Sorry, in a rush earlier and just wanted to drop some suggestions.
What I suggest is;
1) hitting up
www.allmusic.com and type in each artist for a wealth of info on their genres, backgrounds and discographies.
2) then plug in to
www.pandora.com and make channels for each of the bands in the thread to see which work for you.
Citizen Cope and Gomez are ~ similar, probably best described as rock, though with heartfelt, folky blends from very novel and distinctive singers. Ever see "High Fidelity" when Cuzak puts on The Beta Band? Kind of similar to them. Think more mainstream Widespread Panic, String Cheese, etc. They could be jam bands, but do not fall into the repetition of jam-banding.
P.U.T.S., Sage Francis and Aesop Rock are all within the genre of hip-hop, though not mainstream, whatsoever. P.U.T.S. are a duo out of L.A., with the most incredible, optimistic, groovy, non-violent, intelligent hip-hop that I've come across in a looong time. They use sampling of old jazz, big-band, swing, blues, pop in a way that is addicting (think Digable planets, Tribe Called Quest, Beasties, etc). Sage is a rapping, spoken word, live show-battle champ who can fill any of his songs with so much depth in his raps that it's hard to keep up with. He's a bit more aggressive, but not gangsta by ANY means. Just tells it like it is. Aesop is also within intelligent hip-hop, though much more dark and brooding. Like Tool is to rock, Aesop Rock is to hip-hop. Deep, thick and chunky grooves with sometimes disturbing lyrics in a package that can be wrapped in a burrito of dance-able grooves. Amazing. Ever hear of Massive Attack or Portishead? He's their solo hip-hop artist analogy.
All three of these above are true, gifted poets along the lines of Michael Franti of Spearhead, Tuna from Jurassic 5, Atmosphere, etc.
And the Dead's run in May of '77 is some of their best. Just sick. They were so on, especially in the early month (5/6, 5/7, 5/8).
You may listen here:
http://www.archive.org/details/GratefulDead
😀