Top 30 Blues Bands of All Time

The blues gave birth to rock, soul, and so much of modern music — but at its heart, the blues belongs to the bands and musicians who lived it. From the electrified Chicago streets to the Texas roadhouses, these artists poured raw emotion into every note. Cast your vote for the blues band that defined the genre and left the deepest mark on music history.

1. 1
   B.B. King & His Orchestra

   Blues icon B.B. King and his backing band, known for his guitar "Lucille"
   1000pts
2. 2
   Tedeschi Trucks Band

   Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks' twelve-piece ensemble, Grammy winners for Revelator, carrying the Allman Brothers' blues-soul tradition into the 21st century.
   850pts
3. 3
   Muddy Waters Band

   Chicago blues legend whose electric band defined modern blues
   771pts
4. 4
   Buddy Guy & His Band

   Chicago blues guitarist known for his flamboyant style and influence on rock
   680pts
5. 5
   Pinetop Perkins & the Legendary Blues Band

   Chicago blues pianist and his backing band
   679pts
6. 6
   Savoy Brown

   Kim Simmonds' London band of the 1960s British blues boom, behind Train to Nowhere and Hellbound Train and touring for more than five decades.
   624pts
7. 7
   The Paul Butterfield Blues Band

   Chicago blues band that helped bring blues to white rock audiences
   560pts
8. 8
   Ten Years After

   Alvin Lee's British blues-rock band whose lightning-fast I'm Going Home at Woodstock in 1969 became one of the festival's defining moments.
   560pts
9. 9
   The Black Keys

   Akron duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney who began with raw garage blues and Junior Kimbrough covers before Brothers and El Camino made them stars.
   485pts
10. 10
    John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers

    British blues band that launched careers of Clapton, Green, and Mick Taylor
    485pts
11. 11
    Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band

    Blues artist known for blending blues with world music
    485pts
12. 12
    Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac

    The original British blues Fleetwood Mac led by guitarist Peter Green, before the pop years, with Black Magic Woman, Need Your Love So Bad and Albatross.
    485pts
13. 13
    ZZ Top

    The little ol' band from Texas whose Tres Hombres, La Grange and decades of boogie kept Texas blues-rock on arena stages for over fifty years.
    397pts
14. 14
    Robert Cray Band

    Contemporary blues artist known for his soulful guitar work
    397pts
15. 15
    Johnny Winter & Band

    Texas blues guitarist known for his albino appearance and scorching slide guitar
    397pts
16. 16
    Cream

    Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker's power trio that turned Robert Johnson's Crossroads and Spoonful into extended blues-rock jams in 1966-68.
    397pts
17. 17
    Albert Collins & the Icebreakers

    Texas blues guitarist known as "The Master of the Telecaster"
    397pts
18. 18
    Little Walter & His Jukes

    Innovative harmonica player who transformed blues harmonica technique
    397pts
19. 19
    The Allman Brothers Band

    Georgia band of Duane Allman and Dickey Betts whose twin-guitar blues jams peaked on At Fillmore East, still one of the greatest live albums ever made.
    397pts
20. 20
    George Thorogood & the Destroyers

    Delaware slide-guitar bar band behind Bad to the Bone and One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer, built on Elmore James and John Lee Hooker songs.
    397pts
21. 21
    Hound Dog Taylor & the HouseRockers

    Chicago slide guitarist's raucous bassless trio, whose 1971 debut was the first record of Alligator Records and a template for party blues.
    397pts
22. 22
    Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble

    Texas blues guitarist and his band, revivalists of classic blues rock
    291pts
23. 23
    Junior Wells & Buddy Guy

    Chicago blues partnership between harmonica player Wells and guitarist Guy
    291pts
24. 24
    The Fabulous Thunderbirds

    Austin blues-rock band fronted by Kim Wilson
    291pts
25. 25
    Canned Heat

    Blues rock band known for Woodstock performances and "Going Up the Country"
    291pts
26. 26
    Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated

    The London band where British blues began in 1961-62, a training ground for Charlie Watts, Jack Bruce and the future Rolling Stones.
    291pts
27. 27
    Magic Slim & the Teardrops

    Hard-driving Chicago blues band led by guitarist Magic Slim, a winner of the W.C. Handy Award for blues band of the year.
    291pts
28. 28
    Albert King & His Band

    Blues guitarist known for his powerful string bends and influence on Hendrix and Clapton
    0pts
29. 29
    Howlin Wolf

    Powerful Chicago blues artist known for his raw, intense performances
    0pts
30. 30
    The Blues Brothers Band

    Legendary blues and soul ensemble from the Saturday Night Live sketch turned film
    0pts

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