Attraction Versus Love from the Endrick Brothers.
Music is a bit like holidays to me, I hate recommending things to other people, as it's such a personal choice, but I can't see anyone who reads Word not liking this. It's just lovely.

Rachel Unthank and The Winterset. The Bairns. It's folk folks, but not as you know it. Traditional songs given an ambient wash and playing that outclasses many of todays young pop upstarts. At the heart of this record is the wonderful singing of Rachel and her sister Becky, whose take on Robert Wyatts' Sea Song belies her age. A Classic.

I've no idea where this comes from but it was surprisingly good; imagine My Bloody Valentine with big dollops of the Beach Boys. Only better.

Fanfare Ciocarlia's Kings and Queens is a celebration of gypsy music: the cream of European Romany singers and musicians - from Bulgaria, from Macedonia, from Spain, from all-over - playing with Romanian brass troupe Fanfare Ciocarlia. It's enormous fun and terrifically funky. And if I ever get married, I'm having a gypsy wedding.

True story: when the show came to the UK, the performance was so good that I went home, bought plane tickets to Belgrade, and a few weeks later spent my summer holiday at a trumpet festival in rural Serbia.

This is the album that gets my vote - I saw him live in Rough Trade East. He plays the drum/cymbal, bass organ and guitar - all at the same time!!! And on deliciously vintage gear. I bought the album played it six times on the bounce and no one complained. Which says a lot for it.

Full of melancholy confidence and lonely moonlight drives, the songs are cinematic, hypnotic and like Nick Cave, Ennio Morricone and Dick Dale scoring the soundtrack to long lost road movie.

New Magnetic Wonder by The Apples in Stereo. Hey hey, it's the Seventies! Vocoders! Songs called 'Joanie Don't U worry' and 'Hello Lola'! Bouncy power pop to blow away even the toughest of dour ex-Army balladeer stains on the shiny surface of Planet Melody.

Tea And Symphony, collecting baroque pop classics from the late 60s early 70s, from the people behind Gather In The Mushrooms and Early Morning Hush.

I can't stop playing it and I've given it to everyone I know when birthdays come up. They've not heard of it, but they soon grow to love it.

Bettye Lavette came up with this gem. Had never heard of her but heard a song on a US radio station and went out and bought said album. Think Tina Turner but with real songs and sassier too.
She sounds like aural sex!!

Never heard of any of these but many sound intriguing - would make a fascinating "Now Hear This" special!

by Mag Baird.

The singer from Espers with a mix of new songs and Trad Arrs. Absolurely spellbinding quirk-folk and not an 'acquired taste' like Joanna Newsom.

Didn't Henry produce Solomon Burke's Don't Give Up On Me? Which I love.

I would pick "Voice of the Seven Woods" by Mystic Manc Rick Tomlinson, aka Voice of the Seven Woods (Twisted Nerve). It's for anyone who thinks a Walk through the Black Forest should be tempered with a bit of Incredible String Band-style acoustic nonsense. Anyone who names a track "Return from Byzantium" gets my vote. And it's all bankrolled by that nice man from Chorlton in the wooly hat. The cover is a 70's throwback too.

Grand National by John Butler Trio would get my vote. His gig at the Liverpool Academy was also up there in a year of great gigs.

Also, Amsterdam, Live at the Borderline. Look out for the new studio album (Arm in Arm) in early 2008 as well.

Jon Spencer's Blues Explosion are great fun, brilliant live and a wonderful concept, but full, coherent songs can be rare and all the posing and yelping can sometimes seem like audio fast food.
With Spencer's other band, however - Heavy Trash - rockabilly and old R'n'B give him a stronger structure to have fun with, and consequently the latest album is a really satisfying rock 'n' roll dinner. I recommend the song "Outside Chance" as a taster.
(Sorry, that's the most obscure I can think of at the moment).

by Birdie Busch. A bit like a honed down and folky Jenny Lewis. A lovely simple record to put a smile on your face.

The Dials eponymous debut is a thing of joy. It opens with a surf guitar instrumental, and then goes all over the place: psych, country, folk, pop all thrown into the mix. Don't be put off by some dodgy song titles (We've Seen The Two Faces Of God And Dug The Peanut [But Tell Me, What Do The Children Belieeve?]). They've also made one of the year's great lost singles, A Jigsaw Mind, which sounds like The Byrds produced by Joe Meek.
You can hear 4 tracks from the album on their MySpace page.

This is a much-overlooked gem. An old-school rendering of fabulous country secret prizes. If it hadn't been for the family connections I strongly suspect no-one would have investigated it at all, nontheless it's a lovely revisiting of choons from the good ol' days. He's a good singer. Give him time. Your time.

OK, it's a 2005 album, but I think it's inherent in the notion of "obscure gems" that you often discover them a year or two after release. Anyway, this is the one where a small, classical-type chamber string ensemble take a load of Aphex Twin pieces, re-arrange them for string ensemble, and perform them. It's a brilliant album that gets under your skin and also makes you want to go back and listen again to Mr.Twin's electronica originals.

I recommend Patrick Watson's Close to Paradise. You don't need to like Prog to enjoy it

A bit like a male Lucinda Williams musically, but less slash-yer-wristy. An awesome guitar player, with the nerve to use a childrens' choir on several (distinctly unsoppy) tracks. Sexy, funny, unexpected and rarely off my iPod. Also released this year and almost equally great (sorry, David, I was never good at maths) is Chuck's reinterpretation of Waylon Jennings' DREAMING MY DREAMS which Chuck calls DREAMING WAYLON'S DREAMS. Guaranteed to sell zilch copies. Chuck's not in it fer the profit.

Yes, I do know them, but that makes the fact that I will sing the praises of this album to anybody that will listen (and those that don't want to as well) all the more pertinent.

