Raistlin I can recommend three good albums
1. The Battle For Everything by Five For Fighting
The Five For Fighting album is probably the best album I have heard for ages and if you watch Smallville then you will already know two of his songs. 100 Years appears on this album and Superman appears on his previous album America Town which is also very good.
2. Back To Bedlam by James Blunt
Listened to it today on the drive home and really enjoyed it, it grabbed my attention in the same way the Five For Fighting album did. It only has 10 tracks but quality always wins over quantity and track 2 'Your Beautiful' is exceptional. Check out the reviews to get an idea of the style of music but the closest I can compare him to is David Gray, Damien Rice and also Five For Fighting. I think he has a better voice than David Gray and the songs are better than Damien Rice's.
3. Lifehouse by Lifehouse.
Again another regular on Smallville and their latest album is enjoyable too.
If you want me to I can host a few sample tracks on my ntl home page so you can get an idea of the style of music. Try before you buy.
__________________
Just remembered a really good greatest hits album and that is Aha - The Singles 1984 To 2004. A truly exceptional greatest hits album.
__________________
Another mind jog
Two female artists that you might consider are Room Noises by Eisley and Siren by Heather Nova. I saw Heather Nova perform Heart And Shoulder live on VH1 several years ago and bought the album purely on that one song and was pleasantly surprised when I listened to the rest of the album.
It's a shame that the artists I have recommended don't get the air play that their songs truly deserve and without people's recommendations you can lose out on listening to some really good music. Most local radio stations always play the same chart music and it's not until you start listening to stations like Radio 2 that you get to hear 'new' music.