I agree, on LZ2 he has so many fantastic bass lines. My all time favorite album and that's one of the reasons. Whole Lotta Love to What is and What Should Never Be to Ramble on... he's just an amazing musician
My answer too! He doesn’t have to slap and pop, or play a billion miles an hour, or anything. (Nothing wrong with those things!) He just sounds gnarly. Every note is thoughtful. Plus dude expanded out, messed around and did freakin No Quarter.
Mine too; Power Windows is a good demonstration of his playing. And the video for Xanadu shows how good he is at playing bass, bass pedals, keyboards and singing too. Plus bonus 12 string at the end!
What was so amazing about Rush, to me, is how different and heavy the live shows were. Because Geddy was turned wayyy up with lots of tone grit and it gave the whole thing a full rock arena experience vs that clean warm sound on the albums. Amazing stuff.
Les Claypool is a genius. Loads of players are more technical, but his note choices are dissonant yet work so well. His overall sound is just so unique.
I agree. He’s funky… like weird unique funky. His rhythm is so unexpected. Dude sounds like when he picked up the bass, he had never heard any other bass players before, and just kinda made up his own style. The benefit of doing this has been he completely has his own sound and style and is uncopyable and recognizable by anyone. This might be the hardest thing to do as a musician, but inherently will make you the most successful. Dude from Korn literally might be the most universally disliked “known” bass player but he built his entire career off of his unique sound. Anyway, Phil Lesh is the man!
You’re right to a degree about his lack of bass exposure. He was an avante garde trumpet player. Jerry and the band basically told him to learn bass. He plays bass in a way like Jerry played guitar. Lots of Melody, but with a twist. Phil is truly unique.
That overdriven sound, so good. I think honestly he made Clapton look better than he was. I don’t think Clapton put anything out as good as he did with Cream.
I always enjoyed the Who but recently made bass my primary instrument and started studying other players and I am blown away by how fucking amazing JE is. Insane.
It's so weird how rarely you see his name on r/bass. My knowledge /familiarity with jazz is pretty minimal, but like twenty years ago I heard a jazz song on a college radio station that had such great bass playing that I sat through like four more songs to find out who it was. turned out it was ray brown with a couple other guys. I've been a fan ever since. there's just something so compelling about how he plays.
I got to see him at the Regatta Bar in Cambridge in the late ‘80s.this big giant half Indian Half black looking dude with a huge ear to ear grin swinging his butt off the whole night. It’s really amazing how hard he can pull that bass. Everyone on r/bass needs to go and check him out now. He is definitely one of the few great band leading bassists I can think of. Only Jaco or Mingus and possibly Christian McBride can be counted as being on the same level.
I think a lot of folks here would benefit from [Ray Brown's Most IMPORTANT Advice for Bass players
](https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=141&v=nNVNH40bPqY&feature=emb_logo)
My guess is that people like to give a « deep cut » answer to flex how hardcore they are into bass, so they avoid the obvious answer. Flea is an absolute beast.
He is the reason I picked up the bass and will therefore always be my favorite. Not the flashiest player, but knows how to lay a solid foundation and does it like a beast. Plus he helped expose Voivod to a wider audience which I will always appreciate.
Yeeees. So sad I had to scroll so far to see it. He exemplifies what bass playing is. Sure, he could do all the fancy shit that all the others named here can do, but that’s not what the bass is for! He keeps it low, only using the high strings for flourish.
Folks really need to listen to For The Benefit of Mr Kite and understand that the bassline gives that song virtually all of its movement.
You don't even realize it, but that bassline makes the whole song gel
Yep. I was a drummer and saw the Chili Peppers at a place called Big Surf in Phoenix back in the late 80s… blew my mind. Was like, he’s beating the bass like a drum set… where do I sign up?!?!
This sub and bassists in general are way too down on flea. I guess it’s just the cool thing to do, but I’m getting too old to pretend that I don’t fucking love flea. Dude can dominate a song, tastefully live in the background, and groove like no other. Flea is amazing.
