Showing posts with label blues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blues. Show all posts

Monday, March 16, 2026

The Top 100 Blues Acts of All Time

Blues:

Top 100 Acts

These are the top 100 blues acts of all time as determined by aggregating 50 best-of lists focused on blues artists. Click on names to see their entries in the Dave’s Music Database Music Makers Encyclopedia.

See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre.

1. Robert Johnson
2. Muddy Waters
3. B.B. King
4. Howlin’ Wolf
5. John Lee Hooker
6. Stevie Ray Vaughan
7. Albert King
8. Buddy Guy
9. Eric Clapton
10. Bessie Smith


Robert Johnson

11. T-Bone Walker
12. Leadbelly
13. Son House
14. Lightnin’ Hopkins
15. Freddie King
16. Etta James
17. Elmore James
18. Jimi Hendrix
19. Willie Dixon
20. Ma Rainey


Muddy Waters

21. Jimmy Reed

22. Ray Charles
23. Blind Lemon Jefferson
24. Johnny Winter
25. Big Mama Thornton
26. John Mayall
27. Charley Patton
28. Big Bill Broonzy
29. Koko Taylor
30. Little Walter


John Lee Hooker

31. Billie Holiday
32. Skip James
33. Sister Rosetta Tharpe
34. Albert Collins
35. Mississippi John Hurt
36. Bonnie Raitt
37. Otis Rush
38. Janis Joplin
39. Joe Bonamassa
40. Lonnie Johnson


Howlin’ Wolf

41. W.C. Handy
42. Mamie Smith
43. Taj Mahal
44. Memphis Minnie
45. Bobby “Blue” Bland
46. Sonny Boy Williamson #2 (Rice Miller)
47. Rory Gallagher
48. Peter Green
49. Louis Jordan
50. Reverend Gary Davis


B.B. King

51. Sonny Boy Williamson #1 (John Lee Williamson)
52. Robert Cray
53. Paul Butterfield
54. Blind Willie Johnson
55. Big Joe Turner
56. Magic Sam
57. Blind Willie McTell
58. Bukka White
59. Junior Wells
60. Tampa Red


Son House

61. Professor Longhair
62. Tommy Johnson
63. Otis Spann
64. Slim Harpo
65. Charles Brown
66. Ruth Brown
67. R.L. Burnside
68. Chuck Berry
69. Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup
70. Mike Bloomfield


Stevie Ray Vaughan

71. Mississippi Fred McDowell
72. Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown
73. Brownie McGhee
74. Roosevelt Sykes
75. Luther Allison
76. Blind Boy Fuller
77. Leroy Carr
78. Victoria Spivey
79. Big Joe Williams
80. Little Milton


Bessie Smith

81. Arthur “Blind Blake” Phelps
82. J.B. Lenoir
83. Gary Moore
84. Duane Allman
85. John Mayer
86. Keb’ Mo’
87. Wynonie Harris
88. Robert Nighthawk
89. Ida Cox
90. Bo Diddley


Leadbelly

91. Son Seals
92. Hound Dog Taylor
93. Sonny Terry
94. J.B. Hutto
95. Susan Tedeschi
96. Shemekia Copeland
97. Roy Buchanan
98. Dinah Washington
99. Gus Cannon
100. Fats Domino


Buddy Guy

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First posted 7/16/2011; last updated 3/16/2026.




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Friday, November 21, 2025

20th Century Americana: Top 100 Songs

20th Century Americana:

Top 100 Songs

Americana music is a celebration of roots-oriented musical forms that are heavily associated with the United States. It reaches back hundreds of years to traditional music, gospel, Negro spirituals, folk, blues, and country for its influence although it is framed in a more modern context. It really surfaced in the late ‘60s as an outgrown of the folk rock movement with artists like The Band and The Grateful Dead becoming some of the best known groups to incorporate it into their music.

To create this list, 27 lists focused on Americana songs were aggregated alongside lists about folk, folk rock, country, and country rock. Added into the mix were other songs from artists featured on those lists. Those songs appearing on the most lists were then ranked based on their overall status in Dave’s Music Database. This list is focused on Americana music in the 20th century. A separate list has been created that focuses on Americana music in the 21st century.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. The Band “The Weight” (1968)
2. The Band (1969), Joan Baez (1971) “The Night They Drove Ol’ Dixie Down”
3. The Band “Up on Cripple Creek” (1969)
4. The Grateful Dead “Truckin’” (1970)
5. The Black Crowes “Hard to Handle” (1990)
6. Bonnie Raitt “Something to Talk About” (1991)
7. The Grateful Dead “Uncle John’s Band” (1970)
8. Neil Young “Harvest Moon” (1992)
9. Steve Earle “Copperhead Road” (1988)
10. Jerry Jeff Walker (1968), The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1970) “Mr. Bojangles”

