I've never really noticed rain to have a smell. Maybe I need to live in a drier place and get out more.
I know this doesn't really add anything to the discussion, but if there is someone else here who has no concept of that "sweet, fresh, powerfully evocative smell" I don't want them to feel alone.
Sure: my girlfriend always mentions the nice smell when it has rained while all I smell is the nasty smell of wet concrete.
I've never noticed the rain having a nice smell but that might be because I live (and always have lived) in a densely populated area (The Hague area in the Netherlands).
I know this doesn't really add anything to the discussion, but if there is someone else here who has no concept of that "sweet, fresh, powerfully evocative smell" I don't want them to feel alone.