Blues Table

Top 300 Blues Artists

The following table includes the rank, artist name, blues style(s), birth state, instrument(s), birth and death year, first and last year recorded.

If you want to look at just the ranked list it is here.

This page is a winner of a Jazz Fan Attic's Superior Site Award for 1998.

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1	muddy waters	chicago	delta	ms	gui	sli		15	83	41	81
2	b.b. king	tex/west		ms	gui			25		49
3	robert johnson	delta		ms	gui	sli		11	38	36	37
4	john lee hooker	chicago	delta	ms	gui			17	01	48	00
5	howlin' wolf	chicago	sun/swamp	ms	har	gui		10	76	51	74
6	big bill broonzy	bluebird	folk	ms	gui			95	58	27	57
7	t-bone walker	tex/west		tx	gui	pia		10	75	29	73
8	sonny boy williamson (rice miller)	chicago	sun/swamp	ms	har			12	65	51	65
9	lightnin' hopkins	prewar tx		tx	gui			12	82	46	74
10	bessie smith	classic		tn	voc			94	37	23	33
11	elmore james	chicago		ms	gui	sli		18	63	51	62
12	lead belly	prewar tx	folk	la	gui	sli		89	49	33	49
13	little walter	chicago		la	har			30	68	47	67
14	blind lemon jefferson	prewar tx		tx	gui	sli		97	29	26	29
15	charley patton	delta		ms	gui	sli		87	34	29	34
16	jimmy reed	chicago		ms	gui	har		25	76	53	73
17	lonnie johnson	bluebird		la	gui	vio		89	70	25	65
18	john lee "sonny boy" williamson	memphis	chicago	tn	har			14	48	37	47
19	bobby bland	tex/west		tn	voc			30		52
20	sonny terry	eastcoast	folk	ga	har			11	86	38	85
21	junior wells	chicago		tn	har			34	98	53	97
22	son house	delta		ms	gui	sli		2	88	30	70
23	ma rainey	classic		ga	voc			86	39	24	28
24	big joe turner	jazz	r&b	mo	voc			11	85	38	83
25	albert king	tex/west	modern	ms	gui			23	92	53	84
26	buddy guy	chicago	modern	la	gui			36		58
27	roosevelt sykes	bluebird	st. louis	ar	pia			6	83	29	77
28	big joe williams	delta	memphis	ms	gui	sli		3	82	29	80
29	skip james	delta		ms	gui	pia		2	69	31	66
30	lowell fulson	tex/west		ok	gui			21	99	46	97
31	otis rush	chicago		ms	gui			34		56
32	brownie mcghee	eastcoast	folk	tn	gui			15	96	40	85
33	bukka white	delta		ms	gui	sli	pia	6	77	30	75
34	tampa red	bluebird		ga	gui	sli	kaz	4	81	28	60
35	mississippi john hurt	folk		ms	gui	sli		93	66	28	66
36	johnny shines	delta	chicago	tn	gui	sli		15	92	46	91
37	big walter horton	chicago	sun/swamp	ms	har			18	81	39	80
38	magic sam	chicago		ms	gui			37	69	57	69
39	willie dixon	chicago		ms	bas			15	92	40	88
40	jimmy rogers	chicago		ms	gui			24	97	47	97
41	robert nighthawk	chicago	memphis	ar	gui	sli	har	9	67	40	64
42	memphis minnie	memphis	bluebird	la	gui			97	73	29	54
43	professor longhair	r&b		la	pia			18	80	49	79
44	sleepy john estes	memphis		tn	gui			99	77	29	74
45	otis spann	chicago		ms	pia			30	70	55	69
46	freddie king	tex/west		tx	gui			34	76	56	75
47	louis jordan	r&b		ar	sax			8	75	38	73
48	champion jack dupree	bluebird	r&b	la	pia			10	92	40	89
49	charles brown	tex/west		tx	pia			22		45
50	memphis slim	chicago	bluebird	tn	pia			15	88	40	85
51	blind boy fuller	eastcoast		nc	gui			8	41	35	40
52	blind willie mctell	eastcoast		ga	gui	sli		1	59	27	56
53	leroy carr	bluebird		tn	pia			5	35	28	35
