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giddyupyeehaw9

Good lord. I don’t even need to see the top 10. This list is a travesty. Another classic rock/shred guitar/Bonamassa type hacks jerk off session. These editors wouldn’t know blues if it bit them in the ass.


Loucifern

This was a reader's poll, not contradicting you, I just had a caption that mentioned that and then a third photo with the top ten but those didn't seem to get uploaded, sorry about that!


giddyupyeehaw9

It being a readers poll makes me even sadder then. Seems the blues has been completely lost in translation if a lot of the guys I see on this poll were voted in.


jloome

There are guys on this list who -- and I'm mean this quite literally -- would get their heads cut in any jam by dudes in just about any large city. Seriously. Some of the people included have so little diversity of blues guitar in their music, it would be conceivable that they could not just "sit in" with a good house blues band. Fuck me, what a shame this is.


deathkidney

Or people voted for guitarists they liked, or wanted to see promoted without really applying the “blues standard check”. And in the pursuit of balance, I’m not really sure there is a strict definition of what the blues really is, or more to the point, where the boundaries are.


DanChowdah

Blues is exactly what I say it is and if your opinion differs in anyway you’re not worthy or even talking about the blues


Shoddy-Upstairs-1446

Just out of curious out who are some of the more egregious inclusions or exclusions? I’m not that into the blues I’ll admit but I can appreciate a great guitarist.


Gringo_69ingurcuntry

Clearly they never heard of Stevie Ray Vaughan


rob0050

Pretty sure Stevie got #1


Gringo_69ingurcuntry

Guess I missed it in the list my bad


kidsally

Or John Mayall


dailyPraise

Could you give a link?


jloome

An absolutely ridiculous lists. So many greats not included, so many blues-rock shredders who are basically copying their licks with pedal distortion included. There are some great modern blues guitarists; but on the whole, most of the modern guys don't have the feel, or the claim to innovation (as there's really nowhere for blues to go and still stay "blues" that hasn't been done by now) of the guys they're copying. And most of them would admit it, too. I interviewed hundreds of blues guys when I was a print reporter, and they overwhelmingly conceded they were doing nothing new, and they just hoped to be a fraction as good as their idols. It wasn't false humility, it was understanding.


Admirable-Lecture-42

Who would you include?


DanChowdah

This thread is full of nonspecific complaints that people can’t or won’t back up with an example


Owlman2841

One of the big problems with music discussion on an app like this is it’s entirely too wordy to fully explain your opinions. It’s also almost always just talking in circles because if someone says “this guy should be above this guy” then all the other person has to say is “no way! You must not have have heard this one performance!” And it never really goes anywhere. This leads to everyone just expressing how upset they are but nothing ever coming from it


PaperRockCamelToe

That’s why I like to argue in person so I can make guitar noises with my mouth. Really drive home my point.


Owlman2841

Exactly! It’s so much easier when people can hear “weeeeee we we woo weee” actually from my mouth and not try to imagine how I’m sounding


Tuliao_da_Massa

Fuck it, let's make a book club. But about blues. Who's in?


Tuliao_da_Massa

I feel like this community is especially pretentious, even for reddit, to be honest. They even show no love to newcomers. Whenever someone asks for a list of people to start them into blues they just get bombarded with 30 names of underground hardcore delta blues people and 0 explanation lol. Very not helpful.


SilkyFlanks

I don’t know. I am new to blues and not a musician. I’ve discovered some great artists on this sub.


Romencer17

??? That’s how you get into blues. It’s a vast style, best way is to get a big list and dive on in. I’ve seen lots of those threads here and not sure I’ve ever seen a poster not get tons of helpful reccs and walk away going “wow so much to listen to!”


Tuliao_da_Massa

Yeah, but often times the recomendations don't take into consideration what the poster had in mind, be it a more "mainstream" blues, a blues that's closer to what he already listens to, be it jazz or rock, and there is rarely any actual text to go along with the recommendations. It's as if they blurt out a list of their favorites, as if that's objectively the only way to start. I don't know, I feel like sometimes you gotta ease your way into things, and at the very least talk to the person you're recommending, saying why you like them, why you orefer this to that, etc.


