Best Folk Music Albums of the 2000s

Woody Guthrie was, inarguably, one of the greatest singer-songwriters to ever touch American folk music. His words and music have influenced and inspired artists across almost every genre, and his work continues to be unearthed and developed to this day. This wire recording was made as a bootleg copy of a performance Guthrie gave at a YMCA in New Jersey in 1949, including moderation and interviews between him and his wife Marjorie. It's not only a remarkable peek into Guthrie's life and work, but also a terrific account of the history of American folk music.

Gillian Welch is one of the finest artists to emerge onto the folk and Americana scene over the past decade, beginning with her inclusion on the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack and following through to her involvement on long-time musical partner Dave Rawlings' solo debut at the end of the decade. Still, Time (the Revelator) is often considered her finest work to date, presenting some of the most heartbreaking and stirring, simple melodies of recent years. Welch's work has been so admired among fellow songwriters that she's helped to set a bar against which contemporary folk music continues to be measured.

On Raising Sand, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss delve into both artists' genres, while also experimenting with entirely new ground. Really, what else could one expect from a collaboration between a bluegrass prodigy and a rock god, other than one of the best records of the year. Both Plant and Krauss are known for being envelope-pushing innovators in their respective fields, so it's no wonder that they managed to develop a fairly new sound. The result was a virtual sweep of the 2009 Grammy Awards.

The soundtrack for O Brother Where Art Thou was instrumental in bringing bluegrass and traditional American folk music back into the mainstream consciousness. Highly respected roots music producer T Bone Burnett had enjoyed considerable success before O Brother but has since become one of the folk world's most sought-after producers. This soundtrack has sold over seven million copies and earned five Grammy Awards.

By 2006, the war in Iraq had become incredibly unpopular and yet the protest song movement was not reaching the mainstream, big-name acts. Neil Young's Living With War album was one adamant exception. Recorded in one fell swoop with a full choir, Living With War captured the urgency and energy of the peace movement and was definitely one of the finest, most daring politically charged albums of the decade.

Once again, Patty Griffin slayed us with her well-cooked blend of blues, r&b, and American folk melodies. Griffin's career has played out with one home run after another, and Children Running Through was no exception. After years of great albums, one has to wonder, how is it possible for one woman to keep knocking out more great music? Backing vocals by Emmylou Harris on the parable "Trapeze" didn't hurt, either.

In 1969, Simon and Garfunkel set out on what would be the final tour of their career. On Live 1969, we get a window into six performances along the string of that tour. The result is an impeccable peek into some of the greatest tunes the duo ever concocted, during the height of their career together.

Steve Earle's tribute to his songwriting hero Townes Van Zandt, appropriately titled Townes, seems to have been a very long time coming, even though it's only been talked about for a little while. Considering Earle's reverence for Van Zandt's extraordinary body of work, it's hardly surprising that this tribute disc is one of the best of 2009 and the decade, for that matter.

Sam Baker's traumatic injury after a terrorist train bombing may have left him physically impaired, but it couldn't hamper his extraordinary songwriting talent. The trilogy of albums he's released on the theme of mercy have been some of the finest recordings added to the American songbook in recent years, and best among them was Pretty World. His name may not churn up much fanfare, but the music speaks for itself.

About.com Alt Music Guide Anthony Carew listed Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago in his best albums of 2008 - a fact repeated several times over by countless critics. While it's hardly traditionalist folk music, Bon Iver crafted a breakup album focused wholly on the great songs, which pulled from a number of roots-infused styles. The result is intuitive, heartbreaking, and beautiful.