Recommend some Blues music to a newbie

Buy as much John Lee Hooker as you can find.

Highly recommend Jimmy Smith's album The Cat, no body has played the Hammond B3 organ like him before or since.

Makes sure to explore different styles of Blues and acoustic vs electric. There is a lot of variety. Here are some artists to pursue (certainly NOT an exhaustive list). I've listed one or two album titles, too, as good starting points:

Butler, Wild Child - Wild Child Butler
Dixon, Willie - The Blues Every Which Way (with Memphis Slim)
Guy, Buddy - Going Back to Acoustic
Hammond, John - So many roads
Hatch, Little
Hooker, John Lee - Boogie Chillin' | Get back home in the U.S.A. | Sings the Blues (That’s my story)
Hopkins, Lightnin' - Goin' Away | Lightnin'
House, Son - Father of the Delta Blues
Hurt, Mississippi John - The Best of Mississippi John Hurt
Johnson, Robert - King of the Delta Blues Singers, Vol. I
Lenoir, JB - Alabama Blues
Slim, Memphis -
Waters, Muddy - Folk Singer | Sings Big Bill Broonzy
Wells, Junior - Hoodoo Man Blues
Williamson, Sonny Boy - Keep It To Ourselves | The Real Folk Blues

Enjoy your explorations!

try some some BB King, John lee Hooker, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Muddy waters and some Eva Cassidy. You won't go wrong.

Alligator Records is a great blues label.