Origin: Omaha, NE

Decades: 1990's and 2000's

Folk-punk singer/songwriter Elliott Smith rose from indie obscurity to mainstream success in 1997 on the strength of "Miss Misery," his Academy Award-nominated song from the film Good Will Hunting. A native of Portland, OR, Smith began writing and recording his first songs at age 14, later becoming a fixture of the city's thriving music scene; as a member of the band Heatmiser, he debuted in 1993 with the LP Dead Air, issuing his first solo effort Roman Candle on the tiny Cavity Search label a year later. F... Read More

Nick Drake, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Jackson Browne and James Taylor

James Blunt and Earlimart