Spook Handy is the spiritual kid of Arlo Guthrie. He plays clever acoustic folk full of pop culture broadsides. He notes (in a John Prine cover) that "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore," offers a jazz-swing mediation on a Wal-Mart "Santa's Night Off," and urges everyone to "Vote"—yes, from the "skinheaded neo-nazi face-bashing paranoids" to "cross-burning homophobic church-going family types, flag-burning anti-war give-the-poor-more types." That last tune even earned him Pete Seeger's approbation. Handy's keening tenor fits his cockeyed throwback style. He's not limited to protest, either, as evidenced by his Prine-like wit and the biting pop of "California Cool" (reminiscent of The Mamas & The Papas). —Chris Parker

Price: $6-14