I must say, I am in heaven. Thanks for the Blues thread DC!!
For those just looking to start out with the blues I suggest anything by Muddy Waters, BB King, John Lee Hooker, Robert Johnson, Elmore James or Sonny Boy Williamson. (aka Rice Miller, you'll find out there were two of them)
For those interested in the history of the Blues, I would suggest reading "Deep Blues" by Robert Palmer. It's like reading a college textbook at times, but incredibly informative.
Further exploration of little known or older style bluesmen would have to include Pinetop Perkins, Charley Patton, James Cotton, Son House, Otis Rush and Hudie Ledbetter (aka Leadbelly).
My personal timeless favorites include Robert Jr. Lockwood, Junior Wells, BB King, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix and my main man Buddy Guy.
If you are in Chicago and on the south side, stop by Buddy Guy's Legends night club. You will see a great blues band almost every night. I saw Buddy there in January of '97 and it hooked me on the blues for life.
A great place here in Ohio for blues is Fat Fish Blue in Cleveland. You can still see Robert Lockwood every Wednesday night for free. He's 84 years old and still plays a great 12 string guitar. He's the stepson of Robert Johnson and can play like no one else alive today.
For newer blues, I would recommend Keb' Mo', Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Indiginous. (Would love to see comments on any and all of these newbies)
One last note: To dZ,
You are in the wrong line of work,
you should be singin' the Blues...
or at least writin' them.