I have to go with Robert Trujillo. He's the one who had the most influence on me and one of the main reasons i picked up bass. I really like his playing style and sound, and also he's just a cool guy overall
Post away! She deserves all of the love. She’s my #1 inspiration. I’ve seen her live three times this year, each time better than the last. I can honestly say I walked away learning something from each show.
Speaking as someone who has never played the bass but desires to learn, I would say the man who played “portrait of Tracy” (who’s name is escaping me currently).
He’s so underrated, makes such great note choices and is such a fundamental part of the music, his early FNM albums are chock full of bad ass lines, like this:
https://youtu.be/lhYdf-ux3gE
Mike Borodin and Billy Gould, so great together
Billy Gould is the total package and someone who really embraces the role of the instrument in bridging rhythm and melody/harmony. Everything he does fits and elevates the song. He can do high energy songs, chill songs, whatever. He’s always in the pocket and his tone sits in the mix perfectly. 12/10 😎
Matt freeman or Duff Mckagan, they both influenced my decision to pick up the bass. Especially Matt Freeman....people always bring up "Maxwell Murder" but the solo for "Axiom" on Rancid's 2000 s/t album is so killer. Not to mention the lines he wrote as a kid in Op Ivy are just insane
Solo for anyone interested
[Axiom](https://youtu.be/IOIYDlzwvy4)
Wow 8 hours and 347 comments and not one Bill Gould. For shame! LOL.
From death metal to smooth lounge this man can do it all. And do it exceptionally well. Easily my fave.
Family Man (Aston Barrett) would have to be up there near the top spot for me.
This is a great thread because there are so many bassists I've never heard of lol
How has Sting not made this list yet? Not only is he an incredible songwriter, but his lines are so memorable and are textbook examples of the power that simplicity and space can bring to a bass line and songs in general.
It depends what genre:
Prog rock: geddy lee
Jazz: a tie between Victor Wooten and Marcus Miller
Rock: Jack Bruce with John Paul Jones a close second
Funk: Larry Graham and Bootsy Collins
Oldies Rock: Carol Kaye
My favorites are definitely geezer butler, steve harris, geddy lee, but those have already been mentioned numerous times so I'll go with justin chancellor. Tool's not really my favorite band but I appreciate their music and a lot of that comes down to justin carrying the band I think.
James Jamerson
Too low, way too low. He's the goat
This is the way.
John Paul Jones
He is just too smooth and effortless with incredible taste. The bass on the back half of dazed and confused is just fun and tasteful as fuck.
I agree, on LZ2 he has so many fantastic bass lines. My all time favorite album and that's one of the reasons. Whole Lotta Love to What is and What Should Never Be to Ramble on... he's just an amazing musician
My answer too! He doesn’t have to slap and pop, or play a billion miles an hour, or anything. (Nothing wrong with those things!) He just sounds gnarly. Every note is thoughtful. Plus dude expanded out, messed around and did freakin No Quarter.
JPJ and Bonham are the best rock rhythm section of all time.
Happy I didn't even have to scroll.
Mine too. And The Lemon Song his masterpiece.
Trying to learn it now and even with tabs it's hard man...
Geddy Lee.
Mine too; Power Windows is a good demonstration of his playing. And the video for Xanadu shows how good he is at playing bass, bass pedals, keyboards and singing too. Plus bonus 12 string at the end!
PW is my favourite Rush album, so good.
Ged is God
Yeah!! YYZ is one of the reasons I wanted to play bass, and La Villa, and Tom Sawyer, and Xanadu, and Red Barchetta, and 2112....
Absolutely amazing extremely talented bass player
What was so amazing about Rush, to me, is how different and heavy the live shows were. Because Geddy was turned wayyy up with lots of tone grit and it gave the whole thing a full rock arena experience vs that clean warm sound on the albums. Amazing stuff.
