john mayer!
Laura Marling is incredible-woman acoustic guitarist!
If you haven't already, check out a guy by the name of Matt Andersen. Just incredible!
brendon urie
kevin devine
Awesome list. If I was to give an opinion Bret Dennen tops this list. My favourite, please also add Jack Johnson.
This is a really good list! I was excited to see so many of my favorite artists on it, getting the cred they deserve!
Awesome bands :)
Great to see Glen hansard on there. So talented that guy,
Jack johnson. Duh.
Cady Groves. Check her out! Amazing!
Jon Foreman – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOCZ3U3Znm8
joshua james should be up there
good to see purdy on top
Chase Coy
I'll like to add:
Jason Reeves; he is one of the best acoustic artists I've ever heard, and his lyrics are so relatable and hypnotising, I love him!
Amanda Seyfried; despite the fact she's only really sang one proper original song, she has a great voice and I love her song!
Secondhand Serenade; most of their tracks are acoustic and feature amazing harmonies and certainly are a joy to listen to!
Thanks!
SJ Acoustic "I Like You" is the best acoustic song out right now
http://sjacoustic.com
Jason Reeves should be on that list. He is simply amazing. He’s poetic, and down to earth. He should be more recognized for his music.
Iron and Wine :))
Ryan Keen – Thank You (and all others)
Bon Iver
Brandon Boyd
DAMION SUOMI*
Gavin Degraw
Jonny Craig
Jimmy Rankin
Matt Anderson
Sister Hazel
JEFF MAGNUM
aarron lewis
Wow. I can't believe you don't have Monte Montgomery on this list. A travesty indeed.
joshua radin is the best! but someone i have seen nowhere in the list or comments "the civil wars"
similar to the swell season (man woman duo)
Not musically amazing or anything, especially compared to some of the suggestions on here! but if you're looking to listen to somebody new to acoustic music and keen for critique, then you could always check out my page on youtube if you're feeling generous with your time. I'd actually be over the moon if you did!
http://www.youtube.com/brliam
Failing that, check out city and colour – Dallas Greens acoustic side project, its beautiful
wow thanks for opening my eyes to some new fellas, i have had about 4 hrs of great music so far and im only 10 down the list .. i have shared so much of this on fb and the responce is great :) .. i'd love to hear some great female voces too??
i would turn homosexual for jeff buckley’s music. PERIOD.
Just discovered Nate Stone in Flagstaff – added him above and bumping Lain Archer to comments: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMKiQ1lPZbM
fionn regan!
Matt Wertz & Dave Barnes are both really great acoustic acts. Check them out…
[…] see other guys like Nate (not necessarily from AZ) check this list I made awhile back. The Interwebs have apparently deemed it #1 google result for “acoustic […]
Jamie Varley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulz272b5Dmc&fe…
dallas green
Stornoway, British folk band. Pretty good!
Great compilation.
Love the ease of use with all the YouTube links
Ben Gibberd!!!!!!!
…errrrr, bob dylan?!!!!????
Dennis, I left off Dylan b/c I just assume everyone knows him as the godfather of acoustic (like leaving Einstein out when talking about great scientists). But thanks for giving him mention- he's the greatest.
Check out Trevor Hall and Ben Howard. How could you leave out Ben Harper?
Jamie, I actually had Ben Harper on the original list and he's amazing. I updated with newer, undiscovered artists since I originally wrote this and bumped him but you're right, he definitely belongs on here. Maybe it's time to expand to the "100 acoustic artists you need to know…"
excuse me people but why is jack johnson not there and also arman srsa http://www.armansrsa.com he is awesome
Dallas Green not being on their is an insult to music
And John Butler for that matter!
Gabrielle Aplin is incredible. I don't think anyone could NOT connect with her. You can feel her passion when she sings, and it feels amazing.
Amber, thanks. Will check her out. I've gotten into Adelle lately- she's pretty amazing and worth a listen if you haven't heard her album yet.
Tobias Holenstein!
Where is Never Shout Never? :/
In any acoustic listing, how can Gordon Giltrap ever be missed out?????
Um… Where…the….HELL is Elliott Smith!? He was one of the most underrated songwriters that ever lived! Check out his music! You won't be disappointed! :)
Birdy … 15 years old.. voice will blow your miind ('without a word' , 'shelter')
http://www.youtube.com/tribeofdanvideo
One of the best out there
Why Mat Kearney is not on the list?
Please check out Turin Brakes. Okay, technically there are two of them (Olly and Gale) so maybe outside your criteria, but the songwriting is to die for!
