Not to disagree about the Butterfield album, but I'd like to hear more from Number 6 about your reasons for suggesting it.

Specifically, what was Butterfield's long-term impact? Was this the LP that opened peoples' ears to electric blues? Did people who heard that record move on to discover the whole world of Chicago blues -- e.g., the older bluesmen like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, and the younger guys like Buddy Guy?

Or did it inspire people outside the existing blues world to incorporate that style into their own music? Can you name some bands or albums that were obviously influenced by the Butterfield Band?

Again, I'm not disagreeing with the choice, but it would be helpful to know why you suggested it.

I wonder if the early Butterfield records would have had the same impact and influence if they had not been on Elektra, but say, Columbia, or a blues label like Chess. In those days, a lot of us would listen to every new release on Elektra and Vanguard and treat it as "folk music" unless it was very obviously something else (like the Vanguard marching band records). Obviously that changed after Elektra started releasing acts like Love and The Doors, and Vanguard did Country Joe and the Fish.