Rating System Best Albums Since 1965 Best Artists of 00s Best Artists of 90s Best of 20th Century Best Metal Albums Best Reggae Albums Best Kosmische Albums Best New Artists Other Lists 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1949-1964

Think I'm obsessive? Go here and catch the list bug yourself, mwa ha ha haaaa:

Blues

Back To All Other Music(s) Table of Contents

RATING              ARTIST * TITLE (LABEL) YEAR

      LaVern Baker * Soul On Fire: The Best Of (Atlantic) 6?
      LaVern Baker * Sings Besse Smith (Atlantic) 6? 
 9+   Bobby Bland * I Pity The Fool: The Duke Recordings Vol. 1 1952-1960 (MCA/Duke) 92
      Bobby Bland * Introspective Of The Early Years (MCA) 74
      Bobby Bland * Portrait Of The Blues (Malaco) 91
      Bobby Bland (& B.B. King) * Together For The First Time Live (MCA) 74
      Big Bill Broonzy * The Young Big Bill Broonzy 1928-1935 (Yazoo) 91
      Big Bill Broonzy * Good Time Tonight 1930-1940 (Columbia/Legacy) 90
10-   Charles Brown * Driftin' Blues: Best Of 1945-1956 (EMI/Aladdin) 92
 9    Ruth Brown * Miss Rhythm 1948-1962 (Atlantic) 89
      Ruth Brown * Fine And Mellow (Fantasy) ??
      Albert Collins * Truckin' With Albert Collins 1960-1969 (MCA) 91
      Albert Collins * The Complete Imperial Recordings (MCA/Imperial) 91
      Willie Dixon * The Chess Box 1952-1962 (Chess) 88
 9    Aretha Franklin * Aretha Sings The Blues 1961-1965 (Columbia) 67
      Blind Boy Fuller * East Coast Piedmont Blues (Columbia/Legacy) ??
      Lowell Fulson * Hung Down Head (Chess/MCA) ??
      Buddy Guy * The Complete Chess Studio Recordings 1965-1970 (Chess/MCA) 92
      Buddy Guy * A Man And The Blues (Vanguard) 68
      Buddy Guy * This Is Buddy Guy (Vanguard) 68
      Buddy Guy * I Was Walkin' Through The Woods (Chess/MCA) 70
      John Lee Hooker * The Ultimate Collection: 1948-1990 (Rhino) 91
      John Lee Hooker * Detroit Blues: 1950-1951 (Collectables) 91
      John Lee Hooker * House Of The Blues (Chess/MCA) 59
      John Lee Hooker * John Lee Hooker Plays & Sings The Blues (Chess) 61
      John Lee Hooker * Boogie Chillun (Chess) 68
      John Lee Hooker * The Real Folk Blues (Chess) 68
      John Lee Hooker * Alone (Tomato) 70
      John Lee Hooker * Goin' Down Highway 51 (Specialty) 71
      John Lee Hooker * More Real Folk Blues: The Missing Album (Chess) 92
      Lightnin' Hopkins * The Gold Star Sessions, Vol. 1 1947-1950 (Arhoolie) 90
      Lightnin' Hopkins * The Gold Star Sessions, Vol. 2 1947-1950 (Arhoolie) 90
      Lightnin' Hopkins * The Herald Recordings 1954 (Collectables) 88
      Lightnin' Hopkins * Lightnin' Hopkins (Smithsonian) 59
      Lightnin' Hopkins * Autobiography (Tradition) 60
      Lightnin' Hopkins * The Complete Prestige/Bluesville Recordings 1960-1964 (Prestige) 91
      Son House * Paramount Recordings 1941-1942 (Paramount) 42
      Son House * Delta Blues: Original Lib. of Cong. Sessions 1941-1942 (Biograph) 91
10    Howlin' Wolf * The Chess Box 1951-1973 (Chess/MCA) 91
      Howlin' Wolf * Cadillac Daddy: Memphis Recordings 1952 (Rounder) 87
      Howlin' Wolf * Howlin' Wolf (Chess) 58
      Howlin' Wolf * Moanin' In The Moonlight (Chess) 64
      Elmore James * Whose Muddy Shoes (Chess) 53
      Elmore James * The Complete Elmore James Story (Capricorn) 92
      Elmore James * The Complete Fire And Enjoy Sessions Parts 1-4 1960-1962 (Collectables) 89
      Elmore James * King Of The Slide Guitar (Capricorn) ??
      Skip James * Early Blues Recordings (Yazoo) 31
      Skip James * Skip James Today! (Vanguard) 66