Also, KT Tunstall has written some fabulous acoustic based material.
Ray Lamontagne. incredible.
Amos Lee
John Mayer? Ed Sheeran?
Elliot Smith is in there, only the greatest ever. But rythm guitar? ummmm how about some Jack Johnson? Can he get some love?
Matthew Jones Perry
Benjamin Francis Leftwich
Females: Jennah Bell and Madi Diaz
Guys missing:
Lior
Damien Jurado
Dylan LeBlanc
Donovan
Bon Iver
Jeffrey Foucault
Jesse Younan…Just to name a few
The ladies…
Joni Mitchell
Brooke Fraser
Jewel
Sara Bareilles – Gravity, UH! What an amazing song!
so so so many.
Ben, great additions! i may need to make this a top 100 list ;-)
i am missing newton faulkner man!
Andres Segovia, Pete Majia, Damien Rice
Tommy Emmanuel, Antoine Dufour. Morons I am supprised no one said Tommy Emmanuel
dude, srsly? I'll check out those guys but keep it civil. This is _my_ top 50 list- there's probably 1000 other great artists that aren't listed but no reason to get nasty. jeesh
Perry O'Parson. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrKKIhZvt-4
Always loves acoustic music, Joshua radin, n william fitsimmon are so awesome :)
Great lists of amazing people. I urge you to consider Luke Concannon, one of the best songwriters of his generation. He has had a massive no.1 hit…. Anyone take a guess what song?
JCB song by any chance? Agree. He is a very underrated talent
Eric Clapton Unplugged!!!
what about Dylan! are you crazy, this is the worst list ever
zac brown and alan jackson add them to the list to.
I Am Going To have to return again whenever my course load lets up – nonetheless I am getting your Feed so i can go through your blog offline. Cheers.
keith urban should be on the list.
jim croce obviously is missing!!
ED SHEERAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, where the ffffff is Dallas Green?! He’s literally the MOST incredible thing:/
where the heck is DALLAS GREEN???????????
PISS ON THESE F'ing TERDS!!!! Quit smoking sage bush. Y'ALL Can Suck A Fart Out Of Ben Harper's Ass for not even mentioning BEN HARPER!!!!
Dallas Green aka City and Colour. A MUST have acoustic artist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKjFnlW4lmQ
Search for Redemption is incredible. Great lyricist. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Search-for-Redempt…
What about Deyellah? – Singing Sony http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QYPfV36frA
Dallas Green
FOY VANCE!! thats all you need
where's the women???
Don't forget Priscilla Ahn
I’ve been looking at similar lists and no mention of the amazing Martin Sexton???… seriously???
Doug Hell is the best acoustic artist living-bar none. He is the only solo acoustic artist alive that writes consistently memorable songs. Every other acoustic artist has a few good ones and the rest is boring dribble.
laura marling she is a new level of excellent
Wow it is amazing how I don’t know many of these artists you have listed. Knowing someone new from the music industry everyday just bring fresh perspective in life. There are countless of very talented musicians out there and although we can’t listen to them all. We could rest knowing that everyday a musician out there is making great music and is just waiting to be heard.
Also Check out Stevia Waichulis on iToons.
Check out a young duo called Seafret!
EDWARD CHRISTOPHER SHEERAN
Ron pope
I really like this artist ‘Tobar Fray.’ His style is very unique and he’s a good guy too. Locate him on Facebook if your interested.
What about Chris Cornell? his songbook tour was amazing!
Mat Kerekes & Peter Lannon
Karen Savoca
JAMES KISSAM
You should try Josh Moore, his lately solo album is great
Stevia Waichulis on iToons:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/stevia-waichul…
Obadiah Parker!!!!!!!!! The best artist ever. Does some amazing acoustic covers. Also, Newton Faulkner is goid
Joe Purdy is so f#ckin good! Nice to see some other people agree! Cheers to you! @bradyjo
Griffin House
Rocky Votolato
Brett Dennen
Dustin Kensrue
Alec Benjamin is an awesome singer songwriter.. unfortunately he's not very known but you should definitely check him out on YouTube !!!! :)))
Holy shit, has no one said:
Matt Corby
???
Great post thank you for all the names, maybe i should choose David Bisal, but ok. mochilas de paseo if you don't want to see this pincha el enlace
SayWeCanFly is pretty good. River Oaks also
Tim Vantol
Tim Barry
Homeless Goslpel Choir
Chuck Ragan
Ben Nichols
Amazing list! For the girl counterparts, there's Allison Krauss or the Indigo Girls (if groups are considered). Great post!