Blues recommendations anyone?


Hi everybody. I'm looking to expand my music library a little bit, and one genre that I don't have is Blues. I have a buddy at work that plays Blues on his boombox regularly and I've gotten a few names from him, but I was wondering if any of you have a favorite Blues artist or cd that you could highly recommend.
Thanks a bunch.
mjfvashon
muddy waters: electric mud
rl burnside: early recordings or asspocket of whiskey
john lee hooker: hooker & heat (my fave)

rhyno
To my taste, a lot of the old classic blues is tough for modern ears to listen to. It's the real deal and part of understanding the genre but not always easy going... that btw was the stuff that influenced the 60's british bands. Listen to early John Mayall, Stones etc.

In the rock genre Johnny Winters is a definitive one along with the aforementioned Stevie Ray. Totally random that no one has mentioned BB King is a mystery. To say nothing of Albert King. Actually check out Eric Clapton's "Riding With The King" which is a duet with BB King; and "Me & Mr Johnson" which is a tribute to seminal bluesman Robert Johson

For a change of pace try some of the great jazz singers - Peggy Lee, Dinah Washington and Ella Fitzgerald all have albums with "Blues" in the title. Maria Muldaur is more contemporary - "A woman alone with the blues" is full of feeling.

My newest, latest greatest find is an obscure Duke Ellington album called Back To Back which is a small ensemble with Johnny Hodges on trumpet. Coubt Basie has one called Good Time Blues that really gets rolling. And there is an early Basie with Jimmy Rushing that is pretty raw. All of the Verve/Blue Note gang did some blues - as did Satchmo.
I suggest you take a few names from lists like this and go to a site like Amazon.com or Allmusic.com and listen to some cuts. Hopefully you'll find a sytle of blues that you like. As you will find below I am somewhat of an "electric" blues fan, Texas, Chicago, whatever.... it's all good to me.
Good luck and happy hunting!

