My favorite bluesman is Stevie Ray Vaughan. He was a great guitarist who's rauchy Texas tone and soulful playing made him such a big influence. He is without a doubt, THE BEST!!!
I also like Eric Clapton, he is also a great bluesman, and his newest record with BB King, entitled "Riding With the King," is great! I like his acoustic style too. Furthermore, he was pretty good with Cream, Derek ans the Dominoes, Marshall's Bluesbreakers, etc.
Carlos Santana doesn't really play blues, but I like him anyway! My personal opinion is the his first three records where his best, and they include big hits like "Black Magic Woman," "Oye Como Va," and many others. Since then, his band broke up and his newer records have been more pop oriented. His newest album, "Supernatural" is pretty good, but still very pop oriented. He seems to have gotten his tone and playing style down perfect. He is very consistent, and his tone is very rounded. This makes him a great soloer. However, I still like his soloing and playing style one is early records. His style was a lot looser, and it seems to have more life in it. His tone was looser too, not as rounded as his current tone. Thats just my opinion.
Some other favorites are (but are not limited to) Jimi Hendrix, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, George Thorogood, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top(the old stuff), Deep Purple, Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Steve Miller Band, Bad Company(agian, their old stuff), BB King, etc. Oh, and did I mention Lynyrd Skynyrd?!! They are great! The solo(s) in "Free Bird" are AMAZING!!!
Go ahead and listen to songs by these bands and guitarists. Buy cd's, download mp3's (don't let metallica catch you though, hahahehe), listen. Enjoy!
