The Rolling Stones' Most Blues-Obsessed Album: Their 1964 Debut

For pure, unadulterated blues worship, nothing beats the Rolling Stones’ 1964 debut album, The Rolling Stones (also known as England’s Newest Hit Makers in the US). It’s almost entirely covers of Chicago blues and R&B, recorded in a few days with raw, live-in-the-studio energy. The band hadn’t yet developed their own songwriting voice, so they leaned hard on heroes like Muddy Waters, Slim Harpo, and Chuck Berry.

A beginner should start with the opening track, “Route 66” — it