# What is the best modern blues album of the 21st century?

> The blues never died — it evolved. From Austin to the UK, contemporary artists are proving the form still has plenty to say. Which modern blues record deserves the most attention?

*By YPB Team · Published April 21, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-modern-blues-album-of-the-21st-century*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **This Land**
   Gary Clark Jr.'s 2019 album is a powerful blend of blues, rock, and soul with urgent lyrics about race and identity in America, earning him a Grammy for Best Rock Song.
2. **Blak and Blu**
   Gary Clark Jr.'s 2012 major label debut blends raw Texas blues guitar with R&B and rock, introducing a new generation to blues-rooted music and earning critical acclaim.
3. **Kingfish**
   Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram's 2019 debut announced a prodigious young blues talent from Clarksdale, Mississippi, with blazing guitar work and deep Delta roots.
4. **662**
   Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram's 2021 sophomore album, named after the Clarksdale area code, showcased his evolution as a songwriter and guitarist with genre-blending ambition.
5. **Revelator**
   Tedeschi Trucks Band's 2011 debut earned a Grammy for Best Blues Album, showcasing Susan Tedeschi's vocals and Derek Trucks' slide guitar in a soulful Southern blues-rock sound.
6. **Please Don't Be Dead**
   Fantastic Negrito's 2018 Grammy-winning album blends Delta blues, soul, and funk with incisive social commentary, delivered by one of the most distinctive voices in modern blues.
7. **Self Made Man**
   Larkin Poe's 2020 album showcases the Georgia sister duo's raw slide guitar and big-sky blues sound, earning a Grammy nomination and cementing their place in modern blues.
8. **Stripped**
   Samantha Fish's 2019 acoustic album strips her blues-rock sound down to raw essentials, revealing a powerful singer and guitarist fully at home with Delta and country blues traditions.
9. **In My Soul**
   Robert Cray's 2014 album is a soulful, polished blues effort from one of the genre's modern masters, blending West Coast blues with Memphis soul and R&B influences.
10. **Live at the Royal Albert Hall**
   Joe Bonamassa's acclaimed 2009 live album at one of the world's most prestigious venues cemented his status as the most technically gifted blues guitarist of his generation.
11. **Shake Sugaree**
   North Mississippi Allstars' 2014 tribute album reimagining Elizabeth Cotten's folk-blues repertoire captures the raw, hill country blues traditions of North Mississippi.

Tags: 2000s, music, 2020s, blues