A few from the music I have with me at work:
Great:
Margot Timmins (Cowboy Junkies)
Sia (with or without Zero 7, listening to her a lot lately)
Diana Krall (outclasses most modern Jazz chicks even without her piano playing...in a league of her own with it)
Paris Combo (that's the band...can't remember her name)
Ella Fitzgerald (OK its been awhile, but she is the best)
Chrissie Hynde (Pretenders)
Christine McVie (always preferred her to Stevie Nicks on the Fleetwood Mac albums)
Fiona Apple (mentally unstable when I saw her in concert, but she sounds good to me)
The girl from Belly
Camille
Tracy Chapman
Aretha
Norah Jones
Aimee Mann
New Pornographers girl (her solo stuff is OK too but can't remember the name, argh)
Madeleine Peyroux (great stuff, a bit weak in concert)
Liz Phair (mainly for the first 2 albums)
KT Tunstall (I like her stuff a lot, great in concert too)
Amy Winehouse (pressure is on for second major album though, could easily be a 1-album wonder)
OK:
Sarah McLachlan (nice, but the songs all sound the same to me, sorry)
Joni Mitchell (great songs, but her voice gets on my nerves sometimes)
Cat Power, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sonic Youth (just because they are cool)
Bjork (mixed bag)
Allison Krauss (some great, much of it merely OK)
Emmylou Harris (see Krauss)
Patty Griffin (tries a a bit too hard to sound country for me)
Jenny Lewis
M.I.A.
Patti Smith
Regina Spektor
Not so great:
Eva Cassidy (I'd rather hear the original version of every single song...sorry)
Jane Monheit (100% owned by Diana Krall)
Cocteau Twins
Pop / American Idol types (annoying lack of creativity and originality, plus people who sing music by other people usually have their work cut out for them, and most of these simply can't cut it)
