I have been a blues fan for many of my 41 years. I was introduced to the genre by the sixties/seventies Blues Rock bands. I have always been a fan of the guitar, especially blues guitar. Tone & feel are my foremost requirements when listening to blues. Here are my thoughts on the "Modern" (post delta) blues players I've heard.

Muddy Waters: "Muddy Waters invented electricity". Perhaps an overstatement, but when he plugged in it changed the course of music. There have been people more technically proficient than Muddy, but what feel and what a songwriter.

Johnny Winter: Johnny is my favourite modern guy. He has incredible feel, tone and in his day was lightning fast. I know people who found him excessive, but I never did. He's the finest slide player I've ever heard, especially electric slide. He got a little out of sorts in the seventies when the record company tried to push him in the rock direction. He turned his back on this and re-focused on the blues. He not only recorded some great solo stuff, but his work with Muddy Waters and Sonny Terry was wonderful.

Stevie Ray Vaughan: I somtimes have a hard time with SRV. I found that a lot of the time he was trying to sound like either Albert King or Jimi Hendrix. I also got sick of hearing "Stevie is God" and the huge number of Stevie Ray Vaughanabee bands playing his stuff note for note. However, he was a great player with killer tone and feel.

Jimi Hendrix: I think that Jimi is often overlooked as a bluesman. Most of his better known material was more Psychedelic Rock, but when he played the blues it was the real deal. I really loved the direction he was taking with Buddy Miles and Billy Cox when he died. He seemed to be returning to his Blues and R&B roots.

Rory Gallagher: Rory was another very fine player, good slide player. He wasn't afraid to take chances.

Jimmy Page: I used to love Zeppelin and Page when I was a teenager. I have a hard time listening to a lot of his stuff now. I found him to be a very flashy and showy player.

B.B. King: I used to really like B.B., but I find that he is extremely repetitive and boring. I had gone off of him completely until I heard some of his stuff from the fifties that was really good.

Albert King: Great, great sound. SRV's hero.

Eric Clapton: This is the one that I have the most trouble with. I loved Eric's early blues, almost gagged at his Pop star stuff and had completely gone off him, He then released "From the Cradle" and was once more a fine blues player. I loved his version of "Don't Think Twice" at Bobfest". I just wish he would figure out who he is.

Frank Zappa: Better known for his satire than his playing, but I think he was a musical genius. When Frank just got down and jammed the blues it was incredible.

Bob Dylan: What the hell is he doing on this list??? Listen to the first Dylan CD. A great bluesman.

Jeff Beck: I have never heard anyone play the electric guatar like Jeff. He is inventive, tremendously musical, but I thought his attempts at blues were weak.

Taj Mahal: I think this man is one of the most musical people I've ever heard. Taj is deeply rooted in the music of the thirties and forties, but he has done some incredible modern electric blues is career.

That's all I can think of for now. Anyone else?