Thanks to everyone so far for the advice. At this point, I own the following blues CDs: The Complete Blind Willie Johnson (actually gospel-blues, I guess), B.B. King "King of the Blues" boxed set from Columbia, Howlin' Wolf "Chicago Blues" and "Bluesmaster," and Muddy Waters "Best of Muddy Waters," which is a collection of songs recorded in the 50s, if memory serves. Jon W., I have to agree with you about B.B. King - the tracks in my boxed set from the 70s-80s are definitely the weakest. With classical music, perhaps it is a little easier to define the basic repretoire - Beethoven's 5th, etc. - because a longer period of time has passed. What I am looking for is a strong foundation of blues music, from which I can branch out as I please. I have definitely found that the older stuff suits me better; I'm not too fond of slick modern production that seems at odds to the music. Thanks again for all the help so far, and keep the suggestions coming!