Those anonymous guests do have a point, though; without a fairly specific remit, people will just confuse the issue by guessing at all sorts of potentially irrelevant stuff. With due respect to Don, neither Rise Up Singing nor The Folksinger's Word Book are particularly useful for English (as opposed to English-language) material, and they aren't too reliable on sources.

I'm not sure if "Buzag" wants books to do with song or instrumental music, or whether he or she is looking at traditional or revival sources (that "important artists" could mean either). Becky's recommendation of the "basic library" thread is the most sensible, but it may not necessarily offer the information a relative beginner needs.

Exactly what information do you need? Getting the right answer depends very much on asking the right question.