Their third recorded outing and the first 'proper' one, what with it being on a proper record label and being available on iTunes and HMV and Virgin and all that, it is a collection of tunes that defy collective description but do include just the right amount of folk, bluegrass, pop and country bits all mixed together using just the right instruments in the right places. Which is essentially the recipe for a good album, but so many get it wrong where The Blue house get it just, well, right.

I've heard the stuff that didn't make it onto 'Tree', and those tracks would make a better album than most I've heard this year.

Give 'Tree' a listen, and you'll want to know them too.

Wonderful, evocative, gentle, sweet banjo playing. Weird folk reinterpreting forgotten music from old time America.

And Tears for Fears.

So good, I went out and bought myself a banjo.

Soap and Water by Chuck Prophet - teriffic stuff.

Can you actually buy Dreaming Waylons Dreams anywhere? If so where?
Went onto Chucks website - its not on there. Found it on another website but when I tried to download the bloody thing it was having none of it. Sounds cool though - he is one hell of an under-rated guitar player. Saw the GOR gig at the Astoria and every solo was completely different in tone,pace,etc.

With songs like "The Bus Times to Mandalay" and an album titled "Erasmus Darwin And The Chicken Ladder", Manfat Voodoo will appeal to anyone who likes acoustic stuff with a weird mutant edge to it. Check out www.manfatvoodoo.com for further details. You won't be disappointed. One of this years hidden gems for sure. Think they're on My Space too.

Anyone who likes to hear truthful songwriting that doesn't tire with repeated listens then Jules Manning's debut 29 years is surely the greatest album of 2007. I saw Jules at a few gigs around Guildford and thought I'd buy the album and give it a listen. Her voice reminded me of some of music's great voices such as Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks and Annie Lennox. I can see her doing well in 2008 if 'the bis' pick up on this rather rare gem of an album. The other great thing about the album is that every track sounds different to the last. I can't stand these artists that are same-y-sounding all the way through. I believe she is singed to an independent record label called Cookie's Records- website is www.cookiesrecords.co.uk, but I've also found the album on iTunes and Amazon. Go get it now and you'll see what I mean!

Much like the Chatteris Town Hall band's CD, it's a grower. And you can put your mortagage on "Never Any Good" being Folk Song of the Year at the forthcoming R2 Folk Awards. Recommended.

I caught Gwildor at this year's Green Man Festival and I urge you to check them out. Tales From A Town is a folk masterpiece. Look for them on myspace etc...

"They are like the morning dew that hasn't steamed off yet, they are new and fresh and I really don't think they know how good they are." Robert Wyatt on Rachel Unthank and The Winterset

I came across these guys earlier this year. Not sure when the albums were released (I've only got two so far) but they're recent enough.Jeffrey releases solo one aswell.

Somewhere between early Velvets, Violent Femmes and They Might Be Giants. While not all the songs are fantastic and bearing in mind they are played almost as demos there are some classic songs in there. 'East River' and 'The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane' are personal favourites at the moment.

Rachel Unthank And The Winterset. 'The Bairns' . Does that mean it isn't obscure enough anymore? - Though I reckon given the chance it could be a top 10 album..

But THE PROVINCE COMPLAINS by CATS ON FIRE. Absolutely top top drawer. Yes ok, Orange Juice, Belle & Seb, Wedding Pres, Pulp, Smiths, C86 all mashed together, but what a joy!

Slow Train by Hans Theessink (pronon Taysink). Beautiful slow blues type stuff, heard it on Radio 2 and bought it straight away. Just grows and grows on you. Fantastic sound quality as well if any fellow anoraks are reading. PS I second the suggestion for a 'Now Hear This' special with some (all - well it is Xmas soon?!) of the above artistes represented

A late entry, since I only got it yesterday. If Clint Eastwood (in his thoughtful mode) decided to make a film based on The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down scripted by Charlie Kaufmann and starring Nicolas Cage, the soundtrack would sound like this. Stand up bass, rimshots and banjos, and a twist in the tale reprise last track that turns everything on that has gone before it's head. It really is an astonishingly dark piece of work from somebody whose previous stock in trade was lighthearted songs about being a cowboy farmer. An album that combines being a heartfelt tribute to horsepower with the best meditation on the futility of gunfighting since Desperado. He's Canadian, you know.

The fountain by Clint Mansel.....only just bought it, it's stunning. Very Philip Glass, intense, atmospheric, makes me want to watch The Fountain film.

A grower and some great lyrics.

Steve Jansen has made his brother and former Japan bandmate, David Sylvian, look positively prolific (no mean feat) by finally releasing his first solo album, a mere 25 years after that rather exquisite Catford via Kyoto combo called it a day. 'Slope' is a beauitful barely there album that will appeal to any one with a soft spot for artists like late period Talk Talk, Harold Budd, Fennesz or Stina Nordenstam. Guests here include Joan as Policewoman, Sweet Billy Pilgrim, the wonderful Nina Kinert and Sylvian, who on Playground Martyrs delivers one of the most heartbreaking vocal performances of his career.

Say it quietly but Steve Jansen (rock's best looking drummer? Still looks like a cooler Andy Garcia) has shown that Robert Wyatt is not the only former drummer who can make enquiring and really rather lovely solo albums. Great artwork too.

In a year when great new Springsteen albums seemed to leap out at you whenever you weren't looking, John Brannen's (who?) latest is what to me was the Springsteen album of the year. Or just possibly the Bob Seger album of the year. Unashamedly not of its time, this album even dares to plumb the cliches of the rock and roll outlaw. Frightful cover, as well. But from these sad elements somehow it all adds up to the surprise of the year.

"Most obscure album of the year 2007"?