I agree, Iris is an aquired taste, I like her uniqueness, voice and material.
Also an aquired taste is Rosalie Sorrels
Heard her first on the Nod to Bob compilation (terrific album)
Iris DeMent, past and present.
Unless you are a deep diver into the Singer/Songwriter and/or modern "hard" (Traditional) Country music genres, you may be unaware of Iris DeMent and her music. She is highly respected by her peers (John Prine---with whom she collaborated quite a bit, Emmylou Harris, Buddy & Julie Miller, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, John Hiatt, Lucinda Williams, Marty Stuart, Jim Lauderdale, etc.), and had her incredible song "No Time To Cry" covered by Merle Haggard himself.
Her 1992 debut album Infamous Angel was reissued on LP (vinyl for you kids) and CD by Yep Rock last year (the album includes "Let The Mystery Be", covered by the band 10,000 Maniacs. The Goo Goo Dolls wrote a song about her, naming it "Iris".), and her new album Workin’ On A World will be out on February 24th. Can’t wait! I’ve seen & heard her on stage three times, and she is by a wide margin the best live singer I’ve ever heard. Plays great piano, too.
Rock music critic Robert Christgau gave Infamous Angel a grade of B+, her 1994 second album My Life (which includes "No Time To Cry") and A+ (!), her 1996 third album The Way I Should an A, and her 2012 fifth Sing The Delta an A-. Not bad for a poor country girl ;-) .