Folkish/Acoustic/Introspective music

[Hobo]

Bruce Springsteen-

Anything off the new Devils and Dust album.

I second this but some of the tracks are sung in a falcetto that takes a bit of getting used to.

[Venom]

If you enjoy Ani and the like, you'll probably end up liking Jay Tea. He's a local solo acoustic act (who plays keyboard in a number of local ska bands... he's even in my sig! But that's beside the point) who does a lot of folkish acoustic songs, including some Ani covers, as well as acoustic versions of his bands' songs, and a bunch of awesome original stuff. Here's his Myspace, where I'm pretty sure you'd be able to find a way to order his album (5 bucks for 19 tracks, it's well worth it).

http://www.myspace.com/jaytea

Let me know what you think.

[The_Icon]

Hm...

The Shins, for starters. While not my favorite band, tons people love them. Oh! Inverted World was a good release, with New Slang being a surprising hit thanks to Garden State. It's worth a look. Chutes too Narrow, their follow up, is only worth hearing for Young Pilgrams, though.

Tegan and Sara are a must. Anything you can get your hands on, do it. I don't think they've released a bad song. Their best would be Monday, Monday, Monday, Pride, Not Tonight, Take Me Anywhere, or Walking with a Ghost. But you can't go wrong with anything they've put out.

I've only heard Want One by Rufus Wainwright, but it's fantastic. Oh What a World is an awesome song, which I highly recommend. I've heard great things about Want Two, but I've never got around to buying it.

I know you said no Country, but you never said anything about Alt-Country. >_>. The releases from that genre aren't anything like the cookie cutter state that is the current country scene. Ryan Adams, Wil, and Matt Mayes stand out.