All great suggestions, esp Lucinda Williams and Ryan Adams. You might also enjoy Johnny Cash's American Recordings (all great, much more accessible to rock & folk fans than his ealier work - which is also great), Townes van Zandt, Guy Clark, Rosanne Cash, Casey Chambers, Tift Merrit, the Jayhawks, and let's not forget Willie Nelson, who has done an amazingly wide range of things over the years (I'm liking his latest, Songbird, produced by Ryan Adams).
I had similar feelings to yours about country for years until discovering that like most music, the commercial stuff tends toward crap but if you dig a little deeper you find some really moving music.