Criteria: Have you ever wondered What are the greatest Blues Songs?
Digitaldreamdoor has determined the answers through research of American Blues music history. These songs are vital for a basic knowledge of the history of the "Blues" genre, historical significance, defining an era, influence and to a lesser degree lasting popularity, critics reviews, record sales, radio play, plus number of remakes & covers of a song were taken into consideration. (In some cases the songwriter was given list credit rather than the artist who may have been best known for the song.)
Edited By: Rick Varner
Last Updated: 2017-02-10
1. Memphis Blues - W.C. Handy 2. Crazy Blues - Mamie Smith 3. Pine Top Boogie - Pine Top Smith 4. Dust My Broom - Elmore James 5. Boogie Chillun - John Lee Hooker 6. Mannish Boy - Muddy Waters 7. Stormy Monday - T-Bone Walker 8. Hellhound On My Trail - Robert Johnson 9. Spoonful - Willie Dixon 10. The Thrill Is Gone - B.B. King 11. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl - Sonny Boy Williamson I 12. Born Under A Bad Sign - Albert King 13. Forty Four Blues - Roosevelt Sykes 14. Smokestack Lightnin' - Howlin' Wolf 15. Statesboro Blues - Taj Mahal 16. Hoochie Coochie Man - Muddy Waters 17. Juke - Little Walter 18. The Little Red Rooster - Willie Dixon 19. Come In My Kitchen - Robert Johnson 20. I'm a King Bee - Slim Harpo 21. The Things That I Used To Do - Guitar Slim 22. Back Door Man - Willie Dixon 23. It's My Own Fault - B.B. King 24. I'm Tore Down - Freddie King 25. T-Bone Blues - T-Bone Walker 26. Sweet Home Chicago - Robert Johnson 27. Preaching The Blues - Son House 28. Nobody Knows You When You're Down & Out - Bessie Smith 29. I Can't Be Satisfied - Muddy Waters 30. Shake Your Moneymaker - Elmore James 31. Matchbox Blues - Blind Lemon Jefferson 32. Hideaway - Freddie King 33. How Long, How Long Blues - Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell 34. Five Long Years - Eddie Boyd 35. Red House - Jimi Hendrix 36. Cross Road Blues - Robert Johnson 37. All Your Love - Magic Sam 38. Give Me Back My Wig - Hound Dog Taylor 39. Reconsider Baby - Lowell Fulson 40. Worried Life Blues - Sleepy John Estes 41. If Trouble Was Money - Albert Collins 42. I Ain't Superstitious - Willie Dixon 43. Sweet Black Angel - Robert Nighthawk 44. I Know What You're Putting Down - Louis Jordan 45. Black Snake Moan - Blind Lemon Jefferson 46. Ball and Chain - Big Mama Thornton 47. Further On Up The Road - Bobby 'Blue' Bland 48. I Can't Quit You Baby - Otis Rush 49. Boom Boom - John Lee Hooker 50. Born In Chicago - Paul Butterfield Blues Band 51. Let The Good Times Roll - Louis Jordan 52. Pride and Joy - Stevie Ray Vaughan 53. Pony Blues - Charley Patton 54. The Sky Is Crying - Elmore James 55. Catfish Blues - Robert Petway 56. Highway 49 - Big Joe Williams 57. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean - Blind Lemon Jefferson 58. Blues Before Sunrise - Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell 59. Baby Please Don't Go - Big Joe Williams 60. Bumble Bee - Memphis Minnie 61. I'm Ready - Muddy Waters 62. It Hurts Me Too - Elmore James 63. Stop Breakin' Down - Robert Johnson 64. Texas Flood - Stevie Ray Vaughan 65. I'm In The Mood - John Lee Hooker 66. Me and The Devil Blues - Robert Johnson 67. The Walkin' Blues - Taj Mahal 68. 'Taint Nobody's Bizness If I Do - Bessie Smith 69. It's Tight Like That - Tampa Red 70. Love In Vain - Robert Johnson 71. Evil - Willie Dixon 72. Baby Scratch My Back - Slim Harpo 73. Wang Dang Doodle - Koko Taylor 74. On The Road Again - Canned Heat 75. Rock Me Mama - Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup 76. Three O'Clock Blues - B.B. King 77. Tomorrow Night - Lonnie Johnson 78. Boom Boom Out Go The Lights - Little Walter 79. The Same Thing - Willie Dixon 80. West Coast Blues - Blind Blake 81. How Many More Years - Howlin' Wolf 82. Give Me Back That Wig - Lightnin' Hopkins 83. Rollin & Tumblin - Elmore James 84. Everyday I Have The Blues - B.B. King 85. Messin Around - Memphis Slim 86. Blues After Hours - Pee Wee Crayton 87. Eyesight To The Blind - Sonny Boy Williamson II 88. CC Rider - Ma Rainey 89. I'm Tired - Savoy Brown 90. Graveyard Dream Blues - Ida Cox 91. Beaver Slide Rag - Peg Leg Howell 92. Key To The Highway - Big Bill Broonzy 93. Messin' With The Kid - Junior Wells 94. The Seventh Son - Willie Dixon 95. As The Years Go Passing By - Gary Moore 96. We're Gonna Make It - Little Milton 97. Drinking Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee - Stick McGhee 98. Hard Luck Blues - Roy Brown 99. Black Magic Woman - Fleetwood Mac 100. Stone Crazy - Buddy Guy
Mamie Smith
B.B. King
T-Bone Walker
Robert Johnson
Blues Reference Books
Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta
by Robert Palmer
Publisher: Penguin Books (July 29, 1982)
The History of the Blues: The Roots, the Music, the People
by Francis Davis
Publisher: Da Capo (September 4, 2003)
Blues People: Negro Music in White America
by Leroi Jones
Publisher: Harper Perennial; 1st edition (January 20, 1999)
Nothing But the Blues : The Music and the Musicians
by Lawrence Cohn
Publisher: Abbeville Press (September 1, 1999)
Encyclopedia of the Blues
by Gerard Herzhaft
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press (July 1, 1997, 2nd Edition)
Blues Singers: Biographies of 50 Legendary Artists of the Early 20th Century
by David Dicaire
Publisher: McFarland (November 5, 2015)
All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Chris Woodstra, Vladimir Bogdanov
Publisher: Backbeat Books
All Music Guide to the Blues: The Experts' Guide to the Best Blues Recordings
by Michael and Ali Erlewine
Publisher: Backbeat Books (January 1, 1996 ,3rd edition)
The Big Book of Blues: The Fully Revised and Updated Biographical Encyclopedia
by Robert Santelli
Publisher: Penguin Books (May 1, 2001, Revised edition)
The Blues: A Visual History: 100 Years of Music That Changed the World
by Mike Evans
Publisher: Schiffer (July 28, 2020 Illustrated edition)
Great Blues Songs Guitar Book: Selection Of 49 Songs For Everyone
by Cesar E Rocha
Publisher: Independently published (June 22, 2023)
First 50 Blues Songs You Should Play on Guitar
by Hal Leonard Corp.
Publisher: Hal Leonard (October 12, 2018)
Blues Guitar Bible (Guitar Recorded Versions)
by Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation
Publisher: Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation
The Best Blues Songs Ever
by Various songwriters and artists
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation (March 1, 2013)
Blues Guitar Songbook
by Jerry Silverman
Publisher: Mel Bay Publications, Inc. (March 16, 2015)