Ok, it turns out to be a tie.
R. L. Burnside: “Burnside on Burnside”
Scott Dunbar: “From Lake Mary”
That is all.
burnside on burnside is outrageous. sho’ nuff
John Lee Hooker – Live at the Cafe a GoGo
Now I’m going to throw out something controversial. I think some of the best pop take on blues (i. e., written by the artists, not their take on classic blues) was side 2 of A Hard Days Night. The stuff that they put together in a week to fill out the album. It’s actually got three songs I heard by other artists, which I thought were blues or rock ‘n’ roll classics (You Can’t do That by John, Things we said Today by Paul and another John song that I can’t quite call up). I think it was the absolute highlight of the Beatles’ career.
Greatest sad track (well, one of them at least):
BB King, Live on the Riviera with Dave Brubeck, The Thrill is Gone.
And there’s a sweet rendition of Payin’ the Cost to be the Boss on the same album. Nice!
Well, we probably aren’t talking about the same kind of blues, but Brownie’s Blues has got to be right up there.
Trouble in Mind…I wish I hadn’t even thought of that song. It’s been a long time.
I’m afraid I have to insist that everyone buy Scott Dunbar’s “From Lake Mary.”
Okay.
Where’s the link with your amazon.com associate’s ID?
Keeping it to 2 rather than 102 would be difficult.
My choices would not be regarded as very controversial (in the sense that they would be on just about everybody’s short list.)
Robert Johnson — King of the Delta Blues Singers
Muddy Waters — The Best of Muddy Waters
I’m with Wombat on Muddy Waters. My favourite of his is At Newport 1960. It’s live, which for some reason seems to suit blues nicely, and James Cotton on harmonica is absolute killer.
Jef
Does anyone else think that Blues artists have some of the coolest names? Muddy Waters, Snooks Eaglin, Mississippi John Hurt…the list just goes on and on.
Stevie Ray. Forever.
J. L. Hooker is tops in my book. As is Muddy Waters, Lead Belly, B. B. King and let’s certainly not forget to mention the King of the Delta Blues, Mr. Robert Johnson.
The only reason I ever had to learn the correct spelling of Mississippi.
One of the greats.
Slan,
D. 
You know, I’ve never heard this one. What a fabulous photograph on the cover.
That brings back memories. If I’m not mistaken, I’m Satisfied (not sure that is the real title) is on that one. I listened to that so many times trying to get it on the guitar. I got it better that I thought I could, but I sure wasn’t any Mississippi John Hurt 
.
The word Mississippi is a pretty bad one. When I was little we used to have a rhythm that we would spell it out in that helped to get it. And once you got it you would go around spelling it out to everyone to prove that you got it. I still spell it out that way on the rare occasion I have to spell it.
Jimi Hendrix and the others are good, no doubt - but Stevie’s rendition of Little Wing is the one that puts tears in my eyes.
I wonder if John Hammond did Little Wing. I love John Hammond - see him whenever I get the chance. John Hammond said Jimi did John Hammond better than John Hammond. 
Thanks for raising this topic Dale. I dug up some stuff I haven’t listened to in a while. Blues was 70% of my library before I started playing the whistle. 
Oh! This guy is one of the best current roots blues artists I’ve heard. listen to D.B. Walker Band Podcast Episode 001.
I was going to include that one, but I thought it was a given (really). For a guy who was killed by a hooker when he was quite young, he certainly has had a lasting impact on music. Thank God for Alan Lomax and John Hammond and portable recording equipment.
The funny thing about Mississippi John Hurt is that he sounds less like a Mississippi bluesman than anybody else from that state. His style is really that of the songster and harks back to pre-blues traditions. None of the anguished vocals and humid rhythms of a Son House, Charlie Patton or Skip James. Just gentle good-natured singing and the simple but lyrical guitar style that just about every finger-style blues player should begin with.
If you aren’t familiar with his original '20s recordings but know his Vanguard works, treat yourself to Yazoo’s reissue of those cuts of Hurt in his prime.