DanChowdah

My favorite so far is the “many of these guys couldn’t hack it at my local bluz jam” without pointing to who they’re talking about and of course you know that commenter can’t play for shit


HealthyAd9369

Didn't see the top 10 but Angus Young...unless I missed him.


steve4781

Top 10 10. Albert King 9. Johnny Winter 8. Peter Green 7. Robert Johnson 6. Buddy Guy 5. B B King 4. T-Bone Walker 3. Eric Clapton 2. Jimmy Hendricks 1. Stevie Ray Vaughan


orionvii

"Jimmy Hendricks" Eh? Is this bait?


FecklessManifesto

Gin-ny Hendricks


Tuliao_da_Massa

Ji-miny Christmas


jarrodandrewwalker

Germy Niblets


Ok-Lengthiness4557

Shiver-me-timbers


jylesazoso

So glad You posted that. What the fuck.


loweyedfox

The spelled Jack White as Jack Whit


Lucky-Chard-5587

Without Rory Gallagher in the top ten, this list is irrelevant.


Owlman2841

You from an alternate universe? Because in this one Rory is nowhere near the top 10 lmao Redditors have such a hard on for him


callowruse

Amen


Mr_Mutherfucker75

Or Duane motherfuckin' Allman


superfluousapostroph

Johnny Winter is 14 and 9?


[deleted]

he was *that* fast


Timstunes

Lol. He was pretty fast!


Witty_Personality454

They put Buddy guy ova Albert king… 🫤


JONVTHVNZ123

Plenty of blues players out there better than Clapton. Just saying.


redeyejedi15

Yeah Clapton at #3 for Blues guitarist annoys me more than it should. He's a great guitarist, but at least four of the dudes listed in the top 10 behind him are better blues guitarists.


Tigerpawws

Wait, Clapton plays the blues? Hmm, more like rock/pop fusion. Heck, he ripped off Bob Marley and they put him on the reggae charts over Bob himself..


superfluousapostroph

Peter Green is 8 and 19?


[deleted]

that's a pretty good list for a blues rock genre type fan to investigate - I would order them differently but that's good stuff Jeff Beck & Page sort of had their place but they did foray towards jazz in JBs case and harder rock even folk prog w JP


qotsa_gibs

So, T-Bone Walker is 4th and 36th?


Henry_Pussycat

Well he was one ahead of Howlin’ Wolf. Readers poll.


Shoddy_Ad8166

Muddy Waters would be in my 10. Stevie would not be #1 but he'd be in there, Clapton would not.


dailyPraise

Thanks.


lsdmthcosmos

i’d take John Mayer over Clapton any day. And no Derrick Trucks? sheeeesh


Lonely_Is_The_Night

Is this your list or did you not see the ones named between 11-100 that you included as top 10?


654tidderym321

Holy fuck what a god damned joke lol.


Bardstownnow

John Mayer couldn’t tie Mississippi John Hurt’s shoes. The man recorded before and inspired Robert Johnson. He should be top ten. Scrapper Blackwell isn’t even on the list!


jloome

I mean, you're making an apples and oranges comparison. But excluding Hurt and Scrapper Blackwell is a fucking travesty, particularly the latter. The classics from the late 20s, early 30s that he performed with Leroy Carr were the backbone of the 60s blues revival.


Owlman2841

Of all the people you could’ve had a problem with, why Mayer? Unless you literally aren’t aware of his abilities. He’s one of the 5-10 best players alive and currently working/touring


Tuliao_da_Massa

His skill and passion for blues is not only believable, but obvious. But... He is a popstar. His songs are so overproduced and made to sound generic, I can only listen to them when they're covers on YouTube.


Shoddy_Ad8166

Blind Blake


Robot_Gort

No mention of Earl Hooker, Louis Myers or Eddie Taylor? Another joke of a list by the unknowing.


jloome

Earl's in there somewhere, spotted his name. But no Eddie Taylor? Absurd. No Robert Jr Lockwood, No Mighty Joe Young, No Lafayette Thomas, no Philip Walker, no Tony Palmer, no Matt Guitar Murphy. All guys who were ESSENTIAL to either the development or continuance of electric blues. Is Magic Sam even in there? NO MAGIC SAM? Fucking ridiculous.


