Best Alligator Records

Professor Longhair’s *Crawfish Fiesta* is a significant blues album showcasing the New Orleans legend's distinctive piano style. Recorded in 1979 and released by Alligator Records after his passing, it offers a poignant final studio performance. This record is notable for its raw energy and demonstr...

Son Seals’ Live and Burning captures the raw energy of the Chicago blues musician performing at the Wise Fools Pub in 1978. This Alligator Records album showcases Seals’ distinctive guitar style and soulful vocals, a cornerstone of the city's blues scene. It is particularly appreciated by fans of tr...

Luther Allison’s *Blue Streak* is a critically acclaimed blues album released in 1995 by Alligator Records. This Chicago blues musician's work represents a powerful return to his roots following extensive performances across Europe. The album earned him a Grammy Award and showcases Allison’s distinc...

Albert Collins – Live in Japan documents the renowned Texas blues musician’s performance from a 1984 Japanese tour. The album showcases Collins' distinctive guitar style, particularly his use of the Telecaster and his signature “wah-wah” technique. It provides a valuable recording for fans of classi...

"Roughhousin'" is the debut album by the American Chicago blues band Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials, released in 1986 on Alligator Records. The record is characterized by its high-energy presentation, raw production, and prominent slide guitar work, drawing heavy influence from the traditional West...

"Somebody Loan Me a Dime" is a studio album by American blues singer and guitarist Fenton Robinson, released in 1974 by Alligator Records. The record showcases Robinson's sophisticated approach to Chicago blues, featuring his smooth vocal style and minimal, restrained guitar work. The title track is...

Harp Attack! is a 1990 Chicago blues album released by Alligator Records and credited to harmonica players James Cotton, Junior Wells, Carey Bell, and Billy Branch. The record brings together musicians from different generations of the city's amplified blues tradition, with each performer contributi...

The Earthshaker is a studio album by Chicago blues vocalist Koko Taylor, released in 1978 through Alligator Records. Produced by label founder Bruce Iglauer, the album features a robust selection of Chicago-style electric blues tracks backed by accomplished session musicians. Taylor's powerful, grit...

2004 Alligator Records album by blues harmonica veteran Charlie Musselwhite, widely regarded as among his strongest and most deeply personal late-career recordings.

Blowin' Like Hell is a 1990 blues album by American singer and harmonica player William Clarke, released by Alligator Records. The recording showcases Clarke's forceful amplified harmonica work, including his use of chromatic harmonica, within a full electric band setting shaped by West Coast blues...

Queen of the Blues is a 1985 album by American singer Koko Taylor, released by Alligator Records. Built around Taylor's forceful, rough-edged vocals, the record presents electric Chicago blues performed with a full band and includes both established blues material and contemporary songs. It is a rep...

*Bad Axe* is a studio album by Chicago blues musician Son Seals, released in 1984 on Alligator Records. The album features Seals's gritty vocal delivery and aggressive, hard-hitting electric guitar work, backed by a standard blues rhythm section. The tracks consist primarily of original compositions...

Baby, You Can Get Your Gun! is a blues album by New Orleans guitarist and singer Snooks Eaglin, originally released on Black Top Records. Known for his diverse repertoire and highly technical, self-taught fingerstyle guitar playing, Eaglin blends traditional R&B, blues, and gospel elements on the re...

Guitar Slinger is a studio album by Texas blues guitarist and singer Johnny Winter, released in 1984 on Alligator Records. This record marked a deliberate return to his blues roots following a period focused on hard rock and mainstream rock production. Backed by a standard electric blues band, Winte...

Deep Down is a blues album released in 1995 on Alligator Records by Chicago harmonica player Carey Bell. The album features Bell performing alongside his sons, guitarist Lurrie Bell and drummer Steve Bell. It consists of Chicago-rooted blues tracks, highlighting Carey Bell's skills on the harmonica...

Don't Call No Ambulance is the 2014 Alligator Records debut by Florida-born blues guitarist Selwyn Birchwood, earning him the Blues Music Award for Best New Artist Debut.

"In My Time" is a 2004 blues album by harmonica virtuoso Charlie Musselwhite, released on Telarc Records. The album showcases Musselwhite's deep connection to Delta and Chicago blues traditions, reflecting his background as a native of Memphis who became part of Chicago's blues scene in the 1960s. T...

Holding Court is a studio album by the Cash Box Kings, a blues group associated with Chicago's postwar electric-blues tradition. Released in 2015 by Blind Pig Records, it features the band's established combination of vocals, harmonica, guitar, and rhythm-section arrangements, with Oscar Wilson and...

Storm Warning is a studio album by American blues guitarist and singer Tinsley Ellis, released in 1994 by Alligator Records. It presents Ellis's electric guitar-led approach to modern blues, combining Chicago blues vocabulary with Southern rock energy and original songwriting. The record belongs to...

Fanning the Flames is a studio album by American blues guitarist and singer Tinsley Ellis, released by Alligator Records in 1989. It marked his first album for the label after his work with the Atlanta-based band the Heartfixers. The recording presents the electric blues and blues-rock approach asso...