Playlist: The Very Best of Johnny Winter

Performer: Johnny Winter
Distributor: Sony Music Entertainment

Notes: Johnny Winter has had a longer and more varied career than most people realize, but his peak commercial years came between 1969 and 1977 when his hot guitar playing gave him a blues-rock gunslinger image, and that remains the dominant perception of this undeniably gifted musician. This 14-track set (there is an additional CD-ROM track as well) chronicles his "golden era" with key tracks from albums released between 1969's Johnny Winter and 1977's Nothin' But the Blues. There's way more to the Johnny Winter story, of course, but it is the period that has come to define him, so this release will suit most casual listeners looking for a quick Johnny Winter playlist. ~ Steve L eggett

Texan blues guitarist Johnny Winter, surely the first albino blues guitar hero, was already a convincing artist in the '60s when still in his teens. At the dawn of the '70s, he embraced the sound of the time, adopting a louder, more frenetic blues-rock style. Backed by the McCoys, including guitarist Rick Derringer, he released a series of classic blues-rock albums, while his keyboard-playing brother Edgar, with whom Johnny played on and off over the years, achieved stardom in his own right. At the end of the '70s, Winter produced Muddy Waters, helping him make a triumphant comeback. In the ensuing decades, Winter maintained a prolific schedule of touring and recording.

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