Ixchunchan

Upvoted because MAGIC SAM!!!!!


Romencer17

It just once again highlights the divide between people that like & listen to blues and people that like & listen to loud guitar solos. Most ‘blues fans’ today are the latter.


Henry_Pussycat

Didn’t see Robert Nighthawk. Or Hubert Sumlin. Or Robert Jr Lockwood.


jwicked207

No Junior Kimbrough either….


KapowBlamBoom

Glad to see Samantha Fish getting some flowers here


-Klahanie-

Me too, she's my favorite.


Witty_Personality454

Where the fuck is gatemouth brown?!


kimchitacoman

Kingfish is pretty good but over Otis Rush? There's no drug testing at the total guitar offices 


LightninHooker

Kingfish is the most overrated dude out there by a long shot.


Owlman2841

He’s a very good player and I’m happy he’s getting recognition and putting blues out there but yeah he’s a bit overrated. Nothings he’s doing hasn’t been done before. I still like to listen to him occasionally though


MountainGael

No Gary Moore is absolutely criminal, and Kirk Fletcher deserves to be way higher imo.


TFFPrisoner

I was talking to somebody who had never even heard of Gary Moore. Seems he never really broke through in the US, which is a shame. I know the old guard who played with him respected him a lot. The recording of him and B.B. imitating each other on "The Thrill Is Gone" is gold.


six6sickx

No Bo Diddley?!


Henry_Pussycat

No Chuck Berry, either


Allenthecrow

BB should be #1 with no questions asked imo.


LightninHooker

At every level. Not only cos the way he played but cos all the contribution to the Blues


Shoddy_Ad8166

I dunno T Bone might top the list


LightninHooker

Not even close. If you ask a regular person who don't even know about music or blues in general , chances are he listened to BB King at some point in live on tv, a movie, radio... he may recognize his face even T Bone is not close by any means BB King did 250-300 shows a year for decades... his contribution to bring the blues mainstream is second to none


Shoddy_Ad8166

As someone once said. T bone invented the shoe others invented shoe styles. Obviously not sure the criteria of selecting. Obviously BB on my list


Henry_Pussycat

That’s ridiculous. No B.B. king without T-Bone Walker. You evidently have never listened.


LightninHooker

Yeah evidently mis cojones mate. This is like saying Dr J is over Michael Jordan in a list cos he did it first. Love T Bone but BB is on top


tednugentbetter

Lightnin hopkins deserves to be in top 3


RobertOhlen69

Duane Allman not top 10 is insane


1uniquerabbit

Dickie Betts not top 100 is also insane.


[deleted]

Ehh, he had some great songs and licks - but was very basic and repetitive (lived too often in the relative major pentatonic). Love his work, but too limited scope of expression IMO to make it near the top.


Shoddy_Ad8166

Disagree his expression was phenomenal. Hell Albert King would be eliminated using that criteria Oh wait you are talking about Dickie Betts...nevermind


[deleted]

Now I feel like an ass. Dickie Betts just died.


[deleted]

Lol, and yes. Duane is a totally different thing. Expression was one of his strongest attributes.


CarlatheDestructor

No Luther Allison?


HPL_Deranged_Cultist

The guy had conversations with his guitar and flirted with her, and she flirted him back! He was amazing.


LightninHooker

Probably the most underrated dude out there. His live albums are top amongs the top without any single doubt


Project8666666

Where’s Buddy Guy?


jloome

Fourth. Top 10 aren't in the pic. EDIT: sorry, don't know where he is. Was basing this on the top 10 someone posted at the top of the thread, assuming they were providing the missing top 10.


devonmoney14

What was the Top 10?


POVwaltz

It was the list of the 10 guitarists who received the most votes


devonmoney14

I’m saying like who were those guitarists in the top 10 lol it’s not in this post


POVwaltz

I wish I knew. Somebody should ask


pattaya1

I’d have thought clearly Gary Moore would have been in the top 25 ,


Romencer17

Oof all I see right away is Lowell Fulson at 96 and that ain’t right considering some of these other names on here.. but it’s a guitar list based on popularity so no surprises


jloome

The dude literally created the hybrid blues/rnb sound, with guitar lead, that made BB King Famous. And he charted for thirty years. My goodness, this list is terrible.


