Quite a lot been posted. I liked Cranes and Anneke from the Gathering has an impressive voice. I here Zorn from time to time on the radio and like his stuff.
I'll make a start on my 33 "recommendations". Today it'll be female vocalists. These include some artists who have been among my very favourites for years, so picking them was no problem, although in many cases the album was difficult to choose. In no particular order
1. Bjork - Selmasongs (although Vespertine comes very close). This was the music to the Lars von Trier film "Dancing in the Dark" in which Bjork played the lead role. As always, she uses a wide range of instrumentation, but remains melodic as well as experimental. Her duet with Thom Yorke is witty and ironic, but still full of longing (in the film she sings with someone else).
Bjork and Thom Yorke - I've seen it all
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V1Lov1U9mU
2. Kate Bush - Hounds of Love. I loved "Wuthering Heights" and "the Man with the Child in His Eyes" 30 years ago and it's great she's back making beautiful music today. I can't say I have a favourite album of hers, so I picked one that indicates to some degree where she came from and where she is today musically. What was (in the days of vinyl) the first side of Hounds of Love is a set of beautifully crafted "pop" tunes and the second side is a song cycle (similar to the concept of "50 words for snow" and "A Sky of Honey", the second disc from Aerial). I particularly love "Cloudbusting", the incessant rhythm of the violins set against Kate's warm, powerful voice and disturbing, mysterious lyrics.
Kate Bush - Cloudbusting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pllRW9wETzw
3. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake. An artist who has more recently entered my group of favourites. An album heavily steeped in England's (as opposed to the UK as a whole) recent history and identity from a critical perspective.
Pj Harvey - The Words that Maketh Murder
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhaEt2Hdod8&ob=av2n
4. Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes. Another artist that I have been a fan of for years and on another day I might pick a different album (I can see that her most recent "Night of Hunters" might become my favourite). "Precious Things" makes my hair stand on end. Her piano playing is almost electric and her voice powerful and emotive, not to talk about the raw power of "Me and a Gun". "Winter" and "Silent all these years" are more wistful tunes, but as always with Tori hide a darker side.
Tori Amos - Precious Things
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3OeiFnIQ-U
5. Lisa Hannigan - Sea Sew. There is a timeless, optimistic and playful quality to Lisa's music and lyrics, although like most (all?) of my favourites she can be dark. She's been posted a few times (not just by me), so here's one that might not have been posted before.
Lisa Hannigan - Ocean and a Rock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp4jukQ7tTA
6. Maria Peszek - Miasto Mania (Citymania). Lisa Hannigan represents my present home, while Maria Peszek represents my previous home, Poland. Peszek is an actress, who came through that route to becoming a vocalist. Miasto Mania is an irreverant, humorous, playful, dark look at modern urban life in Poland.
Maria Peszek - Moje Miasto (My City)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzlXpSsa-uU