54	robert jr. lockwood	chicago	delta	ar	gui			15		41
55	clarence gatemouth brown	tex/west		la	gui	vio		24	05	47
56	junior parker	tex/west	sun/swamp	ms	har			30	71	52	71
57	little milton	tex/west		ms	gui			34		53
58	arthur "big boy" crudup	bluebird		ms	gui			5	74	41	73
59	big mama thornton	tex/west	r&b	al	har			26	84	51	75
60	tommy johnson	delta		ms	gui			96	56	28	30
61	roy brown	r&b		la	voc			25	81	47	71
62	sunnyland slim	chicago	bluebird	ms	pia			7	95	47	83
63	eddie taylor	chicago		ms	gui			23	85	54	83
64	mississippi fred mcdowell	delta		tn	gui	sli		4	72	59	71
65	slim harpo	sun/swamp		la	har			24	70	57	69
66	jimmy witherspoon	jazz	r&b	ar	voc			23	97	45	97
67	furry lewis	memphis		ms	gui	sli		93	81	27	74
68	big maceo	bluebird		ga	pia			5	53	41	52
69	reverend blind gary davis	eastcoast		sc	gui			96	72	35	71
70	victoria spivey	classic		tx	voc			6	76	26	75
71	albert collins	tex/west		tx	gui			32	93	58	93
72	lightnin' slim	sun/swamp		mo	gui			13	74	54	73
73	little brother montgomery	bluebird		la	pia			6	85	30	76
74	james cotton	chicago	sun/swamp	ms	har			35		54
75	texas alexander	prewar tx		tx	voc				54	27	50
76	wynonie harris	r&b	jazz	ne	voc			15	69	44	63
77	eddie boyd	chicago		ms	pia			14	94	47	94
78	guitar slim	r&b		ms	gui			26	59	51	58
79	earl hooker	chicago		ms	gui	sli		30	70	52	69
80	j.b. hutto	chicago		sc	gui	sli		26	83	54	83
81	blind blake	eastcoast		fl	gui			90	33	26	32
82	kokomo arnold	bluebird		ga	gui	sli		1	68	30	38
83	amos milburn	tex/west	r&b	tx	pia			26	80	46	73
84	j.b. lenoir	chicago		ms	gui			29	67	51	66
85	peetie wheatstraw	bluebird	st. louis	tn	pia	gui		2	41	30	41
86	fenton robinson	tex/west	chicago	ms	gui			35	97	57	97
87	eddie vinson	r&b	jazz	tx	sax			17	88	42	82
88	percy mayfield	tex/west		la	voc			20	84	47	82
89	johnny young	chicago		ms	gui	man		18	74	47	73
90	buddy moss	eastcoast		ga	gui			14	84	30	66
91	mance lipscomb	folk	prewar tx	tx	gui	sli		95	76	60	73
92	scrapper blackwell	bluebird		sc	gui			3	62	28	61
93	jimmy mccracklin	r&b	tex/west	mo	pia			21		45
94	jimmy rushing	jazz		ok	voc			2	72	29	71
95	homesick james	chicago		tn	gui	sli		10		37
96	washboard sam	bluebird		ar	was			10	66	35	64
97	smokey hogg	tex/west		tx	gui			14	60	37	58
98	josh white	eastcoast	folk	sc	gui			11	69	32	63
99	roy milton	tex/west		ok	dru			7	83	45	70
100	pee wee crayton	tex/west		tx	gui			14	85	47	83
101	alberta hunter	classic		tn	voc			95	84	21	77
102	walter davis	bluebird		ms	pia			12	63	30	52
103	snooky pryor	chicago		ms	har			21		48
104	blind willie johnson	prewar tx		tx	gui	sli		2	49	27	30
105	frank stokes	memphis		tn	gui			88	55	27	29
106	billy boy arnold	chicago		il	har			35		53
107	houston stackhouse	sun/swamp		ms	gui			10	81	67	72
108	jimmy dawkins	chicago		ms	gui			36		66
109	smiley lewis	r&b		la	gui			20	66	47	65
110	hound dog taylor	chicago		ms	gui	sli		17	75	60	74
111	henry townsend	st. louis		ms	gui	pia		9		29	91
112	gus cannon	memphis		ms	ban	jug		83	79	27	69
113	james "yank" rachel	memphis		tn	man			10	97	34	73
114	bo carter	memphis		ms	gui	vio		94	64	28	40
115	floyd jones	chicago		ar	gui			17	89	47	75
