>>60042207If you want to start listening to some of the real old time blues, that is blues recorded in the late 20s and early 30s period, you should probably start with Robert Johnson. His surviving records are the cleanest and most obviously the work of a virtuoso and master of the blues. Some of the other original blues singers, such as Willie Brown and Blind Lemon Jefferson are also geniuses and masters of their art but their styles are very dated, and the recordings that survived are very rough (worn with age).
To clarify, Robert Johnson's recordings only sound less dated because his style was more influential on how we now think about "the blues." Many other "lost" styles of blues exist, such as Ragtime blues, Folk Blues, and more ambient stuff like Blind Willie Johnson.
Blind Willie Johnson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNj2BXW852gRobert Johnson's biggest hit in his day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dloPrGI0EuYBlind Lemon Jefferson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3yd-c91ww8Willie Brown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An9rC8olaVY 
