I wouldn't say that I find everything by alanis Morrisette unmissable, but I do think she has written a couple of excellent songs. I think the superb "Hand in my Pocket" is a personal song which resonates, because you listen to it and think, "Hey if people knew what madness was going on in my head, they would lock me up!" I think it's a classic example of the personal having the universality which others have mentioned on this thread.
When I hear Jerry Rasmussen's songs, I don't think of them as being personal - although of course they can be to him. Why don't I think of them as personal? Well it's because he tells the story in deceptively plain words, without comment, manipulation or padding. They have a universality about them because they are good stories which connect with many who hear them. Take "Old Grey Suit" for instance. In the hands of a bad writer, this would become a whingeing lament of a poor orphan boy who had just lost his Daddy or Grandaddy.
That's not what you get. It's a respectful, cheerful song about a life of substance. You can share respect, but grief is a private matter. I think that's why such songs as "Old Grey Suit" are so resonant and I don't really think of them as personal songs. (No disrespect intended to Jerry, of course).