Who is the best rythum and blues artist?

Issac Hayes.

Can you narrow it down a bit? R & B covers a lot of ground.

Jump Blues-Louis Jordan

Blues Shouters-Big Joe Turner

Vocal Group-The Drifters or the Clovers

Soul-Ray Charles

Motown-Marvin Gaye

Stax/Volt-Otis Redding

West Coast Piano Blues-Charles Brown or Nat King Cole.

Overall, I'd have to say either Ray Charles or James Brown.

Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson are the absolute best. If you prefer a little newer than Rolling Stones sing good blues. Though they are from London, they're originally a Chicago blues band.

BB King is a pioneer of the blues, so is Clapton when you go through his discography. It's really according to opinion, right? But if you prefer real music to synthesized auto-tune music, older is much better.

Stevie Wonder is the absolute best.

R&B isn't Blues. So Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters don't qualify. Rolling Stones play rock n roll.