iTunes is having a fantastic sale right now where albums of up-and-coming artists are available for $5.99 and $6.99.

Two of my favorites in this group come from the genre of "modern chick music", which isn't quite as angry as Lilith-Fair-era chick music, but is also just girly enough to struggle in crossover success into the male audiences.

1. Missy Higgins - On a Clear Night

I've loved Missy for what seems like ages, when she won a songwriting competition in high school and became a breakout success at the age of 16. She's Australian and absolutely huge over there. Here, her songs pepper the Grey's Anatomy soundtracks, but she hasn't had much radio play.

The striking thing about Missy is her voice. The Australian accent mixed with the strong, but still breathiness of her dark alto is undeniably awesome. "On a Clear Night" is the name of her new album for $6.99. Stand-out tracks are the quietly morose "Where I Stood", the jubilant "Steer" and the dainty "Sugarcane".

But if you want a song that will absolutely melt your girly heart, go check out "The Special Two" from her first album. About a girl who surprised herself by cheating on the love of her life, you'll be shocked she wrote this when she was 16.

Grab Missy Higgins' "On a Clear Night" for $6.99

2. Meiko - Meiko


Meiko (despite its spelling, pronounced "meek-koh") is one of those MySpace success stories. Still an independent artists, she's done very well on iTunes, keeping the #1 folk record for several consecutive months. I'm not sure I would classify her as folk, but who can figure out what folk really means these days?

The great thing about the album is that there's no laziness. It's quality songwriting and production all the way through. Stand-out track for me is "How Lucky We Are" which was apparently originally called "Sh*tty Apartment" but changed for the album release.

The self-titled album Meiko is an absolute steal at $5.99.