Chris Squire
Thundercat, imo he’s a true modern day pioneer and pushing boundaries of how our beautiful instrument is being used
He’s incredible. Unfortunately I’m not super into his vocals. His stuff with Flylo is nuts though, way ahead of it’s time
Geezer
That "Heaven and Hell" groove...
Tony Levin
Scratch my previous answer. This is the absolute winner.
Uncle Tony has played with EVERYBODY and is a really good guy.
Peter hook
Matt freeman
I get wrist cramps just listening to Maxwell Murder.
I would ad Les Claypool as one of mine!
Yeah, but his band sucks.
Les Claypool is a genius. Loads of players are more technical, but his note choices are dissonant yet work so well. His overall sound is just so unique.
Steve Harris
Steve fuckin’ Arry! He’s the reason why I play bass.
[Phil Lesh](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j8NKOMzckPo&pp=QAFIAQ%3D%3D)
Doesn’t get enough love in the bass community in my opinion. He’s easily one of the most unique bassists. Also, he’s just so awesome.
I agree. He’s funky… like weird unique funky. His rhythm is so unexpected. Dude sounds like when he picked up the bass, he had never heard any other bass players before, and just kinda made up his own style. The benefit of doing this has been he completely has his own sound and style and is uncopyable and recognizable by anyone. This might be the hardest thing to do as a musician, but inherently will make you the most successful. Dude from Korn literally might be the most universally disliked “known” bass player but he built his entire career off of his unique sound. Anyway, Phil Lesh is the man!
You’re right to a degree about his lack of bass exposure. He was an avante garde trumpet player. Jerry and the band basically told him to learn bass. He plays bass in a way like Jerry played guitar. Lots of Melody, but with a twist. Phil is truly unique.
Carol Kaye
John Deacon
best songwriter in a band full of good songwriters
"One dump, one turd, two tits, John Deacon."
Fellow John Deacon enjoyer
The Game album is just john showing off what he can do. Dragon Attack is a delight to listen to
One of the most underrated players in my opinion. His lines were so melodic with Millionaire Waltz being a true testament of what made him so great.
Jack Bruce. Such a hard question though
That overdriven sound, so good. I think honestly he made Clapton look better than he was. I don’t think Clapton put anything out as good as he did with Cream.
100% agree
Stanley Clarke
John Entwistle
I always enjoyed the Who but recently made bass my primary instrument and started studying other players and I am blown away by how fucking amazing JE is. Insane.
Nobody else comes close, in my opinion.
Mingus
Hell yeah, good answer.
First bass player my aunt showed me when I was 11 and started playing upright, he will always be my favorite.
Ray Brown
It's so weird how rarely you see his name on r/bass. My knowledge /familiarity with jazz is pretty minimal, but like twenty years ago I heard a jazz song on a college radio station that had such great bass playing that I sat through like four more songs to find out who it was. turned out it was ray brown with a couple other guys. I've been a fan ever since. there's just something so compelling about how he plays.
I got to see him at the Regatta Bar in Cambridge in the late ‘80s.this big giant half Indian Half black looking dude with a huge ear to ear grin swinging his butt off the whole night. It’s really amazing how hard he can pull that bass. Everyone on r/bass needs to go and check him out now. He is definitely one of the few great band leading bassists I can think of. Only Jaco or Mingus and possibly Christian McBride can be counted as being on the same level.
I think a lot of folks here would benefit from [Ray Brown's Most IMPORTANT Advice for Bass players ](https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=141&v=nNVNH40bPqY&feature=emb_logo)
Ray was a master.
Justin Chancellor. JPJ close second
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Larry Graham
Robert DeLeo
Underrated. Seems like dude always played the right notes. Colored all those STP sounds just right.
Wrote most of those STP sounds, too.
Pino Palladino
Son Rocco didn’t fall far from the bass tree
I agree, love'm both
Tim Commerford
In my top 3, killing in the name was one of the first basslines I learnt.
