There is so much great blues music. Between my collection and our local library, we have a lot of great listening recommendations to share. This page is meant to highlight some great blues players and note some of their best and most relevant releases. When rock groups like Led Zeppelin are listed, we note their blues oriented material. 

This section will grow so continue to stop back. We just started! I know, some of my favorite artists aren't yet listed YET. 

Roy Buchanan
Paul Butterfield
Jimi Hendrix
Lightnin' Hopkins
Skip James
Albert King
Led Zeppelin
Mance Lipscomb
Mississippi Fred McDowell
Blind Willie McTell
Willie Nelson
Hubert Sumlin
Little Walter
Sonny Boy Williamson
Howlin' Wolf

Roy's earliest work on Polydor and his last three releases that were on Alligator Records are not only his best studio releases, but more blues oriented.  

Our Roy Buchanan section includes a comprehensive guide to building a Roy Buchanan collection and discography. The selections on this page offer zero overlap.

Sweet Dreams: The Anthology - Polydor, Atlantic, unreleased tracks, live tracks.

Deluxe Edition - Studio tracks from Alligator

Messiah On Guitar - live from the '80's.

Paul Butterfield's An Anthology -- The Elektra Years includes a portion of the material that includes Michael Bloomfield. His debut album, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, saw him teaming up with guitarists Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield, with Jerome Arnold on bass, Sam Lay on drums, and Mark Naftalin playing organ. Their next album, East-West is most noted for the extended eastern influenced 13 minute title track that is included on this Anthology.  

The second disc the band incorporates horns into their music. Among the personnel, noted sax player David Sanborn is on most tracks. Some great music on this disc too.

Butterfield's band with Bloomfield backed Bob Dylan at his infamous 7/25/1965, electric performance at the Newport Folk Festival. Dylan's Bootleg Series Vol. 7 includes the "Maggie's Farm." 

Related - Michael Bloomfield overview.

Disc: 1
From Folk Song
1. Born In Chicago  
From What's Shakin'
2. Lovin Cup  
3. One More Mile  
4. Off the Wall  
From Single
5. Come On In  
From The Original Lost Elecktra Sessions
6. Nut Popper #I 
7. Ain't No Need To Go No Further/It's Too Late Brother 
From The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
8. Born In Chicago 
9. Shake Your Money Maker 
10. Blues With A Feeling 
11. Thank You Mr. Poobah 
12. Our Love Is Driftin' 
13. Mystery Train 
14. Last Night 
From East-West
15. Walkin ' Blues 
16. I Got A Mind To Give Up Living 
17. Work Song 
18. All These Blues 
19. East West  

Disc: 2
From The Resurrection of Pigboy
1. One More Heartache  
2. Double Trouble  
From In My Own Dream
3. Last Hope's Gone  
4. Mornin' Blues  
5. Just To Be With You  
6. Get Yourself Together 
7. In My Own Dream 
From Keep On Dreaming
8. Love March 
9. Walkin' By Myself 
10. Love Disease 
From The Paul Butterfield Blues Band Live
11. Everything's Gonna Be Alright 
12. Driftin' & Driftin' 
From Sometimes I Feel Like Smilin'
13. Blind Leading The Blind 
14. Song For Lee 

Paul Butterfield Blues Band - 1965
1. Born In Chicago  
2. Shake Your Money-Maker  
3. Blues With A Feeling  
4. Thank You Mr. Poobah  
5. I Got My Mojo Working  
6. Mellow Down Easy  
7. Screamin'  
8. Our Love Is Drifting  
9. Mystery Train  
10. Last Night  
11. Look Over Yonders Wall  

There are a few exclusive Hendrix Blues releases, Blues and Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: Jimi Hendrix that display only that side of him. I played the Blues CD several times. It has some excellent playing. The liner notes give a background of Jimi's blues influences, song by song notes, and recording dates. Most of these songs were previously unreleased.

Our Jimi Hendrix section

Double Blues
Lightnin' Hopkins, guitar and vocals ; Leonard Gaskin, bass ; Herbie Lovelle, drums. Recorded May 4-5, 1964.

The Sonet Blues Story
Recorded in Houston in 1974 and was originally released as part of Samuel Charters' "Legacy of the Blues" series.

Hopkins playing an acoustic guitar with an electric pick up backed by a three-piece band: Ira James on harmonica, Larry "Bones" McCall on drums, with Rusty Myers and Ozell Roberts splitting time on bass.

Note, The Sonet Blues Story is a series that features other great Blues artists. 

James recorded in the 1930's and was rediscovered in the 1960's. Many of his releases are the same songs on a different label. Those James influenced include Robert Johnson (James' "Devil Got My Woman" is the basis of Johnson's "Hellhound on My Trail") and Eric Clapton (recorded James' "I'm So Glad" by Cream). 