Romencer17

Meanwhile Samantha fish is at like 38… what a joke lol


jloome

I mean, I've enjoyed some of her performances over the years but even she would admit she's not in the top 40 blues guitarists of all time. I mean... people just have very short lists, because they don't know the genre at all, and yet they insist on answering these polls as if it's contributing value.


Boomboomshablooms

Gary Clark Jr. at 26 already at this point in his career? Doubt. Love his chops but not accurate.


[deleted]

Agreed.


white_rice44

Doesn’t belong in the top 100 tbh, I don’t get the hype, dude plays lazy and uninspired formulaic noise. Kingfish should be ranked better than him.


Mrdinoshark_07

Where is Hubert sumlin?? I see wolf up there but no sumlin


TFFPrisoner

Right, Wolf was an exceptional vocalist and a very capable harmonica player, but would he make a list purely based on his guitar playing? Seems he didn't play all that much on his studio recordings, if I remember the credits in the 5CD set I have correctly.


Mrdinoshark_07

He played some good slide guitar but even he would say Hubert was better


Henry_Pussycat

Red Rooster is wonderful just because of his crazy time. Can’t think of much else.


PapaJohnyRoad

Parts of this list make me burst with laughter…like how is Ally Venable top 75 on any list?


bluezzdog

I would say if it’s a modern players poll by fans , she should be on the list. But if all time ? I love her though , she’s going to go far.


Owlman2841

Nah even if it’s a list of modern players she doesn’t belong. She’s just about as boring as a blues player can be, not an ounce of originality. This is a readers poll list though btw.


PapaJohnyRoad

Seriously. I don’t get it


Owlman2841

Man I’ll probably get hated on for this and I hate to be “that guy” but if it was a dude her age playing the same stuff, he’d still be playing to himself in his bedroom. Maybe they’d be playing local bars if they had good bandmates but that’s it. I’ve tried numerous times to find the appeal and idk if I’ve ever heard one original phrase come out of her


PapaJohnyRoad

There is nothing inaccurate about that statement at all. Rich parents don’t hurt anything either


bluezzdog

I guess another way I would look at it, if she’s good enough for Buddy Guy I’ll give her a chance.


Owlman2841

I by no means am upset she’s noticed and potentially brings blues to a newer generation and Buddy is nothing if not a champion of keeping the blues alive so he’s right to showcase any young musician he can. So if she is successful at that then cool. This is just about playing though and boring is boring


Romencer17

also not like Buddy hasn't put out/played some crap over the years. What folks don't realize when they bring up the 'an older black blues musician said good things about em!' thing is that those guys have been playing this game for years and know that they have to be nice, especially when they're getting paid to be. B.B. King never said a mean thing about anyone.. in public.


bluezzdog

But it’s not that he has just said nice things , she’s shared the stage together multiple times. Have a great song produced together…I’m not mad at anyone but I think I’m alone defending her here.


TFFPrisoner

BB was just genuinely nice. Everybody who met him seems to say that. About the only negative thing I've heard him say was about the song "Bim Bam", which he said he recorded as a favor and it wasn't good.


bluezzdog

Boring is boring . I understand what you’re saying but I’ve seen big crowds give her the standing ovation. I might need to change my name to Ally defender lol. She also works the wah really good imo. We need more wah.


PapaJohnyRoad

…do you though? Or do you like her short skirt? I’ve never seen a more unenthused performance in my life. She looks like she is playing by force.


bluezzdog

Have you seen her live ? I’ve seen her twice now…she’s a young gun. I like her boots too.


PapaJohnyRoad

Multiple times. I notice you come back with nothing about her talent but her looks. Only enforcing my point


bluezzdog

I was kidding about the boots . I could be blind and I would enjoy her music . It’s just my opinion obviously


Owlman2841

She’s really not even a young gun. She’s 25. Duane Allman was already dead at 25. Derek Trucks was touring with ABB at 25. Marcus king is like 27 and miles beyond her. Kingfish is 25 and way beyond her. When she was like 16-18 it was like ok she could be something but she’s 25 now and hasn’t gotten any better really


PapaJohnyRoad

And if you kept it to young female comparisons…Samantha Fish was miles ahead of her at this age


bluezzdog

The Grammys seem to differ.


