10 Greatest Blues Rock Guitarists

If you ask any rock musician about learning guitar, about 90% of them will tell you it comes from the blues. The foundation of rock music comes from the 12-bar tradition of bluesmen like Robert Johnson, Buddy Guy, and Albert King. Every early rocker from Chuck Berry to Jerry Lew Lewis all held onto that blues upbringing to help create what is known now as rock and roll.

While many look at the blues as a fairly easy genre of music to pick up, the core of blues rock is insanely difficult to master. There may not be that many scales to learn to get a good bluesy sound, but the real power of the music is in expression. The guitarist has to develop a unique relationship with his/her guitar that taps into a certain emotional center. That way, the guitar becomes less of an instrument and more like a true living being.

The artists on this list have all found their own unique sound based on the relationship with the six string. These guitarists may have similar scales in common, but their ability to make their guitars talk is something all their own.

Mike Bloomfield is probably an unfamiliar name for most fairweather fans of blues rock. Regardless, Bloomfield has earned his place among the rock greats for his incredible blues touch as well as his track record as a top tier session guitarist.

Bloomfield got his start in the blues act the Paul Butterfield Band, where he delivered performances that schooled every British Invasion guitarist as to how the blues was truly played. From there, he branched out into the modern rock revolution, where he ended up working with wordsmith extraordinaire Bob Dylan on his monumental album Highway 61 Revisited. Along the way, Bloomfield also contributed his guitar work to projects by blues belter Janis Joplin.

One of Bloomfield's biggest trademarks was more in restraint than flashiness. Rather than incorporate raucous techniques like feedback and distortion, Bloomfield played to serve the song with the right amount of flair and finesse. As the 60's signaled the dawn of the rock revolution, Mike Bloomfield's guitar work stands as the perfect balance between the blues expertise of Robert Johnson and the modern excitement of Chuck Berry. By never overplaying, Mike Bloomfield's guitar breaks have become essential parts of every song he's featured on.