A. J. Croce...That's Me In The Bar
Aerosmith...Honkin' On Bobo
Albert Collins...Cold Snap
Albert Collins Albert Collins...Deluxe Edition
Albert Collins, Robert Cray, Johnny Copeland...showdown
Allman Brothers Band...One Way Out ( 2 Discs )
Alvin Lee & Ten Year After...Pure Blues
Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan...In Session
B.B.King with Eric Clapton...Riding with the King
B.B.King...The Best Of The Blues 3 CD Set
B.B.King...Live In Cook County Jail
B.B.King...King Of The Blues:1989
B.B.King & Friends...B.B.King & Friends - 80
Bid Bad Voodoo Daddy...Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Bill Perry...Crazy Kind of Life
Bill Perry...Raw Deal
Blues Traveler...Four
Bob Walsh...Blues
Bob Walsh...A Canadian Blues Rendez-vous
Bonnie Raitt...Nick Of Time
Bonnie Raitt...Longing In Their Hearts
Bonnie Raitt...Road Tested
Bonnie Raitt...Silver Lining
Bonnie Raitt...Souls Alike
Brian Setzer Orchestra...Guitar Slinger
Brian Setzer Orchestra...The Dirty Boogie
Bubby Guy...Heavy Love
Bubby Guy...Bring'Em In
Buddy Guy...Feels Like Rain
Byther Smith...Addressing the nation with the blues
Canned Heat...Greatest Hits (Uncanned ! - The best of Canned Heat)
Carlos Santana...Blues For Salvador
Charlie Musselwhite...Deluxe Edition
Coco Montoya...Can't Look Back
Coco Montoya...Suspicon
Coco Montoya...Gotta mind to travel
Colin James...Colin James and The Little Big Band II
Colin James...Bad Habits
Colin James...Limelight
David Gogo...Skeleton Key
David Gogo...Bare Bones
David Hole...The Live One
David Hole...Working Overtime
David Raitt & Jimmy Thackery...That's It
Debbie Davis...Key to Love
Debbie Davis...Tales from the Austin Motel
Debbie Davis...Picture This
Debbie Davis...All I Found
Debbie Davis...Love The Game
Debbie Davis, Kenny Neal, Tab Benoit...Homesick for the Road
Deborah Coleman...What about love
Deborah Coleman...Soft place to fall
Deborah Coleman...I Can't Lose
Delbert McClinton...One Of The Fortunate Few
Delbert McClinton...Live From Austin
Dogskin Suit...Growin' at the Gator
Dogskin Suit...Diggin' Up The Yard
Doug James (D.Robillard & Sugar Ray Norcia)...Blow Mr. Low
Duke Robillard...Stretchin' Out Live
Duke Robillard...New Blues for the Modern Man
Duke Robillard...Duke's Blues
Duke Robillard...Living with the Blues
Eric Clapton...24 Nights
Eric Clapton...Unplugged
Eric Clapton...From The Cradle
Eric Clapton...Blues - 2 CD Set
Eric Clapton...Me and Mr. Johnson
Eric Clapton...Sessions For Robert J.
Fabulous Thunderbirds...The Greatest Hits
Fabulous Thunderbirds...Wrap It Up
Gregg Allman...Searching for simplicity
Harry Manx...Dog My Cat
James Cotton Blues Band...35th Anniversary Jam
Jeff Healey Band...Get Me Some
Jeff Healey Band...See The Light
Jeff Healey Band...Hell To Pay
Jimi Hendrix...Martin Scorsese Presents THE BLUES
Jimmie Vaughan...Strange Pleasure
Jimmy D. Lane...Long Gone
Jimmy D. Lane...Legacy
Jimmy D. Lane with Double Trouble...It's Time
Jimmy Thackery...Healin' Ground
Jimmy Thackery & the Drivers...Drive to Survive
Jimmy Thackery & the Drivers...Switching Gears
Jimmy Thackery & the Drivers...Trouble Man
Jimmy Thackery & the Drivers...True Stories
Jimmy Thackery & the Drivers...We Got It
Jimmy Thackery & the Drivers...Wild Night Out!
Jimmy Thackery & Tab Benoit...Whiskey Store
Jimmy Thackery & Tab Benoit...LIVE - Whiskey Sore
Joanna Connor...Big Girl Blues
Joanna Connor...Slidetime
Joe Beard (Duke Robillard & friends)...For Real
Joe Beard (featuring Ronnie Earl)...Blues Union
John Hammond...Wicked Grin
John Lee Hooker...House Of The Blues
John Lee Hooker...The Real Folk Blues
John Lee Hooker...The Best Of John Lee Hooker.1965-1974
John Lee Hooker...Plays & Sings The Blues
John Mayall...London Blues 1964-1969
John Mayall...Along for the Ride
John Mayall...John Mayall & The BluesBreakers and Friends
John Mayall...Road Dogs
Johnny Winter...I'm A Bluesman
Johnny Winter...Guitar Slinger
Jonny Lang...Lie To Me
Jonny Lang & The Big Bang...Smokin'
Junior Wells...Come On In This House
Junior Wells...Everybody's Gettin' Some
Keb' Mo'...Slow Down
Keb' Mo'...Big Wide Grin
Keb' Mo'...Just Like You
Keb' Mo'...Keb' Mo'
Kelly Joe Phelps...Lead me on
Kenny Wayne Shepherd...Ledbetter Heights
Kenny Wayne Shepherd...Live On
Kenny Wayne Shepherd...Trouble is
Kevin Duke...Rollin' On
Led Zeppelin...BBC Sessions
Little Charlie & The Nightcats...Shadow of the Blues
Lonnie Mack...Live - Attack of the Killer V
Lucky Peterson...Beyond Cool
Lucky Peterson...Lifetime
Luther Allison...Reckless
Luther Allison...Soul Fixin Man
Luther Allison...Serious
Magic Dick & Jay Geils...Bluestime
Magic Slim & The Teardrops...Anything can happen
Marcia Ball...Let me play with your poodle
Marcia Ball...Presumed innocent
Maria Muldaur...Meet me where they play the blues
Maria Muldaur...Richland Woman Blues
Maurice John Vaughn...In The Shadow Of The City
Michael Bloomfield...Don't Say That I Ain't Your Man
Michael Coleman...Do your thing
Mighty "Mo" Rodgers...Blues is my wallin' wall
Monster Mike Welch...Axe To Grind
Muddy Waters...The Best Of Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters...Folk Singer
Noah Wotherspoon & the stratocats...Buzz Me
Otis Rush...Any Place I'm Going
Rita Chiarelli...Breakfast at Midnight
Rita Chiarelli...What a Night - "Live"
R.L. Burnside...Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down
Robert Cray...Strong Persuader
Robert Cray Band...Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark
Robert Cray Band...Some Rainy Morning
Ronnie Earl...Ronnie Earl & friends
Ronnie Earl...Healing Time
Ronnie Earl...I feel Like Goin' on
Ronnie Earl...Now My Soul
Ronnie Earl / Duke Robillard...The Duke meets the Earl
Rory Block...I'm Every Woman
Roy Gaines...Bluesman For Life
Roy Gaines...I Got the T-Bone Walker Blues
Ruthie Foster...Runaway Soul
Ruthie Foster...Stages
Shemekia Copeland...Wicked
Smokin' Joe Kubek Band...Texas Cadillac
Smokin' Joe Kubek Band...Bite Me !
Smokin' Joe Kubek Band...Cryin' For The Moon
Smokin' Joe Kubek Band...Take your best shot
Smokin' Joe Kubek Band...Got My Mind Back
Smokin' Joe Kubek Band...Roadhouse Research
Sonny Landreth...The Road We're On
Sonny Landreth...Grant Street
Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble...Blues at Sunrise
Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble...Soul To Soul
Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble...Texas Flood
Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble...Couldn't Stand the Weather
Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble...The Sky Is Crying
Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble...In Step
Susan Tedeschi...Just Won't Burn
Susan Tedeschi...Live from Austin Tx.(Auston City Limits concert)
Susan Tedeschi...Hope and Desire
Taj Mahal...In progress & In motion (1965 to 1998)
Terry Evans...Blues for Thought
Tommy Castro...Exception To The Rule
Various Artists...From Matrimony to Alimony
Various Artists...The Blues White Album
Various Artists...BAR ROOM BLUES
Various Artists...Blues for a Rotten afternoon
Various Artists...Pure Blues
Various Artists...The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions
Various Artists Whole lotta Blues...Songs of Led Zeppelin
Various Artists 1995...We Are The Blues
Walter Trout...Walter Trout
Walter Trout...Go the Distance
Walter Trout...Relentless
Walter Trout...Live Trout (2 Disc)
ZZ Top...One foot in the blues
Let me know how you like "His Best" (Chess) by Sonny Boy. It is one of my all-time favorite records, and I would recommend it as essential for anyone discovering the blues.