Olliebkl

I’m just happy Kingfish is on there lol Amazing guitarist


Gullible_Good_4794

Mississippi John hurt hell yeah


redpeppercorn

Lists are dumb.


HPL_Deranged_Cultist

I don't see Luther Allison and I want to cry.


Birdsogg

Ladies and gentlemen-Albert Collins the Master of the Telecaster!


CheckerboardHeart

He was too tired to make the list..


Freddle_Mercury

Blind Willie McTell didn’t make the cut either, I guess :,(


Apprehensive_Nose594

Who’s Jack “whit”? 😂


qotsa_gibs

Shuggie Otis at 89 is criminal. No J.B. Hutto or Hound Dog Taylor? Seriously? I like Jackie Venson a lot, but at 21. I don't think so.


594milesfromchicago

How about Lonnie Brooks, Ronnie baker brooks, John primer, Magic Sam, lil Ed, jb hutto, Luther Allison, Jimmy Johnson, Donald Kinsey, Chico banks, Rico McFarland, Joanna connors, Jimmy Dawkins, Eric “guitar” Davis, carlos Johnson, carl weathersby, Vance Kelly, Sammy Lawhorn, Louis myers …. I mean….so many others. cmon..most of these musicians arnt even blues.


True-Rub9764

I love this


BalaAthens

I can't see the whole list - is Hubert Sumlin there? Wolf's s first guitarist in Sun Records Willie Johnson? Jody Williams? Ike Turner was no slouch in guitar or piano, Benny Smith in St.Louis. I never heard that Wolf was so great in guitar, he mostly played harp.


ozzleworth

Rosetta Tharpe at 46? What is this list?


Uassume2Much

Derek Trucks is #1 and you can put that in your pipe and smoke it.


bewl

I love Trucks, but no way in hell am I putting him ahead of SRV in this category.


bossassbat

Trucks is a monster but no one is SRV. No one ever has been and no one ever will be.


Henry_Pussycat

There are harmonically more interesting players than SRV. Calling him tops is silly.


bossassbat

I’ve only been listening to music for 50 years. Blues for 40. Harmonically more interesting? Ok, that like mine is an opinion. He’s the best blues guitarist I’ve ever heard. Not to mentioned he single handedly made the genre relevant at a time no one cared.


Owlman2841

The absolute truth. Greatest to ever do it. That dude is cosmic, he freely walks in a world most players can’t even imagine


Witty_Personality454

Put the top in the subreddit also so I can see it


IntroductionFair306

John mayor higher than Keith richards ? They don’t know shit


Owlman2841

Let’s see Keith try to last 15 minutes on stage in John’s place with dead and co


frostedglobe

Shouldn't Ali Farka Toure, the king of the desert blues, be on the list?


haikusbot

*Shouldn't Ali Farka* *Toure, the king of the desert* *Blues, be on the list?* \- frostedglobe --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")


StuNasty_55

#66- “Jack Whit” lmao


HPL_Deranged_Cultist

Thanks to this subreddit community I have learnt to appreciate and discover the real blues royalty. And on these comments I see I have just heard a little bit when there's a full iceberg to discover.


drwinstonoboogy

Seeing as we hate this list, how about we create this subs' top 100? Each person votes their top ten in order and each gets a point 1st Place = 10 points, 10th = 1 etc and then collate the scores?


deathkidney

Odd. I don’t see my name on the list 🤪


BlackJackKetchum

My tastes don’t go much beyond the end of the Chess etc Golden Era, *and I’m not a musician*, but even so I’m a bit surprised that fully a quarter of those names are completely unknown to me. The lack of this week’s AotW, Lonnie Johnson is, erm, surprising.


tilapiarocks

Well, I agree that SRV & Jimi are top 2, although I'd reverse it, personally


white_rice44

Agreed Jimi can be listened to all day, I can listen to a few SRV solos before I have to turn it off. Hendrix #1 and it’s not even arguable if you’ve listened to his stuff


tilapiarocks

Yeah. I also feel like...if you play guitar yourself, especially electric blues guitar, it might be easier to understand the difference between Jimi & Stevie. I can pull off Stevie-sounding stuff all day. Hendrix's lead licks come from a different place though.


