in the pop folk world no one equals joni mitchell, no one, she's so flexible and has such range and tonal quality.and her lyrics are among the few who soar to real sytand alone poetry. her and leonard cohen. i also love ferron, she has a movie out called "girl on a road" that's so real about the struggles of a metis francophone from a poor and broken family , and it;s transcendant in its insight poetry and performances.

in the trad world i love teressa doyle, anita best and pamela morgan. that's among the maritimers.they are great. if you can get teressa doyle's "prince edward osle adieu" album or pamela morgan's "ancestral songs" they are two of the best folk albums ever made--so good i do a salam bow and a "we are not worthy' we are not worthy"

among the traditional over seas,

dick gaughan, mick hanly, patsy seddon, mary macmasters, are also among the best. mick hanly's two early record"a kiss in the morning early' and "over black water" are not to be missed and seddon and macmaster in sileas and especially in poozies are also fabulous.

and then gord and ian .gordon lightfoot and ian tyson have it all aswell. gord's two cd greatest hit remix is a can't miss and cowboyography is the best western music album of the modern era.

there are my biases clear!