Little Richard, Big Mama Thornton and BB King Can You Suggest Best Albums?

I have no idea, but when I need to get an idea of the relative quality of a certain artist's albums, I use 

It probably depends on the format you are looking for but I find as a general rule the most recent remaster usually sounds the best. Any of the artists greatest hits collections is probably a good starting point.

B.B. King live at the Regal is always well regarded.

I streamed some performances of these three, but the recordings themselves sounded less than stellar. BB King probably sounded the best, but this just represents a small sampling of each artist. I think that many of these were recorded from live performances, so that is probably the issue. I know that mid 50’s to mid 60’s recording technology can result in a great sound, but I guess that you have to value that at the front end and most of this probably was getting circulated via AM radio and they sound pretty compressed. Some Elvis recordings also sounded less than impressive.

@tony1954 

Thanks for the link.  I’ll take a look around.

@vonhelmholtz  I am very fond of a BB King disk called Take It Home.  Partly because he is backed up by the Jazz Crusaders.  Also, and this may sound strange, BB's Chrismas LP called A Christmas Celebration of Hope, has some of his best vocal work ever.  Give them a listen as see if you agree,  Cheers.

@vonhelmholtz  - What streaming service are you using?

Without a doubt -

BB King -  indianola mississippi seeds

just buy it and enjoy it!

@tomcy6 

Qobuz…

I’ll give all above a listen

Nearly anyone, I learned to start with the early stuff, when they made their reputations, and a bit after the best. 

i.e. BB King fell into a kind of caricature of himself: not playing much, not the whole song, a few short display intervals and let the band do most of the rest.

Early stuff, he rips it up thru and thru.

You didn't mention Buddy Guy, stream some Buddy, you will want some Buddy.

@vonhelmholtz 

BB King: I'm partial to "Completely Well" and "Indianola Mississippi Seeds".

Some may regard these as overly produced but there's plenty of excellent guitar and vocal work. 

I doubt you'll be bowled over by the SQ.