Hard Time Killin' Floor includes remastering of all of James' early work. with the extra room at the end of the CD, four Son House songs close the disc.

The June 2007 Stax compilation release,   The Very Best Of Albert King, is a perhaps the best single disc King compilation. It focuses on his prime years between 1966 and 1974 for Stax Records. This 24-bit remastered disc collects 20 greatest hits including “Born Under a Bad Sign,” “Crosscut Saw,” and many more! The version of "Blues Power" is an edited live version from his Fillmore releases. It also includes rare photographs and notes by Rob Bowman, author of the Grammy® Award-winning Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records.

Hearing the blues live adds a whole new energy to it. There are two live releases from 1968 from a Wednesday and Thursday evening that are top picks. His 1968 live classic, Live Wire/Blues Power, is taken from these dates, but is shorter in length.

Beyond that, they used blues throughout their career. On their album, Physical Graffiti, they went back to their love of American rural blues with "In My Time of Dying." For Presence, they tackle another Blind Willie Johnson song, "Nobody's Fault But Mine." Both of these songs show the band adding much more depth to their interpretation than their early records. 

You've Got To Reap What You Sow is a reissue with 13 additional songs.

Texas Songster, Vol. 4: Live! At the Cabale
From Arhoolie: Presented before a "live" audience is Mance Lipscomb, Texas songster, blues guitarist, share-cropper, gentleman, and carrier of a remarkably rich rural African American heritage. Here is his amazingly wide repertoire: ranging from powerful topical protest ballads like "Tom Moore" to spirituals, children's songs, old pop songs, blues, boogies and stories.
Recorded in 1964 & 1972. - 21 songs

Live! At the 1966 Berkeley Blues Festival
Seven songs by Mance Lipscomb. The disc also features Clifton Chenier, and Lightning Hopkins' sets.

See also, Newport Folk Festival: Best of the Blues 1959-1968

The Best of Blind Willie McTell
Product Description - The Best of Blind Willie McTell highlights the blues icon on 12-string guitar but also captures some of his a six–string guitar work from some of his earliest recordings. Each song on this 23-track CD was culled from rare and precious 78s and has been newly remastered to produce the best possible sound quality. The Best of Blind Willie McTell is a must-have for any blues or early music enthusiast.

Overall, a worthwhile listen of mellow blues. 

Clapton plays only on "I'm Ready." Keith Richards is on three tracks. The personnel credits vary from track, but there is a primary core. Bob Margolin plays guitar on most songs and Hubert on all of the songs, Mudcat Ward adds piano to most songs.  

This is some really good blues. Best track, "Iodine in My Coffee."

The compilation, Little Walter: His Best (Chess 50th Anniversary Collection), is a superb career overview. Its 20 tracks are chronologically sequenced from 1952 through 1960. It includes a short essay, photos, and personnel credits. 

A typical personnel line-up on his early material is Little Walter on vocals and harmonica with backing by two guitarist and drums. Later, Willie Dixon would be added on bass. He rarely used piano. 

Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rogers play guitar on the first two songs. Afterwards, Louis Myers and Dave Meyers on guitar with Fred Below on drums back Little Walter. Track ten has Robert Lockwood, Luther Tucker taking over guitar duties. Tracks 17 - 20 have varied personnel. 

His Best, is a single disc alternate, generally much less expensive too. 

His single disc compilation, Howlin' Wolf: His Best (Chess 50th Anniversary Collection) three disc Chess Box. There is a two disc release called Anthology, but that is not chronological which detracts from it. 

From the single disc, many of the songs are household names as they were covered over and over. I think the best stuff is at the end, beginning with the stinging guitar on "Goin' Down Slow," and concluding with Sumlin and Buddy Guy on "Killing Floor," which Led Zeppelin fans will recognize as "The Lemon Song."

The London Howlin' Wolf sessions is basically a collection of his best songs done with Eric Clapton on lead guitar. Wolf's primary guitarist Hubert Sumlin was present for the sessions and was invaluable to the sessions. 

The material is not quite as essential as the original Chess recordings. However, they provide a great listen, especially for fans of Clapton. The keyboards and horns (when used) were overdubbed in Chicago. Pianist Layfayette Leake is only on four songs and his talents really shine, too bad he isn't on more of the songs, sorry Steve. 

Excellent rendition of "Goin' Down Slow!" On it, Clapton locks with the harmonica nicely. Anyone catch the Sopranos episode Chasing It that feature Wolf's version of the song?

The Deluxe Edition is two discs. Disc one includes the original album, and three bonus tracks, which were released in 1974 (along with some of Muddy Waters London Sessions) as London Revisited. The second disc are rehearsals and alternate takes.