11. The Grateful Dead (1970), Lyle Lovett (1991) “Friend of the Devil”
12. The Grateful Dead “A Touch of Grey” (1987)
13. Bonnie Raitt “I Can’t Make You Love Me” (1991)
14. Steve Goodman (1971), Arlo Guthrie (1972), Willie Nelson (1984) “City of New Orleans”
15. Stray Cats “Rock This Town” (1981)
16. Bruce Springsteen “Atlantic City” (1982)
17. John Stewart “Gold” (1979)
18. Lyle Lovett & Randy Newman “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” (1995)
19. Townes Van Zandt (1972), Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard (1983) “Pancho and Lefty”
20. Bonnie Raitt “Love Sneakin’ Up on You” (1994)

21. Bonnie Raitt “Nick of Time” (1989)
22. The Grateful Dead “Sugar Magnolia” (1970)
23. The Black Crowes “Remedy” (1992)
24. The Byrds “Hickory Wind” (1968)
25. Traveling Wilburys “Handle with Care” (1988)
26. Tom Petty “You Don’t Know How It Feels” (1994)
27. Gram Parsons “Return of the Grievous Angel” (1974)
28. Lyle Lovett “If I Had a Boat” (1988)
29. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band “An American Dream” (1979)
30. The Grateful Dead “Dark Star” (1968)

31. The Flying Burrito Brothers (1969), Emmylou Harris (1975) “Sin City”
32. The Traveling Wilbuys “End of the Line” (1988)
33. The Byrds “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” (1968)
34. Bruce Cockburn “If I Had a Rocket Launcher” (1984)
35. The Black Crowes “Jealous Again” (1990)
36. Bruce Springsteen “The Ghost of Tom Joad” (1995)
37. The Band “Rag Mama Rag” (1969)
38. John Prine (1971), Bonnie Raitt (1971) “Angel from Montgomery”
39. The Black Crowes “She Talks to Angels” (1990)
40. The Grateful Dead “Casey Jones” (1970)

41. Bob Dylan “Mississippi” (1997)
42. Lyle Lovett “She’s No Lady” (1988)
43. Lyle Lovett “Nobody Knows Me” (1989)
44. Lucinda Williams “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” (1998)
45. The Flying Burrito Brothers “Christine’s Tune (Devil in Disguise)” (1969)
46. Gram Parsons “She” (1973)
47. The Byrds “Ballad of Easy Rider” (1969)
48. Robbie Robertson “Somewhere Down the Crazy River” (1987)
49. The Jayhawks “Blue” (1995)
50. The Byrds “One Hundred Years from Now” (1968)

51. John Hiatt “Have a Little Faith in Me” (1987)
52. Stray Cats “Stray Cat Strut” (1981)
53. Bruce Cockburn “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” (1984)
54. Lyle Lovett “Private Conversation” (1996)
55. The Grateful Dead “Ripple” (1970)
56. The Flying Burito Brothers “Hot Burrito #1” (1969)
57. The Grateful Dead “Box of Rain” (1970)
58. Bruce Springsteen “We Shall Overcome” (1998)
59. Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris “Love Hurts” (1974)
60. The Band “I Shall Be Released” (1968)

61. Emmylou Harris “Boulder to Birmingham” (1975)
62. Cracker “Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)” (1992)
63. The Flying Burrito Brothers “Wild Horses” (1970)
64. Dillard & Clark “Train Leaves Here This Morning” (1968)
65. Lyle Lovett “Pontiac” (1988)
66. Bruce Springsteen “Johnny 99” (1982)
67. Billy Bragg & Wilco “California Stars” (1998)
68. Son Volt “Drown” (1996)
69. Little Feat “Willin’” (1978)
70. Lyle Lovett “Step Inside This House” (1998)

71. Lyle Lovett “Give Back My Heart” (1987)
72. The Jayhawks “Waiting for the Sun” (1992)
73. Lyle Lovett “L.A. County” (1988)
74. Lyle Lovett “Cowboy Man” (1986)
75. Lyle Lovett “Here I Am” (1989)
76. Bob Dylan “Everything Is Broken” (1989)
77. The Grateful Dead “Alabama Getaway” (1980)
78. John Hiatt “Memphis in the Meantime” (1987)
79. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band “Make a Little Magic” (1980)
80. Steve Earle “Guitar Town” (1986)

81. John Prine “Hello in There” (1971)
82. John Hiatt “Drive South” (1988)
83. Stray Cats “She’s Sexy + 17” (1983)
84. The Black Crowes “Thorn in My Pride” (1992)
85. The Byrds “Chestnut Mare” (1970)
86. The Traveling Wilburys “She’s My Baby” (1990)
87. Bonnie Raitt “Love Letter” (1989)
88. John Hiatt “Child of the Wild Blue Yonder” (1990)
89. John Hiatt “Slow Turning” (1988)
90. Gram Parsons “Brass Buttons” (1974)

