I got an email a while back from someone asking what CDs I recommend to him for learning to play blues guitar.

I thought I would do that right here in this blog post.  I cut my teeth on these albums and recommend anyone serious about learning blues guitar and slide guitar to at least check them out.

Here are some of the albums that helped me learn to play the blues.  Keep in mind this is not a list of the best blues albums, but the albums I think are necessary for learning blues rock guitar.  There are more albums that are great, so leave a comment below about your favorite albums.

Blues Guitar

1. Door To Door – Otish Rush and Albert King.   Standout tracks are, “I Can’t Stop Baby”, “Won’t Be Hanging Around”, and “All Your Love”.  Otis had a killer vibrato and some stinging blues guitar licks like no other.
2. Live at the Regal - BB King.  One of the all time greatest blues albums of all time.  Licks that MUST be in your arsenal of blues guitar!
3. Texas Flood – SRV.  What can you say, SRV had power and tone beyond belief.  This album cut in a matter of days was done with only one overdub, and that’s because he broke a string in the middle of a solo.
4. The Sky is Crying – SRV. Another great SRV album.  Standouts include, “The Sky is Crying”, “Little Wing”, and “Chitlins Con Carne”.
5. Burglar – Freddie King. I love this album!  Funky with Eric Clapton playing rhythm guitar.  If you don’t have this one, you MUST get it.  Awesome funky blues with killer horns, bass lines, guitar and drumming.
6. 24 Nights – Eric Clapton. This is worth it for the “Have You Ever Loved a Woman” version alone.  Standout tracks are, “Old Love”, “Before You Accuse Me”, and “Hard Times”.
7. Layla – Eric Clapton and Duane Allman. – Do I really need to tell you this album is good?
8. Electric Ladyland – Jimi Hendrix. Jimi was a great blues player in my opinion.  The version of Red House on this album is great as well as “Voodoo Chile” and “Voodoo Child”.  A must have for sure.
9. Live At Fillmore East – Allman Brothers. This is the Holy Grail of guitar in my opinion.  If you only had one album in this list, I would say make it this one.  Yes it is that good!  Every track is a standout.
10. Damn Right I got the Blues - Buddy Guy. Buddy has amazing vocals and guitar.  I used to sit in my room with this album and try to get the feeling Buddy got out of his guitar.  Standout tracks are, “Damn Right I Got the Blues”, “Five Long Years”, and “Too Broke to Spend the Night”.
11. Cold Snap – Albert Collins. This is a killer album with a killer band.  His vibrato and bending are unique to anyone.  Learn it!  Standout tracks are, “I Ain’t Drunk”, “Too Many Dirty Dishes”, and “Bending Like a Willow Tree”.
12. John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, The Beano Album – Eric Clapton. Historical album with legendary guitar licks and tones.  Standout tracks are, “All Your Love”, “Hideaeway”, and “Double Crossing Time”.

Slide Guitar

1. Live at the Fillmore East – The Allman Brothers.  ”One Way Out”, “Done Somebody Wrong”, “Statesboro Blues”, and “Trouble No More”, Need I say more?
2. An Evening with the Allman Brothers Band Set 1 – The Allman Brothers. Warren in Standard Tuning Slide.  ”Blue Sky”, “End of the Line”, and “Dreams” are great learning tools.
3. Govt Mule – Govt Mule. Once again Warren showing a great way to learn slide in standard tuning.  He was pretty much the one that got me into playing slide guitar.  ”Monkey Hill” and “Mule” are rocking to say the least!
4. Live at the Georgia Theatre – Derek Trucks. This is the album that I cut my teeth on to learn open e tuning slide guitar along with Joyful Noise.  It has amazing slide guitar that will make your jaw drop.  Standout tracks are, “Gonna Move”, “Feels So Bad”, and “Leaving Trunk”.
5. Joyful  Noise – Derek Trucks. Just a great album to get into Derek Trucks.  Standout tracks are, “Joyful Noise”, “Home in Your Heart”, and “Like Anyone Else”.
6. Johnny Winter – Third Degree. Johnny Winter is a killer slide guitarist and early on I saw what was possible with the slide.  Standout tracks are, “Mojo Boogie”, and “Bad Girl Blues”.
7. Where it All Begins - Allman Brothers. This album is the how I learned to play slide guitar in standard tuning.  Warren is just awesome and if you want to play slide guitar is standard tuning, this is a must have album.  Standout tracks are, “No One To Run With”, All Night Train”, and “Everybody’s Got a Mountain To Climb”.

Well that’s pretty much the albums I cut my teeth on to learn blues and slide guitar.  There are others but I can’t list every single album here.

I must say that writing this blog post has taken me back to the days when I spent time in my room listening, and wishing I could reproduce the sounds of those legendary albums.  While I was learning those licks back then, it only seemed like a dream that someday I would actually be able to play some of those guitar licks in front of people.

Do you have any albums you spent a lot of time learning?  List them below in the comments.  I’m sure I left out some good ones.