World Cafe

Citing Woodie Guthrie, John Prine and Paul Simon as big influences, Scott Miller's choice to pursue a career as a musician was never a tough decision. His father played big-band trumpet and the young Miller was enamored with rock 'n' roll.

Dar Williams intended to pursue theater. Instead, it was her hobby — playing the guitar — that bloomed into a career now entering its 15th year.

Richard Thompson and Loudon Wainwright III have each assembled remarkable careers, full of top-notch albums and influential music that spans at least 40 years. In the five decades that Thompson has been making music, he's earned some of the highest possible praise for his work as a live performer, guitarist, singer and songwriter.

Holding a title as one of the best guitarists in Nashville has to mean that you've achieved something akin to legendary status in the music world — and that's exactly what Buddy Miller has done. Born in '50s Ohio, the singer-songwriter took the stage for the first time in the '60s as an upright bassist in high-school combos.

The People's Key is the seventh full-length from Omaha's Conor Oberst and is by far the most adventurous of his career. The album comes after Oberst's Bright Eyes "hiatus," which saw him collaborate with the Mystic Valley Band and the group, Monsters of Folk that featured M.