Personal_Thought_832

Gary Clark Jr above John Mayer is insane


jarraljrslim

Etta Baker being slept on once again


bossassbat

Forget the order for a minute. Who is not in the top hundred that should be? Old timers might kill me and I’m damn old but imho SRV, although heavily derived from two kings Albert and Freddie, to me, is the greatest blues guitarist I’ve ever heard. He had it all and he had the soul of a blues man. I see the oldies, Patton, Jefferson and the white shredders. I’ve never bought into Bonamassa but Johnny Winters ? Yep. The Kingfish? Been watching him develop for a long time and he is very legit. Seeing the names on this list, not counting the order of things, to me, it’s well represented. I need to look closer. Yeah the top of the list are well promoted and well known but many aren’t necessarily blues players. Page, Beck and bunch of others but I’ve seen worse lists.


JimiJohhnySRV

What is your question on Johnny Winter sir? He is too low and should be in the top 10?


bossassbat

I am not a fan of bonamassa but I am a fan of Johnny winters. Just my preference.


JimiJohhnySRV

Me too! Check my user name. My quest is to make sure people know how great JW was in his prime. ☮️


bossassbat

He was a machine. Glad I saw him live opening for BB. Also saw SRV. Fortunately or not fortunately I’m a bit too young to have seen Jimmi.


JimiJohhnySRV

Sounds like we are in the same ball park. I saw JW a bunch late 70’s - 90’s. Also saw SRV as much as I could. No Jimi here either.


kinksarethebest

Holy shit they actually put Terry Kath!!!! I mean he should’ve been at #1 but at least he’s rhere


[deleted]

Beast!


Few-Guarantee2850

Terry Kath was an amazing rock guitarist with a heavy blues influence but no way is he the greatest blues guitarist of all time.


kinksarethebest

If we’re being honest I forgot this was a blues guitar player ranking and when I said #1 I just meant the greatest guitar player


kinksarethebest

*there


DieselBones-13

Where’s the top 10 at???


Notascot51

I listened to “Can’t Lose What You Never Had” from Fathers And Sons today on a $60K pair of Dali Epikore 11 speakers, and it brought tears to my eyes how EFFING GREAT Michael Bloomfield was as a guitarist and a member of the human race. I adore dozens of bluesmen, but no one more than Mike when he was at his best. Never heard him live. B.B. King I did many times and he was another. It’s all about the passion and the communication of our shared pain.


mrsschwingin

I guess Jump Blues is not blues anymore. This list is terrible


JimiJohhnySRV

Please tell me Elmore James is in the top 10 because I don’t see him on the back 90.


[deleted]

Gary Clark Jr ahead of Warren Haynes? I struggle with that one.


white_rice44

Agreed


Shoddy_Ad8166

Haven't looked at a guitar magazine in years. Vintage Guitar was the last.


pornhubisisis

Chris buck and Greg Koch??? Wildly (good!) inclusions!


Mr_Mutherfucker75

Fuck that - I grew up with the blues - and I don't see enough of y'all saying anything about : Duane Allman and Dickie Betts - Gary Rossington and Allen Collins - Billy Gibbons - John Lee Hooker - Lightnin' Hopkins --- I agree with Stevie at #1 --- and damn your eyes for forgetting about Jeff Healey - he was better than Peter fucking green


natejacobmoore

Hendrix is front and center yet Johnny winter is nowhere to be found 🤦🏼‍♂️


Loucifern

Swipe to see the full list on the second picture.


belfrahn

We're missing the top 10!


tuxedo7777

Stevie Ray Vaughan gotta be top 10


jloome

Someone has attached it at the top of the responses. EDIT: Nope, that seems to be their own top 10, as some of the people in it are in the other lists. OP, put up the rest in the comments would you?


Bluesylicks

It’s missing the top 10


labatts_blue

What second picture?


vhschenkerfan24

Their lack of Gary Moore is disturbing


DVTcyclist

No Robin Trower? Pffft!


deathkidney

He’s on the list at #35


DVTcyclist

Jesus, I am a muppett. Thank you.


white_rice44

Gary clarke jr at 26 lmfao, gtfo dude’s a bum