Ani Difranco

Ani Difranco's her own woman, make no mistake. Assertively bisexual, tatted, pierced, and occasionally shaved, she has plowed an audacious path in the punk-folk field, catering neither to mainstream models of objectification nor to lesbian chic. Like Woody Guthrie, she's been doin' some hard travelin', and she made sure we knowed.

After you get past Ani Difranco's manic expressionism, there's a fierce sweetness to her work. While she maintains she's no "kitten stuck up a tree," her worldview sometimes seems kitten-ish, but not the way you'd think. She's fearless, truthful, inquisitive, playful, and occasionally startled by the world's seemingly arbitrary violence.

You're a card-carrying member of Ani's Army, but given her catalog, which totals nearly 20 albums, even the most dedicated fan can miss something here and there, such as the excellent live rendering of "Both Hands" on the More Joy, Less Shame EP. There's lots left to discover.

Folk music has always been pretty much a D.I.Y. deal; Ani DiFranco has embraced that ethic with extraordinary zeal. Founding her own Righteous Babe label out of her native Buffalo, she's sold more than four million records without ever darkening a major label's expense account. At turns confessional and confrontational, she's served as a role model for a generation of performers (and fans) who identify with her daring spirit and belief in her own potential.