Lucy Kaplansky is one of the niftiest recording folk artists around today.
She started out singing in Chicago before she moved to New York to join the folk scene there. She quit music for ten years to earn her doctorate in psychology and practiced for some time as a therapist. Lucy's back and at it, however. Although she tends to flirt with country a little more often than I'd really tend to care for, she's absolutely amazing. And her lyrics are some of the truest words I've ever heard. Wow.
She has three solo albums:
She's also a member of the "folk super-group" Cry Cry Cry.