Maple Ladies 2

Ever since the pioneering days of early 20th-century entertainers like Bea Lillie and Madame Bolduc, the women of Canadian pop have stunned us with their creative riches. This second collection of current homegrown artists begins with international superstars, including indie-folk darling Leslie Feist (who enjoyed phenomenal success with "1234" on the back of an iPod Nano commercial) and the Timbaland-produced Nelly Furtado ("Say It Right"). Our salute to native talent continues in Next Steps.

Few singers on our list can match the soulful intensity of Rita Chiarelli, who coats "Memphis Has Got the Blues" with sweetly rasping vocal finesse. That said, Marie-Chantal Toupin lacks nothing in passion on her francophone rock-out "Maudit b****l" and Renée Martel steams into "Liverpool" with her heart on her sleeve. Lava Hay slows the tempo with the delicate leftfield confection "Baby," from 2005's excellent Return of the Kildeer. The leftfield women of Canadian pop show us their stuff, in Deep Cuts.

Here we take you beyond the mainstream, and introduce you to the women who thrive on their differences from the norm. Rebekah Higgs is known for her innovative fusions of shoegaze and folk, but glides into pop territory with the delightful "Parables." Aids Wolf (fronted by Chloe Lum a.k.a. Special Deluxe) quotes Captain Beefheart to describe its sound — "a squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag." Judge for yourself with "Spit Tastes Like Metal."

The second of our Maple Ladies Essentials playlists confirms the wealth of talent to be found among our country's female singer-songwriters. Virtually every genre is represented here, including the country of Carolyn Dawn Johnson and Martina McBride, the mellow jazz of Holly Cole, the glamorous R&B of Keshia Chanté, the groundbreaking electro of DJ Mini, and the rootsy folk of the Wailin' Jennys. It's an incredibly eclectic lineup, chock-full of outstanding tunes from the fringes as well as the mainstream, covering the nation from Vancouver to Nova Scotia. Women of Canadian pop, for the second time, we salute you.