Metacritic Aggregate: 2023 Old Music: Blues/Gospel/R&B

For information on what lists are consulted, and what the various abbreviations and notes mean, click here.

Reissues, compilations, vault music, etc. For new records, click here.

Sub-Lists

Some breakdowns by genre:

Ranking

  1. The R&B No 1s of the 40s (Acrobat) {8}: YW_r:5 -- TH:A-
  2. Birthright: A Black Roots Music Compendium (Craft) {4}: YW_r:9; tl_r:11
  3. Playing for the Man at the Door: Field Recordings From the Collection of Mack McCormick 1958-1971 (Smithsonian Folkways) {4}: PO_r:18, YW_r:26; xco:+
  4. Holy Church of the Ecstatic Soul: A Higher Power: Gospel, Funk & Soul at the Crossroads 1971-83 (Soul Jazz) {3}: tl_r:5 -- TH:*
  5. William Bell: Never Like This Before: The Complete 'Blue' Stax Singles 1961-1968 (Kent Soul -22) {2}: -- TH:**
  6. William Bell: The Man in the Street: The Complete 'Yellow' Stax Solo Singles 1968-1974 (Kent) {2}: -- TH:**
  7. Fenton Robinson: Somebody Loan Me a Dime (1974, Alligator) {2}: DB:++ -- TH:[A-]
  8. Muddy Waters Blue Band Featuring Otis Spann: Live Paris 1968 (Lantower) {2}: -- TH:**
  9. Muddy Waters: Hollywood Blues Summit: Live at the Ash Grove July 30, 1971 (Liberation Hall) {2}: YW_r:15
  10. The 1959 R&B Hits Collection (Acrobat) {2}: YW_r:12
  11. Sugar Boy Crawford: Hey Now! New Orleans Classics 1953-1958 (Jasmine) {1}: xco:+
  12. The Famous Davis Sisters: The Singles Collection 1949-1962 (Acrobat -2CD) {1}: xco:+
  13. Henry Gray: In Session: I'm a Lucky, Lucky Man (Jasmine -22) {1}: xco:+
  14. John Lee Hooker: Alone: Live at Hunter College 1976 (BMG) {1}: YW_r:48
  15. John Lee Hooker: Burnin' (Craft) {1}: YW_r:21
  16. Sax Mallard: In Session: The Mojo 1946-1954 (Jasmine) {1}: xco:+
  17. Brother Joe May: Singles, Album Tracks and Live Recordings 1949-1962 (Acrobat -4CD) {1}: xco:+
  18. Eli "Paperboy" Reed: Hits and Misses: The Singles (Yep Roc) {1}: YW:42
  19. Black Diamond Express [Matchbox Bluesmaster Series] (Matchbox Bluesmaster -6CD) {1}: xco:+
  20. Gospel: Female Gospel Groups 1940-1962 (Fremeaux & Associes) {1}: xco:+
  21. Shake That Thing: The Blues in Britain 1963-1973 (Cherry Red) {1}: am_b:+
  22. Tell Everybody! 21st Century Juke Joint Blues From Easy Eye Sound (Easy Eye Sound) {1}: am_b:+
  23. The Black Gospel Ladies: I Walked Out in Jesus Name 1947-1970 (Narroway -3CD) {1}: xco:+
  24. The Rough Guide to Railroad Blues (World Music Network -22) {1}: xco:+