Warren Haynes - picked up where Clapton left off with Cream ... a wicked slide master as well, but slide doesn't do for me what it does for a lot of folks. Haynes leans more towards blues-based rock, but his band Gov't Mule is hard to beat when they cut loose on blues standards like "Mother Earth." Haynes does lots of collaborations with other blues artists like Little Milton and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and some not so steeped in the blues tradition, like Everlast.

Billy Gibbons - ZZTop. That down 'n' dirty Texas roadhouse sound.

Susan Tedeschi - soulful in the Bonnie Rait tradition.

Shannon Curfman - just fourteen when her first album Loud Guitars Big Suspicions came out (1999), her guitar work makes someone who's been at it a while just want to give up in disgust. She's not real flashy, but it's evident she knows her way around a fretboard.

Seth Yacovone Band - Seth Yacovone hails from Vermont, opens for the likes of BB King, Johnny Winter et al. A complete track from Dannemora is downloadable for free at the band's website: www.sethyac.com.

Guitar Shorty - he's best known for being married to Hendrix's stepsister, and when he does a version of "Hey Joe" you get a good idea from whom Jimi learned a few of his licks.

Matt 'Guitar' Murphy - I like the work he did with Memphis Slim.