I may be a little premature on this recommendation but on first listen I love both of these albums!

The first you've probably heard of or at least heard a track or two if you listen to any (rock) radio - college or mainstream.

Damien Rice -“O”

I read about him some time ago and have recently heard a few cuts on college radio as well as commercial radio.  He sounds like a girl on some songs and no one ever mentioned his name after the song (or maybe I subconsciously disregarded it because I was expecting a girl's name).

The lyrics paint pictures in your mind while the stories make you think you've heard them before.  The melodies feel alot like home.

Rufus Wainwright - “Want One”

I heard this playing in a local record store.  I mistook it for RadioHead and went looking for the album I don't have.  I asked the clerk which RadioHead it was and he laughed and showed me Rufus' album.  This is a brilliant work!  His croaning voice is a near dead ringer for Thom York of RadioHead but with less driving edge but more refinement, possibly being more accessible to the general populous.  The development of the songs is apparent exceptional.  It is like a rock opera without being annoying, sort of Stix meat RadioHead....  If you know what I mean by that, go listen to some songs, or just buy the album. 

File Sharing - P2P

I'd like to point out that I kazaa'd Damien Rice prior to purchasing it.  I heard Wainwright playing at a local music store - Corner Compact Disc - http://www.cornercd.com.

I never would have purchased Rice's work if it weren't for Kazaa and I would not have heard of Rufus without the local music store that truly adds value as a music retailer.  So support this store and stores like it.  Pay the extra buck rather than Amazoning it (or get it for a few bucks less than the mall store) and alot for some time to listen to their listenting stations.  Some clerk in that store spent all day previewing new albums and picked one that they love.  No one tells them which ones to showcase and no one pays them to do it (like BlockButter and Tower).

So download some tunes.  When you find something you really like, buy it.  Two reasons:  the artist sees some of that return and can keep creating their art and the quality of a cd is truly better than MP3's and other compressed file formats.  It really is, you may not be able to tell on your crappy computer speakers or your stock car stereo, but the difference is there.  Something in the music is lost on an mp3, you can't always detect it, but your brain can...  and so can you soul...  because music is for your soul, after all.