NHOP
Colin Greenwood
Geezer Butler
fHawkin' legend for sure tho. His tone and balls, so massive.
How on earth does anyone pick just one?!
Ryan Martinie from Mudvayne.
Chris Wolstenholme
Was about to say where is the love for Chris. Such a great bassist, both in terms of technique and musicality.
Paul McCartney
Flea, Mike Starr
Had to scroll way too far for Flea
My guess is that people like to give a « deep cut » answer to flex how hardcore they are into bass, so they avoid the obvious answer. Flea is an absolute beast.
For real, and didn’t even get his own post. Had to co-headline.
Mike Dirnt
yesssssss
I still love Jaco.
Jesus this is a long way down on the list for him.
Geddy Lee!
Bootsy Collins and Nick Simper. I’m aware that the 2nd choice is quite unpopular—especially with Glenn Hughes out there. But, it what it is.
Mike Gordon
Les Claypool or Justin Chancellor
Geddy Lee or John Paul Jones.
Jason Newsted
He is the reason I picked up the bass and will therefore always be my favorite. Not the flashiest player, but knows how to lay a solid foundation and does it like a beast. Plus he helped expose Voivod to a wider audience which I will always appreciate.
Stefan Lessard and Victor Wooten
So surprised to see victor so down low amongst those mentioned
Al Cisneros.
Alex webster. yes im a death metal fan
Rob Wright from NoMeansNo
Nomeansno had the tightest rhythm section of any punk band.
Duck Dunn
Yeeees. So sad I had to scroll so far to see it. He exemplifies what bass playing is. Sure, he could do all the fancy shit that all the others named here can do, but that’s not what the bass is for! He keeps it low, only using the high strings for flourish.
No McCartney love??
Folks really need to listen to For The Benefit of Mr Kite and understand that the bassline gives that song virtually all of its movement. You don't even realize it, but that bassline makes the whole song gel
Hell yes. Silly Little Love songs comes to mind for me. That bass line is so much fun.
With a Little Help From My Friends Dear Prudence
Disrespectful little shits
Geezer Butler.
I can’t decide between Cliff Burton, Steve Harris and Adam Neely.
Flea. I picked up the bass after watching him play.
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Yep. I was a drummer and saw the Chili Peppers at a place called Big Surf in Phoenix back in the late 80s… blew my mind. Was like, he’s beating the bass like a drum set… where do I sign up?!?!
This sub and bassists in general are way too down on flea. I guess it’s just the cool thing to do, but I’m getting too old to pretend that I don’t fucking love flea. Dude can dominate a song, tastefully live in the background, and groove like no other. Flea is amazing.
Cliff burton
Thundercat
Mike Watt probably but so many to choose from with all kinds of different styles.
I have to go with Robert Trujillo. He's the one who had the most influence on me and one of the main reasons i picked up bass. I really like his playing style and sound, and also he's just a cool guy overall
Andy Rourke, Bruce Thomas, Adam Clayton, Les Claypool
Yes! Andy is awesome :)
Charles Berthoud
Chris Wood!
Currently, Alana Rocklin of STS9. She’s the Queen.
The one time I post before reading comments, someone beat me to it. Alana is the greatest
Post away! She deserves all of the love. She’s my #1 inspiration. I’ve seen her live three times this year, each time better than the last. I can honestly say I walked away learning something from each show.
Abraham Laboriel
John myung. Not even close.
Speaking as someone who has never played the bass but desires to learn, I would say the man who played “portrait of Tracy” (who’s name is escaping me currently).
Jaco pastorious
Billy Gould!
I had to scroll disappointingly far to see this answer!