116	tommy mcclennan	delta	memphis	ms	gui			8	60	39	42
117	ida cox	classic		ga	voc			96	67	23	61
118	little johnny taylor	tex/west		tn	voc			43		60
119	dinah washington	jazz		al	voc			24	63	43	63
120	johnny copeland	tex/west		la	gui			37	97	59	97
121	sippie wallace	classic		tx	voc			98	86	23	83
122	louis myers	chicago		ms	gui			29	94	55	94
123	robert wilkins	memphis		ms	gui			96	87	28	68
124	willie mabon	chicago		tn	pia	har		25	85	49	79
125	koko taylor	chicago		tn	voc			35		63
126	carey bell	chicago		ms	har			36		68
127	barbecue bob	eastcoast		ga	gui	sli		2	31	27	31
128	jazz gillum	bluebird		ms	har			4	66	34	61
129	luther allison	chicago	modern	ar	gui			39	97	67	97
130	georgia tom dorsey	bluebird		ga	pia			99	93	28	32
131	jesse fuller	folk		ga	gui	har	kaz	96	76	55	70
132	lonnie brooks	chicago		la	gui			33		57
133	louisiana red	folk	delta	ms	gui	sli		36		49
134	kansas joe mccoy	memphis		ms	gui			5	50	29	44
135	robert pete williams	prewar tx		la	gui			14	80	58	72
136	clara smith	classic		sc	voc			94	35	23	32
137	casey bill weldon	bluebird	memphis	ar	gui	sli		9	65	27	38
138	johnny jones	chicago		ms	pia			24	64	53	64
139	david honeyboy edwards	delta	chicago	ms	gui			15		42
140	will shade	memphis		tn	har	gui		98	66	27	63
141	lonesome sundown	sun/swamp		la	gui			28	95	56	77
142	lazy lester	sun/swamp		la	har			33		56
143	johnny guitar watson	tex/west	modern	tx	gui			35	96	52	96
144	juke boy bonner	prewar tx		tx	gui	har		32	78	57	75
145	larry davis	tex/west		mo	gui			36	94	58	94
146	bumble bee slim (amos easton)	bluebird		ga	gui	pia		5	68	31	62
146	floyd dixon	tex/west		tx	pia			29		49
148	mamie smith	classic		oh	voc			83	46	20	31
149	lil'son jackson	prewar tx	tex/west	tx	gui			15	76	48	63
150	sam chatmon	memphis		ms	gui			97	83	30	76
151	frankie lee sims	prewar tx		la	gui			17	70	48	57
152	taj mahal	folk	modern	ny	gui	pia	har	42		65
153	eddie kirkland	chicago			gui	har		28		53
154	k.c. douglas	delta		ms	gui			13	75	48	74
155	phillip walker	tex/west		la	gui			37		59
156	ivory joe hunter	tex/west		tx	pia			14	74	42	68
157	ishmon bracey	delta		ms	gui			1	70	28	30
158	oscar "buddy" woods	prewar tx		la	gui	sli			56	30	40
159	charlie mccoy	memphis		ms	man	gui		9	50	28	44
160	johnnie temple	delta		ms	gui			6	68	35	49
161	walter brown	jazz	r&b	tx	voc			16	56	41	49
162	john brim	chicago		ky	gui			22		50
163	papa charlie jackson	folk		la	ban	gui		90	38	24	35
163	george "harmonica" smith	chicago		ar	har			24	83	54	80
165	lil green	bluebird	r&b	ms	voc			19	54	40	51
166	curtis jones	bluebird	r&b	tx	pia			6	72	37	68
167	tarheel slim	eastcoast	chicago	nc	gui			24	77	47	76
168	little willie littlefield	tex/west		tx	pia			31		46
169	jim jackson	memphis		ms	gui			90	37	27	30
170	joe willie wilkins	sun/swamp		ms	gui			23	79	73	73
171	curly weaver	eastcoast		ga	gui			6	62	28	49
172	magic slim	chicago		ms	gui			37		66
173	l.c. robinson	tex/west		tx	gui			15	76	45	75
174	mercy dee (walton)	tex/west		tx	pia			15	62	49	62
175	willie brown	delta		ms	gui			95	52	30	41
176	doctor ross	sun/swamp		ms	gui	har	dru	25	93	51	74
177	z.z. hill	tex/west	modern	tx	voc			35	84	63	82
