The Best YouTube Blues Music Playlists

Find the perfect YouTube playlist for your next blues music listening session. These are the best blues music playlists on YouTube, hand-picked by our music experts.

Best of the Best

The list below provides a great starting point for discovering new blues music on YouTube. With a mix of both classic and contemporary blues songs, these playlists are perfect for anyone who wants to explore the genre.

Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters was an American blues musician who is often cited as the “father of modern Chicago blues”. His style of playing has been emulated by many artists. He was an influential player of the electric guitar, and his use of amplification helped bring the sound of the electric guitar to a wider audience.

Muddy Waters began his career in the early 1940s, playing in small venues in the American South. He soon gained a reputation as a skilled musician, and his popularity began to grow. In 1948, he made his first recordings for the Chess label. These recordings brought him national attention, and he soon began touring with other music stars such as Sonny Boy Williamson II and Little Walter Jacobs.

Muddy Waters continued to record and perform throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and his music had a profound effect on the development of rock and roll. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

B.B. King

B.B. King was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, creating a signature style that combined blues, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll.

King was born in Mississippi in 1925, and began his career performing in juke joints and on street corners. He later gained popularity playing with bandleader Sonny Boy Williamson II. In 1956, he released his first hit single, “Three O’Clock Blues”.

King recorded over fifty albums during his career, including the live album Live at the Regal (1965), which is considered one of the greatest live blues albums ever recorded. He also appeared in several films and TV shows throughout his career. He died in 2015 at the age of 89.

You can find some of B.B. King’s best songs in the playlist below:

John Lee Hooker

John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often incorporated elements of Mississippi blues, Chicago blues, and R&B. He developed his own driving-rhythm boogie style, distinct from the 1930s–1940s piano-derived boogie-woogie.

Among his best-known songs are “Boogie Chillen'” (1948), “Crawling King Snake” (1949), “Dimples” (1956), “Boom Boom” (1962), and “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” (1966). Several of his songs were recorded by other artists who achieved success with them, including “Hobo Blues” by Henry Thomas (1928), “I’m in the Mood” by Bernard Besman and John Lee Sonny Boy Williamson II (1951), “Boom Boom” by Eric Clapton (1992) and creative interpretations like those by Carlos Santana and Bonnie Raitt.

Up and Coming

There’s nothing that can quite match the feeling of a good blues song. The best blues songs can make you feel the full range of emotions, from happiness and joy to sadness and despair. If you’re looking for some new blues music to listen to, check out these up and coming YouTube channels.

Tedschi Trucks Band

The Tedschi Trucks Band is a blues rock group based in Jacksonville, Florida. The band is led by husband-and-wife duo Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, both of whom are accomplished musicians in their own right. The Tedschi Trucks Band has released five studio albums and has won two Grammy Awards. They are currently touring the United States and Canada.

Joe Bonamassa

Joe Bonamassa is a blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. When he was 12 years old, Bonamassa opened for B.B. King. In the years that followed, he has worked with such legends as Buddy Guy, Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, and Steven Tyler. He has released 15 solo albums and has played in sold-out arenas around the world.

Gary Clark Jr.

Gary Clark Jr. is an American musician from Austin, Texas. He is best known for his electric guitar playing and songwriting abilities. Clark has released 3 studio albums, and has appeared as a guest musician on several other recordings. His latest album, “The Story of Sonny Boy Slim”, was released in 2015 to critical acclaim.

Clark’s music blends classic blues and R&B with modern rock and hip-hop. He has been compared to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, and B.B. King. In 2012, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him #28 on their list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.

In 2013, Gary Clark Jr. won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance for his song “Please Come Home”.