You can use major, you will get more of a rock sound. Dominant 7ths are traditionally used for more of a blues sound. There's all of about 8 types of blues progressions that use various types of chords. For instance, here's a 12 bar minor blues....
|Cmin7 . . . |F9 . . . |Cmin7 . . .| . . . . |
|Fmin7 . . . | . . . .|Cmin7 . . . .| . . . .|
|Ab13 . . . |G7#5 . . . |Cmin7 . . .|Dmin7b5 . G7#5 . ||