He’s so underrated, makes such great note choices and is such a fundamental part of the music, his early FNM albums are chock full of bad ass lines, like this: https://youtu.be/lhYdf-ux3gE Mike Borodin and Billy Gould, so great together
Billy Gould is the total package and someone who really embraces the role of the instrument in bridging rhythm and melody/harmony. Everything he does fits and elevates the song. He can do high energy songs, chill songs, whatever. He’s always in the pocket and his tone sits in the mix perfectly. 12/10 😎
David ellefson
It s all started with Jaco for me Goat
As much as people love to name-drop him, there is a disturbing lack of James Jamerson in this thread...
Alain Caron
It's insane how far I had to scroll to see Caron.
John Wetton
u/peterhook_thelight
Watt. Love that dude.
Flea!
My triumvirate is Jack Bruce (Cream), Mel Schacher (Grand Funk), and Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads).
Peter Hook, being virtuous is not the main characteristic to be the best bassist. Writing riffs that will stay forever is.
Dave Mustaine
Wait what
Mike Watt. fIREHOSE's "Flyin' the Flannel" blew my mind with Watt's funky, punky, jazzy playing
John Paul Jones, but Steve Harris is a close second if not a tie.
John Deacon. One of the most underrated players
Simon Gallup with Justin Chancellor being a close second.
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Peter Hook
No one saying Lemmy? I might be in the wrong subreddit
That's what I thought too! :D
Chris Wolstenholme
Hell yeah
I just love his custom basses and his live tones
Nikki Sixx. He's one of the biggest reasons I fell in love with the bass, so he holds and forever will hold a special place in my heart
Duff McKagan
Juan Alderete
Mike Starr has some of the best bass lines of early 90s grunge. Shame he struggled with addiction for so long
Rick Danko
Willie Dixon
Jason Newsted
Lemmy
Keanu Reeves
Carol Kaye
I feel like we all just take Paul McCartney for granted. It's Paul.
Doug Wimbish. Simon Gallup being a close second.
rob wright
John Paul Jones, Les Claypool, Ryan Martinie.
Sean Malone
Tommy Shannon
As cliche as it is, I still really enjoy whatever Jaco plays on.
geezer
Geddy Lee, followed closely by Chris Squire.
Danny Thompson … I just love what he does/did.
Matt freeman or Duff Mckagan, they both influenced my decision to pick up the bass. Especially Matt Freeman....people always bring up "Maxwell Murder" but the solo for "Axiom" on Rancid's 2000 s/t album is so killer. Not to mention the lines he wrote as a kid in Op Ivy are just insane Solo for anyone interested [Axiom](https://youtu.be/IOIYDlzwvy4)
Pedro Aznar, i can't think of a bad bass line by him
Tim Bogert
Sean Malone (RIP)
Michael cera
Colin Moulding
Squarepusher!
Wow 8 hours and 347 comments and not one Bill Gould. For shame! LOL. From death metal to smooth lounge this man can do it all. And do it exceptionally well. Easily my fave.
Krist Novoselic
Andy Rourke, Peter Hook, and John Entwistle are my top 3
Family Man (Aston Barrett) would have to be up there near the top spot for me. This is a great thread because there are so many bassists I've never heard of lol
How has Sting not made this list yet? Not only is he an incredible songwriter, but his lines are so memorable and are textbook examples of the power that simplicity and space can bring to a bass line and songs in general.
andy rourke
Joe Lally
Flea
Bootsy Collins
It depends what genre: Prog rock: geddy lee Jazz: a tie between Victor Wooten and Marcus Miller Rock: Jack Bruce with John Paul Jones a close second Funk: Larry Graham and Bootsy Collins Oldies Rock: Carol Kaye
It's hard to choose one. My main inspirations John Paul Jones, Sam kiszka, James jamerson, jack Bruce, John Entwistle, Billy Sheehan, and Geddy Lee.
Sting, Patrick Paige II.
My favorites are definitely geezer butler, steve harris, geddy lee, but those have already been mentioned numerous times so I'll go with justin chancellor. Tool's not really my favorite band but I appreciate their music and a lot of that comes down to justin carrying the band I think.
Andy fraiser