91. Bonnie Raitt “Thing Called Love” (1989)
92. John Hiatt “Tennessee Plates” (1988)
93. Lyle Lovett “Church” (1992)
94. Robbie Robertson & BoDeans “Showdown at Big Sky” (1987)
95. Lyle Lovett & Keb’ Mo’ “Till It Shines” (1999)
96. Neil Young “Philadelphia” (1994)
97. The Grateful Dead “Dire Wolf” (1970)
98. Bob Dylan “Dignity” (1989)
99. John Stewart “Midnight Wind” (1979)
100. Lyle Lovett “You Can’t Resist It” (1986)

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First posted 11/20/2025; last updated 11/21/2025.

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Monday, September 11, 2023

Top 100 Blues Songs of All Time

Blues:

Top 100 Songs

This list was compiled by aggregating 38 lists focused on blues songs. The top 100 songs according to the aggregate of the lists were then re-ranked based on overall points in Dave’s Music Database. The aggregated list and the Dave’s Music Database rankings were then average together for the final result.

In most cases, only one version of a song is listed below. Exceptions include Robert Johnson’s “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom” and its even more iconic cover by Elmore James as well as Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads” and its classic-rock cover by Cream.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. Muddy Waters “Mannish Boy” (1955)
2. John Lee Hooker “Boogie Chillen” (1949)
3. B.B. King “The Thrill Is Gone” (1969)
4. Muddy Waters “Hoochie Coochie Man” (1954)
5. Howlin’ Wolf “Smokestack Lightning” (1956)
6. Robert Johnson “Cross Road Blues (aka ‘Crossroads’)” (1936)
7. T-Bone Walker “Call It Stormy Monday” (1948)
8. John Lee Hooker “Boom Boom” (1962)
9. Robert Johnson “Hell Hound on My Trail” (1937)
10. Elmore James “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom” (1952)

11. Albert King “Born Under a Bad Sign” (1967)
12. Robert Johnson “Sweet Home Chicago” (1936)
13. Bessie Smith & Jimmie Cox “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” (1929)
14. Elmore James “The Sky Is Crying” (1960)
15. Little Walter “Juke” (1952)
16. Clarence “Pine Top” Smith “Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie” (1929)
17. Muddy Waters “Got My Mojo Working” (1956)
18. Big Joe Williams “Baby Please Don’t Go” (1941)
19. Sonny Boy Williamson #1 “Good Morning Little School” (1937)
20. Howlin’ Wolf “How Many More Years” (1951)

21. Guitar Slim “The Things That I Used to Do” (1954)
22. Otis Rush “I Can’t Quit You Baby” (1956)
23. Etta James “At Last” (1960)
24. Mamie Smith “Crazy Blues” (1920)
25. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Red House” (1967)
26. Blind Willie McTell “Statesboro Blues” (1927)
27. Bo Diddley “I’m a Man” (1955)
28. Canned Heat “On the Road Again” (1968)
29. Big Bill Broonzy “Key to the Highway” (1941)
30. Robert Johnson “Come on in My Kitchen” (1937)

31. Muddy Waters “Rollin’ Stone” (1950)
32. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble “Pride and Joy” (1983)
33. Muddy Waters “I Can’t Be Satisfied” (1948)
34. Little Walter “My Babe” (1955)
35. Robert Johnson “Love in Vain” (1937)
36. Charley Patton “Pony Blues” (1929)
37. Big Mama Thornton “Hound Dog” (1953)
38. Cream “Crossroads” (live, 1969)
39. B.B. King “Every Day I Have the Blues” (1955)
40. Gary Moore “Still Got the Blues” (1990)

41. Muddy Waters “I Just Want to Make Love to You” (1954)
42. Lowell Fulson “Reconsider Baby” (1954)
43. Roosevelt Sykes “Forty Four Blues” (1929)
44. Freddie King “Hideaway” (1961)
45. Howlin’ Wolf “Spoonful” (1960)
46. Elmore James “Shake Your Moneymaker” (1961)
47. Slim Harpo “I’m a King Bee” (1957)
48. Ma Rainey “See See Rider Blues” (1925)
49. The Mississippi Sheiks “Sitting on Top of the World” (1930)
50. Louis Jordan “Let the Good Times Roll” (1946)