      Skip James * Devil Got My Woman (Vanguard) 68
      Blind Lemon Jefferson * Blind Lemon Jefferson 1926-1929 (Milestone) 74
      Blind Lemon Jefferson * King Of The Country Blues 1926-1929 (Yazoo) 88
      Lonnie Johnson * Steppin' On The Blues 1925-1932 (Columbia/Legacy) 90
 9+   Robert Johnson * The Complete Recordings 1936-1937 (Columbia) 90
      Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five * The Complete Recordings 1938-1941 (Affinity) 41
      Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five * The Best Of Louis Jordan 1944-1949 (MCA) 75
      Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five * Just Say Moe! (Rhino) 89
 9-   Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five * One Guy Named Louis: The Complete Aladdin Sessions (Capitol/Aladdin) 54
      B.B. King * Best Of Vol. 1 (WEA) 91
      B.B. King * King Of The Blues 1949-1991 (MCA) 91
      Leadbelly * King of the 12-String Guitar 1935 (Columbia/Legacy) 91
      Leadbelly * Midnight Special 1934-1936 (Rounder) 91
      Leadbelly * Gwine Dig A Hole To Put the Devil In 1937-1939 (Rounder) 91
10-   Little Walter * The Essential 1952-1963 (Chess) 93
      Magic Sam * West Side Soul (Delmark) 67
      Memphis Minnie * Hoodoo Lady 1933-1937 (Columbia/Legacy) 90
      Memphis Minnie * I Ain't No Bad Girl (Portrait) ??
      Amos Milburn * Down The Road Apiece: Best of (Aladd (93) n)
      Mississippie John Hurt * The Best Of (Vanguard) ??
      Jimmy Reed * The Best Of 1953-1962 (GNP) 74
      Otis Rush * Tops (Pig) 88
      Otis Rush * Lost In The Blues (Alligator) 91
      Koko Taylor * What It Takes: The Chess Years (Chess) ??
      Big Mama Thornton * Ball N' Chain 1965-1968 (Arhoolie) 68
      Big Joe Turner * Boss Of The Blues 1945-1949 (Atlantic) 56
      Big Joe Turner * Greatest Hits 1945-1960 (Atlantic) ??
      Big Joe Turner * Texas Style (Eviden (??) e)
      T-Bone Walker * The Complete Recordings 1940-1954 (Mosaic) 90
10    T-Bone Walker * The Complete Imperial Recordings 1950-1954 (EMI/Imperial) 91
      T-Bone Walker * T-Bone Blues 1955-1959 (Atlantic) 60
      Dinah Washington * Sings The Blues (Mercury) 63
      Muddy Waters * Down On Stovall's Plantation (Testament) 41
      Muddy Waters * The Chess Box 1947-1965 (Chess) 89
      Muddy Waters * Rare And Unissued 1948-1954 (Chess) 82
      Muddy Waters * Muddy Waters At Newport (Chess) 60
10    Sonny Boy Williamson * The Essential 1955-1964 (Chess) 93
      Sonny Boy Williamson * King Biscuit Time (Arhoolie) 51
      Sonny Boy Williamson (& Willie Love) * Clownin' With The World 1951-1953 (Trumpet) 92
      Sonny Boy Williamson (& Willie Love) * Goin' In Your Direction 1951-1954 (Trumpet) 92
      Sonny Boy Williamson (& Willie Love) * The Real Folk Blues 1955-1959 (Chess) 59
      Sonny Boy Williamson (& Willie Love) * More Real Folk Blues 1960-1967 (Chess) 67
      Various * Atlantic Blues (Atlantic) 88
      Various * Chess Blues 1947-1967 (Chess) 92
10    Various * The Cobra Records Story: Chicago Rock & Blues 1956-58 (WB/Capricorn) 92
      Various * The Fire/Fury Records Story (WB/Capricorn) 92
      Various * Good Time Blues: Harmonicas, Kazoos, Washboards & Cow-Bell (Columbia) ??
 9    Various * The Jewel/Paula Records Story (WB/Capricorn) 92
      Various * Great Blues Guitarists: String Dazzlers (Epic/Legacy) ??
      Various * News & The Blues: Telling It Like It Is (Columbia) ??
      Various * Raunchy Business: Hot Nuts & Lollypops (Epic/Legacy) ??
      Various * The Slide Guitar: Bottles, Knives & Steel (Columbia) ??

