"I don't know if anyone has looked recently, but in most stores there is no bin marked Folk."

I guess it depends on where you shop. Barnes & Noble and Borders each have extensive folk bins that carry a variety of styles. I even found a "folk" section in Target. There few remaining Mom & Pop stores in our area also carry a folk bin, but they are small - and dusty.

I will admit, I have noticed a trend to lump "folk" with country music (another term you cannot accurately describe anymore). XM has their folk channel lumped in with country, and Sirius did as well - before they dropped it.   Their traditional offerings are few. I do hear some Dock Boggs and Bascom Lamar Lunsford on occasion, and a bit more Irish and Brit folk, but largely they play contemporary music.

Of course, not everything is evident. Maps help us get to where we want to go, but sometimes the journey and the search becomes more rewarding than having it handed to us.