178	joe hill louis	sun/swamp		tn	gui	har	dru	21	57	49	57
179	blind john davis	bluebird		ms	pia			13	85	38	85
180	mighty joe young	chicago		la	gui			27		56
181	pinetop perkins	chicago		ms	pia			13		53
182	walter roland	classic	bluebird	al	pia	gui			60	33	35
183	big maybelle	jazz	r&b	tn	voc			24	72	44	65
184	james oden	bluebird	chicago	tn	voc			3	77	32	64
185	cousin joe	r&b	jazz	la	pia			7	89	45	86
186	lucille bogan (bessie jackson)	classic		ms	voc			97	48	27	35
187	eddie burns	chicago		ms	gui			28		48
188	john littlejohn	chicago		ms	gui	sli		31		53
189	roscoe gordon	r&b		tn	pia			34		51	69
190	hammie nixon	memphis		tn	har	jug	kaz	8	84	34	76
191	willie love	sun/swamp		ms	pia			6	53	51	53
192	peg leg howell	eastcoast		ga	gui			88	66	26	63
193	baby face leroy foster	chicago		ms	gui			23	58	49	52
194	son seals	chicago	modern	ar	gui			42		63
195	black ace	prewar tx		tx	gui	sli		7	72	36	60
196	lafayette "thing" thomas	tex/west		la	gui			28	77	55	68
197	bull moose jackson	r&b	jazz	oh	sax			19	89	45	85
198	joe liggins	tex/west		ok	pia			16	87	47	52
199	earl king	r&b		la	gui			34		55
200	carl martin	eastcoast		va	gui	vio	man	6	79	30	73
201	snooks eaglin	folk	prewar tx	la	gui			36		58
202	pink anderson	eastcoast		sc	gui	sli			74	28	62
203	silas hogan	sun/swamp		la	gui			11	94	62	75
204	katie webster	sun/swamp		tx	pia			39		59
205	eddie clearwater	tex/west		ms	gui			35		56
206	syl johnson	chicago	modern	tn	gui			37		59	84
207	bertha "chippie" hill	classic		sc	voc			5	50	25	47
208	cripple clarence lofton	bluebird		tn	pia			87	57	35	43
209	nappy brown	r&b		nc	voc			29		54
210	sammy price	jazz	r&b	tx	pia			8	92	38	83
211	frank frost	chicago		ar	har	gui		36		63
212	sara martin	classic		ky	voc			84	55	22	28
213	j.t. brown	chicago			sax					56	56
214	walter vinson	memphis		ms	gui			1	75	30	72
215	a.c. reed	chicago		mo	sax			26		65
216	shakey jake (harris)	chicago		ar	har			21	90	58	85
217	noah lewis	memphis		tn	har			95	61	28	30
218	j.d. short (joe stone)	delta		ms	gui	har		2	62	30	62
219	peter "doctor" clayton	bluebird		ga	voc			98	47	35	46
220	hop wilson	sun/swamp	tex/west	tx	gui	sli		21	75	58	61
221	hubert sumlin	chicago		ms	gui			31		64
222	peg leg sam (arthur jackson)	folk		sc	har			11	77	70	75
223	henry gray	chicago	sun/swamp	la	pia			25		54	88
224	georgia white	bluebird		ga	pia			3		30	41
225	jack kelly	memphis		ms	gui			5	60	33	39
226	helen humes	classic	jazz	ky	voc			13	81	27	80
227	j.t. funny papa smith	prewar tx		tx	gui			88	40	30	35
228	willie nix	sun/swamp		tn	dru			22	91	51	68
229	alex moore	prewar tx	bluebird	tx	pia			99	89	29	89
230	sonny rhodes	tex/west		tx	gui			40		61
231	sam myers	chicago		ms	har			36		57
232	matt murphy	chicago		ms	gui			29		63
233	jimmy johnson	chicago		ms	gui			28		67
234	john jackson	eastcoast	folk	va	gui	ban	sli	24		65
235	r.l. burnside	delta		ms	gui			26		67
236	luther johnson jr.	chicago		ms	gui			39		72
237	charlie spand	bluebird		ga	pia					29	40
238	little bill gaither	bluebird			gui					35	41
239	rube lacy	folk	delta	ms	gui	sli		1	72	27	28
240	lee (leothus) green	st. louis	bluebird	mi	pia				44	29	37
