WHY do I always have to justify myself? Why can I not be left free to simply LOVE the music in my own way.

By all means love the music, Lizzie - and good luck to you with your enthusiasms. However, others will disagree, and not necessarily because of any so-called "snobbishness" about being folk or un-folk or anything else. You give the impression of seeing critical phantoms everywhere, as in:

(a) Eddi Reader is a great singer - but...
(b) Eddi Reader is not Top of the Charts or In the Public Eye - so...
(c) Eddi Reader is undervalued - therefore...
(d) Eddi Reader is the victim of - choose your "-ism"

My personal taste is what my personal taste happens to be - but I don't care two hoots if no-one else gets it. It's also perfectly possible to appreciate someone's talent and yet be unmoved by their performance. Here's an example from my own experience: Frank Sinatra. I can absolutely understand his artistry, the superb voice and breath control, the pitching, the interpretation of a song's lyrics, the phrasing, the lowering and heightening of tone, etc., etc. But I can't bear him as a performer and never have done. Simple as that. I used to play in 60s funk/jazz outfit and, with one exception - me - they all loved Sinatra. "Frank" they said in hushed tones when talking about him. And when they talked about him, I just kept silent!

You posted a link to "He Got All The Whiskey". Well, it's a great song but - IMHO - John Martyn and Eddi Reader just about buggered it up. The Bobby Charles original is excellent (written, I believe, about Albert Grossman), but they lose all the irony and grit of the original. But, you see, that's just my view of the track. You have your view. Enjoy - but don't ask me to enjoy it. :-)