So....what did you buy....and what did you like.... 
Funny you should mention that. I was planning to come back to this thread and provide an overview of what I've found. I haven't completed everything I purchased, but I will update this as my "survey" is more complete.
1. Sean Blackman "In Transit": only part-way through this so far, but it's really fun and interesting. Very organic feel and nice/sympathetic interplay between Blackman's guitar and some of the Middle Eastern instruments/arrangements. Highly recommended.
2. Al Petteway: I now have "Caledon Woods," "Dream Guitars, Vol. 1" and "Shades of Blue". Haven't listened to the latter yet. In short, in the acoustic guitar field, Al Petteway is as good as anyone. ANYONE. He is a very tasteful player, has chops galore (never an end in itself for him, only in the service of the song), and he exhibits mastery over a broad range of styles. Not saying he's "THE BEST" out there, but if you prefer someone else, it will be because of personal preference, not because Petteway is lacking in his ability. I liked "Caledon Woods" over "Dream Guitars" on my first listen, but I want to give the latter another go. Sometimes, listening to discs in rush hour traffic is not the best way to give something my full attention.
3. Doug Cox "Bone, Bottle, Brass or Steel". Cox is a terrific slide player and excels in a wide range of styles. His singing (and some of the lyrics) leave something to be desired, but when he "just plays," he has my full attention.
4. William Tyler "Behold The Spirit". Simply lovely, and a welcome updating of acoustic folk traditions (some of which can get moldy in other peoples' hands). Tyler, also known as Willie T., has played with a number of bands that skirt the roots/indie divide, among them Lambchop. This album is deftly played, atmospheric, and mixes in some studio effects almost like sound collages that appear around the margins of his compositions. Tyler definitely has influences like Fahey, but he has a broad palette of tastes and combines many (successfully) on this album.
5. Duck Baker "Te Art of Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar". The title aptly describes this album. Baker is a talented and tasteful/understated player. I enjoyed this very much.
6. Martin Simpson (several albums). My, but he's a fine, fine, fine guitarist, and he meshes the British/Irish folk tradition with American blues styles quite well. He's another one whose singing doesn't overwhelm me, but man can he play.
7. Gareth Pearson "Urban Echoes Vol. 1". Haven't gotten here yet, though it is in the pipeline. TBD.
8. Doug MacLeod (several albums). A skilled and facile blues-based acoustic guitarist. Don't sing, Doug, please.
9. Vlatko Stefanovski & Miroslav Tadic "Krushevo". Lovely, lovely, lovely. (Eastern European) soulful and deep. And frankly, I don't care from which of the Balkans traditional music streams this comes -- music this stirring deserves a wider audience.
10. Kevin McCormick "Songs of the Martin". 200 years of popular song played on an 1840s Martin gut-string guitar. I haven't gotten this yet, but I doubt I will be able to resist for long.
11. Kevin Tracey "Long Way Back". I didn't buy this, but I did listen to all the MP3 tracks on Amazon. Tracey can definitely play, but his fretwork and compositions just did not grip me in the way some of the others have.
12. Ron Holloway (several albums on Amazon). I dunno, he's not distinctive and/or precise enough in his playing. For anyone who plays guitar, I think he has a way of "swallowing notes" in his playing that is distracting to me. Many of the tunes didn't go anywhere for me, either.
13. Rick Brumbeloe "Up To Now". Again, I dunno. His sound on this record has that reverby, tinny sound that creates a bit of a "sheen" over the playing -- the sound of the CD came of a bit "slight." He can play well, but this one didn't get my money.
14. Drew Nichol "Gorillas in Our Midst". Meh. Comes off a bit like a Hallmark card in terms of the schmaltz factor.
15. Dominic Gaudious "Live 2009". Didgeridoo and guitar played simultaneously. I wanted to like this more than I ultimately did. Hey, I'm sure some folks will love him......I'm not on the bandwagon. I thought the compositions were largely a bit shallow/facile. Also, I don't much care for a heavily-processed acoustic guitar sound. Leave most of the effects boxes to the electric crowd, dude.
16. Michael Krenner "Finnegan". So, having just said that I don't like too much acoustic guitar processing with my daily bran, I do like this guy's work. Maybe I just don't like over-processed acoustic guitars in the hands of amateurs.
17. Las Muchachas: two albums on CD Baby. Not my cup-of-tea. A bit too mellow and insubstantial for me. Got a bit too much "Pottery Barn / Starbucks world music sampler" sound to my ears.
That's all for now. More as I complete my listening.
-dB (a unit measure of noise)
P.S. Many of these folks can be found on CD Baby, a great resource for many independent artists of all stripes.
P.P.S. I've been told that (lack of) brevity is one of my (many) shortcomings. I can't seem to answer anyone's question in less than 4 paragraphs. Hemingway, I'm not.