Back To The Top

Back To All Other Music(s) Table of Contents

Nursery Rhymes for Demon Children: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Live at the Riviera | Sep 30

TV On The Radio, Dear Science, | Sep 22

Pirates + Metal = Awesome | Sep 19

Finnish Folk Metal | Sep 8

"Roadrunner" & Other Drivin' Tunes | Jun 25

Krautrocksampler: German Kosmische Music | Jun 1

All-Time Favorite Reggae Albums | Mar 13

The Stooges Play Madonna | Mar 11

Hard Rock Park | Mar 4

Nação Zumbi: Brainy Crabs & Cannibals | Feb 3

The Best Artists of the 00s (So Far) | Jan 29

Book Review: Lewis Shiner, Glimpses | Jan 21

2007 Year-End Summary & Fester's Lucky 13s | Dec 30

Woofers Go Wubble: Dubstep | Dec 10

Analog Vs. Digital Redux | Dec 5

2007 Reissues | Dec 3

End of Year Critic's Lists | Dec 3

The Next Great American Band | Nov 1

Complete Home Theater Systems | Oct 1

Criminally Underappreciated 90's Guitar Bands | Aug 1

You can buy some of the albums reviewed/listed in Fast 'n' Bulbous, particularly imports and reissues, at The Ideal Copy. Since Amazon inhaled CDNow and Djangos lied and cheated me out of my affiliate credit, I'm banning corporate affiliates. Shop indie! If you can't find what you're looking for at The Ideal Copy, check Insound, Alldirect, Dustygroove, and Siren Disc for imports.

---

Since October 1995, Fast 'n' Bulbous has been a one man operation, a labor of love rather than profit venture. I maintain an editorial policy of publishing mainly positive reviews, with the idea that people should be turned on to the best music. I only review what I feel like because I don't get paid for it. If you think I should review something I don't like, feel free to pay me. I will happily (or begrudgingly, depending on my mood) review crappy albums for $.50 a word. Don't think this buys you a positive review, this ain't Rolling Stone. Most likely I'll attack it like a rabid dog on a captured squirrel.

What with the fame, drugs, groupies and celebrity girlfriends, the only drawback to this site is the drain on my resources. I only receive promos for a fraction of the albums I review (email me at the address below and I'll send the address where promos can be sent). The cost of this obsession has set back my paying off student loans over a decade. And while I only review the cream of the crop, I have listened to thousand s upon thousands of albums ranging from average to vomit-inducing, so that you don't have to. While you spend your valuable time having a life, furthering your education, raising a family, making a real living, having fun, I take the bullet, sacrificing my time suffering through the pabulum to unearth the gems. Feel free to express your appreciation for this service with a donation!

Your donation will not be ungraciously declined.

Spread the word of Fast 'n' Bulbous to friends, and sign up for semi-monthly updates, or just say hi: