Flamenco artists - Where to start?

Try Jesse Cook. I only started looking for this kind of stuff recently. Theres Ottmar Liebert too.
 
Paco De Lucia is fucking amazing. He does a few albums with Al Di Meola and John McLaughling that are just incredible (Friday Night In San Francisco).

My dad just got a new CD called Rodrigo y Gabriela which is some really great catchy flamenco. They actually do a flamenco cover of Orion and Stairway to Heaven on the CD.

A friend of mine also showed me Gerardo Nunez and Paco Pena who are both great.
 
If you're only just getting into flamenco I'd probably recommend The Gipsy Kings first. Their music is fairly simple for the most part but captures the flamenco vibe and essence well. A step up from there would then be either the already-mentioned Rodrigo y Gabriela - due largely to their flamenco covers of songs by more mainstream artists like Metallica - or Armik. Armik is definitely far more proficient and tighter in flamenco technique but tends to jazz his music up with brushed drums, melodic percussion and strings. Rodrigo y Gabriela have more of a "guitar purist" approach.

Where you go from there depends largely on your preference. If you enjoyed Armik's style more you'd look at artists like Urban Gypsies (Aussie locals :D) or Elmer Jaroka. If you're more into the traditional sounding material I'd recommend Oscar Herrero, Ottmar Liebert and El Nino Josele. Paco De Lucia has been mentioned several times already and with good reason. Whatever your preference in flamenco, odds are he plays something you'll like and he'll do so flawlessly.

Jesse Cook is a new one to me that I'll have to check out. Hopefully the fresh recommendations keep on coming.
 
Paco De Lucia is fucking amazing. He does a few albums with Al Di Meola and John McLaughling that are just incredible (Friday Night In San Francisco).

My dad just got a new CD called Rodrigo y Gabriela which is some really great catchy flamenco. They actually do a flamenco cover of Orion and Stairway to Heaven on the CD.

A friend of mine also showed me Gerardo Nunez and Paco Pena who are both great.
Absolutley correct, man. Back in 1980 I saw Paco, Dimeola and Mclaughlin (acoustic tour) and it was Godly. One of the best performances ever. Alex Skolnick, recently in N.Y. city jammed with Rodrigo y Gabriela and Alex said it was a"great experience" for him. Paco De Lucia's most recent studio album from 2003-4 is called "Cositas Buenas"(Good Things) and is truly amazing. Guitar work is astounding.
 
i love this genre. i'd try either jesse cook or ottmar liebert first. paco and johnny mac can wait i think. the only fresh recommendation id have is nova menco. probably my favourite out of all the mentioned artists. pretty hard to find though iirc. all of the artists mentioned are pretty much incredible, for me anyway. you cant really go wrong if you follow the recs in this thread.