241	whispering smith	sun/swamp		mi	har			32	84	63	81
242	forest city joe (pugh)	chicago		ar	har			26	60	49	59
243	memphis willie borum	memphis		tn	gui	har		11	73	34	61
244	laughing charly lincoln	eastcoast		ga	gui				63	27	30
245	trixie smith	classic		ga	voc			95	43	21	39
246	bobo jenkins	chicago		al	gui			16	84	54	78
247	detroit junior	chicago		ar	pia			31		52	80
248	deford bailey	delta		tn	har			99	82	28	28
249	henry thomas	prewar tx		tx	gui	qui		74	58	27	29
250	arthur big boy spires	chicago		ms	gui			12		52	65
251	ramblin' thomas	prewar tx		la	gui			2	45	28	32
252	luther "snake" johnson	chicago		ga	gui			34	76	64	75
253	jimmy liggins	tex/west		ok	gui			22	83	45	62
254	sam collins	folk		la	gui			87	49	27	32
255	charley jordan	st. louis		ar	gui			95	54	30	36
256	jesse "babyface" thomas	prewar tx		la	gui			11	95	29	89
257	babe stovall	folk		ms	gui			7	74	58	70
258	paul gayten	r&b		la	pia			20	91	50	91
259	sticks mcghee	eastcoast		tn	gui			18	61	47	60
260	jody williams	sun/swamp	chicago	al	gui			35		55
261	thomas shaw	prewar tx		tx	gui			8	77	69	73
262	will batts	memphis		ms	vio			4	56	29	54
263	little hat jones	prewar tx		tx	gui					29	30
264	willie johnson	sun/swamp	chicago	ms	gui			23	95	55	55
265	guitar slim (alex seward)	eastcoast		va	gui			2	72	47	66
266	frank edwards	eastcoast		ga	gui	har		9	90	41	73
267	lil johnson	bluebird			pia					36	37
268	sylvester weaver	eastcoast		ky	gui	sli				23	27
269	frankie half pint jaxon	bluebird		al	voc			95	45	27	40
270	joe callicott	delta		ms	gui				69	30	68
271	bill williams	folk	eastcoast	va	gui			97	73	70	72
272	son bonds	memphis		tn	gui	kaz		7	47	34	41
273	otis smokey smothers	chicago		mi	gui			29		60	86
274	moody jones	chicago		ar	gui			8		52	52
275	jay bird coleman	delta		al	har			96	51	27	30
276	willie walker	eastcoast		sc	gui			96	33	30	30
277	luther huff	sun/swamp		ms	gui	man		10	73	51	68
278	henry brown	st. louis		tn	pia			6	81	29	74
279	buster brown	r&b		ga	har			14	76	59	72
280	hambone willie newbern	delta		ms	gui	sli		99	47	29	29
281	bee houston	tex/west		tx	gui			38	91	68	70
282	baby tate	eastcoast		ga	gui			16	72	57	62
283	sonny boy nelson (eugene powell)	delta		ms	gui			8		36	76
284	floyd council	eastcoast		nc	gui	man		11	76	37	37
285	pat hare	sun/swamp	chicago	ar	gui			30	80	54	54
286	papa lightfoot	sun/swamp		ms	har			24	71	49	69
287	arnold moore	jazz	r&b	ks	voc			13		45	77
288	arthur gunter	sun/swamp		tn	gui			26	76	54	61
289	gus jenkins	tex/west		al	pia			31	85	51	65
290	doug quattlebaum	eastcoast		sc	gui			27	90	52	61
291	dan pickett	eastcoast			gui	sli				49	49
292	clifford gibson	st. louis	delta	ky	gui			1	63	29	60
293	henry johnson	eastcoast		sc	gui			8	74	72	73
294	robert petway	delta		ms	gui					41	42
295	j.c. burris	eastcoast		nc	har			28	88	58	75
296	lonesome jimmie lee robinson	chicago		il	gui	bas		31		59	75
297	john henry barbee	delta	folk	tn	gui	sli		5	64	38	64
298	blind blue (teddy) darby	st. louis		ky	gui			6		29	64
299	jimmie gordon	st. louis	bluebird		pia					34	41
300	daddy stovepipe	folk		al	gui			67	63	24	61