51. Leroy Carr with Scrapper Blackwell “How Long, How Long Blues” (1928)
52. Blind Willie Johnson “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” (1928)
53. Magic Sam “All Your Love” (1957)
54. Koko Taylor “Wang Dang Doodle” (1965)
55. Blind Lemon Jefferson “Black Snake Moan” (1927)
56. Freddie King “I’m Tore Down” (1961)
57. Robert Petway “Catfish Blues” (1941)
58. Junior Wells with Buddy Guy “Messin’ with the Kid” (1970)
59. Wilson Pickett “Mustang Sally” (1966)
60. Blind Lemon Jefferson “Matchbox Blues” (1927)

61. Clarence Carter “Slip Away” (1968)
62. B.B. King “Three O’Clock Blues” (1951)
63. John Lee Hooker “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” (1966)
64. Howlin’ Wolf “The Killing Floor” (1964)
65. Son House “Death Letter Blues” (1930)
66. Robert Johnson “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom” (1936)
67. Big Mama Thornton “Ball and Chain” (1968)
68. Bobby “Blue” Bland “Further on Up the Road” (1957)
69. W.C. Handy “The Memphis Blues” (1912)
70. Jimmy Reed “Big Boss Man” (1960)

71. Buddy Guy “Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues” (1991)
72. Skip James “Devil Got My Woman” (1931)
73. Fleetwood Mac “Black Magic Woman” (1968)
74. Howlin’ Wolf “The Little Red Rooster” (1961)
75. Robert Johnson “Me and the Devil Blues” (1937)
76. Canned Heat “Going Up the Country” (1968)
77. Eddie Boyd “Five Long Years” (1952)
78. Sonny Boy Williamson II “Help Me” (1963)
79. Louis Jordan “I Know What You’re Putting Down” (1946)
80. T-Bone Walker “Mean Old World” (1942)

81. John Lee Hooker “I’m in the Mood” (1951)
82. Etta James “I’d Rather Go Blind” (1968)
83. Robert Johnson “Stop Breakin’ Down” (1937)
84. Tampa Red with Georgia Tom “It’s Tight Like That” (1928)
85. Albert Collins “If Trouble Was Money” (1984)
86. Elmore James “One Way Out” (1961)
87. Big Joe Williams “Blues on Highway 49” (1935)
88. Elmore James “It Hurts Me Too” (1965)
89. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble “Texas Flood” (1983)
90. Howlin’ Wolf “I Ain’t Superstitious” (1961)

91. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band “Born in Chicago” (1965)
92. Memphis Slim “Messin’ Around” (1948)
93. Hound Dog Taylor “Give Me Back My Wig” (1971)
94. Howlin’ Wolf “Back Door Man” (1960)
95. B.B. King “How Blue Can You Get?” (1963)
96. Sonny Boy Williamson II “Eyesight to the Blind” (1951)
97. Robert Johnson “Travelling Riverside Blues” (1937)
98. Roy Brown “Hard Luck Blues” (1950)
99. Son House “Preachin’ Blues” (1930)
100. Muddy Waters “You Shook Me” (1962)

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First posted 8/19/2015; last updated 9/11/2023.

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Saturday, April 30, 1983

Muddy Waters died: April 30, 1983

Originally posted April 30, 2012.

McKinley Morganfield, better known as Muddy Waters, was born on 4/4/1915 in Rolling Fork, Mississippi. Some sources indicate his birth year as 1913, but the bio on MuddyWaters.com cites 1915. He died on April 30, 1983.

Waters ranks second only to Robert Johnson as the top blues acts of all time. Waters was pivotal in the development of the Chicago blues style. He taught himself to play harmonica in the early 1920s and picked up guitar in the early 1930s.

Among his most significant songs are “I Feel Like Going Home” (1948), “Rollin’ Stone” (1950), “Hoochie Coochie Man” (1954), and “Got My Mojo Working” (1957). All have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The latter three and “Mannish Boy” also made the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. “Hoochie Coochie” is also in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress and made NPR’s list of the Most Important American Musical Works of the 20th Century. “Mojo” is also among the RIAA’s selections for the RIAA’s 365 songs of the 20th century.

Hoochie Coochie Man

Best of (1954), Down on Stovall’s Plantation (1966), McKinley Morganfield (aka “Muddy Waters”) (1971), The Chess Box (1972), Can’t Get No Grindin’ (1973), and The Complete Plantation Recordings (1993) are all Blues Hall of Fame inductees. In addition, Time magazine named The Anthology 1947-1972 (1947-72) one of the Top 100 Albums of All Time.

His most celebrated album is At Newport, a live album from 1960. It makes the DMDB’s lists of top 1000 albums of all time, Top 10 Blues Albums of All Time, and the top 50 live albums of all time. It also ranks as one of the 100 Greatest American Albums according to Blender magazine and one of the 100 Essential Albums of the Century according to Vibe magazine.

Awards:

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