Who are the GREATEST FOLK MUSIC ARTISTS of all time…up till now? Which Folk musicians are the minimum to have before building on your Folk Music Records collection? Mmmm tough one to answer, there are so many excellent & amazing Folk Music Artists.

Here is my list of the BEST FOLK MUSIC ARTISTS …for now…to consider. Understand this is a very subjective issue & everyone has their valid opinions. These 40 Folk musicians are suggesting building blocks to your Folk music Record collection (especially for beginners) which will be built on by other older & newer artists-records as they get discovered or appear to your likes. Said in a different manner, this is MY choice of the essential Folk Music Artists Records that you NEED TO OWN, listened to & have within any serious Folk Record collection… They are just 40 names restricted in number for discipline sake and in NO particular order of ranking.

Realize perfectly well that there are other great Folk Music Artists missing, but had to choose only 40 for this list...Based criteria on factors like Innovation, Impact, Historical tradition, Sales, Different Genres & Durability over time of each artist. The debate is naturally opened & welcomed :O)
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Folk music includes both traditional music and the genre that evolved from it during the 20th century folk revival. The term originated in the 19th century, but is often applied to music older than that. Some types of folk music are also called world music. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted orally, music with unknown composers, or music performed by custom over a long period of time. It has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles (source Wiki)
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FULL VIDEO LIST OF THE 40 GREATEST FOLK MUSIC ARTISTS …for now (in NO particular order of priority):

Woody Guthrie
Bob Dylan
Pete Seeger
Joan Baez
Cat Stevens
James Taylor
Joni Mitchell
Simon & Garfunkel
John Prine
Phil Ochs
Leadbelly
Ewan McColl
Donovan
Leonard Cohen
Neil Young
Richard Thompson
John Denver
Lucinda Williams
Tim Hardin
Odetta
Ani Difranco
Nick Drake
Gordon Lightfoot
Van Morrison
Jim Croce
Johnny Cash
Elliot Smith
Sufjan Stevens
Janis Ian
Greg Brown
Kendrick Lemar
Bon Iver
Judy Collins
Elizabeth Cotten
Dave Van Ronk
Bill Monroe
Alison Krauss
Townes Van Zandt
Ben Harper
Joanna Newsom

Video audio courtesy of Simon & Garfunkel - “The Boxer”

(All content is copyrighted and owned by the recording artists and/or studios. No infringement of copyright is intended in any way under DMCA, under the terms of NON-COMMERCIAL fair use for commentary. I do not claim to own any of the featured content.)