Non pop/contempory well recorded/mastered female singers

You could do a lot worse than try Tigerlily by Natalie Merchant. I think her voice & songs are superb and the production manages to avoid some of the more modern excesses. Patricia Barber is also a given but I expect you know her well. Stunning production. First Aid Kit are also good, if a bit basic in the production stakes. No doubting their vocal talents though. Also worth a mention would be Alela Diane. I can't get enough of her Pirate's Gospel album. Again, this is an "earthy" production but it suits her voice well imho.

How about k.d. lang? Remarkable singer and she covers a range of genres, while usually recorded well. She even has a DVD-A out, "Invincible Summer." Picked it up a few years back and it sounds wonderful in hi-rez.

Female jazz singers are my favourite! I own and like eg. these, but you probably know them:

Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now (DVD Audio)

Several DVD-Audios from Diana Krall

DVD-Audios from Jane Monheit 

Try to check Linn Records too, e.g. Caroll Kidd - "When I Dream" track from "Dreamsville". It seems very promising - very nice voice...

You can't go wrong with any of Holly Cole's LP's----"Temptation"....or Holly Cole--"Don't Smoke In Bed" on Classic Records 200gram Super Vinyl...    I also would add to the other guy's great female artist in the above post and She would be Margo Timmins with Cowboy Junkies--"The Trinity Sessions" , On Classic Records 45rpm series, special one sided pressings....Unreal recordings of some outstanding Female artist..to name a few..

Cassandra Wilson - New Moon Daughter - eclectic, haunting vocal jazz - but it may be an acquired taste.  Certainly not soft contemporary or pop.  I heard it used to demo a tube amp / LS3/5a system and it was incredible.  She covers U2, Sam House, Hoagy Carmichael, Hank Williams and Niel Young on that album.   I ended up buying several of her albums.

 

Since you mentioned bluegrass, you can't do without a little Allison Krause.  I like the "Forget about It" album and it is my go-to album to listen to a new piece of equipment. 

 

Another Jazz vocalist I like is Joan Armatrading.  I had her "Walk under Ladders" album on vinyl and it was one of my reference albums back in the day.  

 I have a greatest hits album of hers.  Perhaps not the best production overall but there are a few nuggets like "Love and Affection" and "Willow".  These are all circa 1977 - 1986 so the recordings reflect the equipment and style of the times.

 

Browse through the Thread on "Songs that make your Headphones WOOOOW" and you will get lots of recommendations.

 

 

 

A random favorite: Cara Dillon (Irish Folk). Sweet voice.

Jane Monheit - She's somewhat light on substance, but she has a remarkably pure voice and is great technically. Plus, there are fewer vocalists that sound better on my audiophile system. Her version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow is quite good: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP_5veYs1vE

 

Anna Maria Jopek - Superb if you don't mind listening in Polish. Barefoot is a masterpiece, and Farat is one of the best mixed/mastered live albums I've heard (she has a killer band as well). The album she did with Pat Matheney, Upojenie, is also worth a look. The entire Farat concert can be seen online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyEiI-1pAxw (obviously not up to the sound level quality of the album)

 

Anneke van Giersbergen/The Gathering - Not sure if you would describe her/them as "pop" or not, but I find them incredibly moving. Both If_Then_Else and How to Measure a Planet? are two of my favorite albums. Anneke's first solo album with Agua de Annique, Air, is quite good too; check out Come Wander With Me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23Z52sxUNgA) and Beautiful One (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUnqniu_wNQ). You Learn About it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53OU7q8Xo4w) and Rescue Me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dcm6xRORFU8) always get to me as well.

Funny I came across this thread after trading some female Jazz/Blues singer's CD's with a coworker.  I can make 2 recommendations of artists that I have just found: 

 

Cee Cee James - Low Down Where the Snakes Crawl - Great album, amazing voice, and a lot of talent backing her up. 

 

Melody Gardot - My One and Only Thrill - The kind of voice you fall in love with the first time you hear it...

I would add these, in jazz/blues:

- Anne Bisson

- Erin Boheme

- Eva Cassidy

- Katie Melua

- Rebecca Pidgeon

 

 

Forget About It isn't really a bluegrass album - it's the other CDs with Union Station that are bluegrass. Your mis-spelling of AK's name is also somewhat dubious - the correct spelling is Alison Krauss.

 

Some other female bluegrass singers include Rhonda Vincent and Jeannie Kendall, though I'm not sure I'd call their CDs audiophile-quality necessarily. There's also Sara Watkins who split off from Nickel Creek.

Edited by Asr - 11/11/10 at 11:34pm

 

 

 

Regal, the album sounds great through my gear (which is low end), I was able to get a few screen shots of the first 2 tracks in Audacity, so you can judge for yourself.  This is from the CD which was ripped to my computer in FLAC using EAC.  That being said I would recommend this album to any Janis fan, regardless of quality. 

 

 

 

 

Tracy Chapman?  May be more contemporary than you're looking for.  I have her classified as folk-rock in my library.  All well recorded and mastered albums.  Sounds great on Grados.