Three female singer albums that I have that are very high quality recordings:

Susanne Vega - Solitude Standing
Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes
Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman

(Note: none of these can be categorized as "uplifting music", although Vega is relatively benign.)

Axiom M80s + QS8s + VP180 <-- Pioneer VSX-1120-K <-- Squeezebox Touch / XBox360 / Oppo BDP-93