"Recent" is tough, probably for a lot of us. But there are lots of good suggestions here. The Norman Blake stuff is all great, and also the Tom Waits. Mbo suggests the classic City of New Orleans, but you may want to make note of the fact that it's actually a Steve Goodman song (Arlo did a cover that got a lot of airplay, but he didn't write it).

I'd also suggest It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry by Bob Dylan, and another by Guy Clark whose name escapes me -- it is Texas 1949?