25 Favorite Bassists Countdown (##1 & 2 Revealed!)

[HOF]

There are lots of candidates for a signature Tony Levin track, but I think Sleepless by King Crimson is probably about as good a summary of his style as any other:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkbAMUo6VNA

To me it's "Don't Give Up" but that's a great one too. 

Yep, that's a great one, especially for his more melodic side. Basically his work on the entire So album is great (except In Your Eyes which he doesn't play on).

[SwedishGoose]

There are lots of candidates for a signature Tony Levin track, but I think Sleepless by King Crimson is probably about as good a summary of his style as any other:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkbAMUo6VNA

Sleepless is a great candidate as it features his innovation the Funk Fingers.
Here seen in a behind the scenes video

https://youtu.be/iP_bXVyb2Q0?si=ndQkrY2ymBsLk9QD

[Setlist Scotty]

2 for 2 today. In looking at my predictions of likeliness, I have 5 lock spots and there's only 4 spaces left. Pretty sure I'll nail all 4, but I am shocked that my fifth lock prediction didn't make the top 25 at all! Will be interested in seeing the full list after it's all said and done.

Here's my list as of now:
25. no way
24. lock
23. maybe – Dave LaRue (21)
22. unlikely
21. maybe
20. maybe
19. probably – Paul McCartney (6)
18. unlikely
17. no way
16. maybe
15. probably – John Paul Jones (9)
14. probably
13. probably – Jason Newsted (10)
12. maybe
11. lock
10. maybe
9. no way
8. probably – Phil Lynott (17)
7. lock – Cliff Burton (11)
6. lock – Billy Sheehan (7)
5. lock
4. lock
3. probably – Tony Levin (5)
2. lock
1. maybe – Mariusz Duda (25T)

Not ranked: Steve Di Giorgio, Dan Briggs, John Deacon, Flea, Jaco Pastorius, John Wetton, Les Claypool, Mike Rutherford, Pete Trewavas, Stanley Clark, Justin Chancellor, John Entwistle, Geezer Butler

[HOF]

There are lots of candidates for a signature Tony Levin track, but I think Sleepless by King Crimson is probably about as good a summary of his style as any other:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkbAMUo6VNA

Sleepless is a great candidate as it features his innovation the Funk Fingers.
Here seen in a behind the scenes video

https://youtu.be/iP_bXVyb2Q0?si=ndQkrY2ymBsLk9QD

Actually, I don't think he used Funk Fingers on the studio recording, because he hadn't invented them yet! Three of a Perfect Pair came out in 1984, and the Funk Fingers came about after he and Jerry Marotta used drum sticks to record the percussive bass part for Peter Gabriel's Big Time at least a year later. It was some time after that that he developed the actual technique of strapping drum sticks to his fingers. 

Sounds like it was actually Peter Gabriel who suggested he strap two drumsticks to his fingers so he could recreate the Big Time part live.

https://www.guitarworld.com/features/watch-tony-levin-demonstrate-his-signature-funk-fingers

[pg1067]

6 – Paul McCartney
Appeared on 17 of 27 lists (pg1067, Setlist Scotty, Indiscipline, DTwwbwMP, WilliamMunny, porcacultor, SwedishGoose, devieira73, Stadler, Kram, Dream Team, coz, Adami, The Realm, twosuitsluke, Animal, DragonAttack, Dave_Manchester)
Highest Finish: 1 (DragonAttack)
6 Top 10 Finishes



There’s nothing I can say about Paul McCartney that can’t be said.  He’s had multiple, massively successful careers – Beatles, Wings, solo.  What's even more impressive is that  he did most of that post mortem!  Although he was never a flashy player, he was innovative and interesting.  One of the most successful composers of all time.  Probably better known as a singer.  He played every instrument in the band.  And he’s my namesake.  I had him at #17.

Oh I see what you did there

 

[Indiscipline]

It's also nice what he did there:

There's nothing I can say about Paul McCartney that can't be said"

[pg1067]

At this point, I'm guessing everyone knows who the top 4 are, so here's the complete list of everyone who earned 30 or fewer points (which starts at 64th place, but I put the point totals as placements to make things easier on me):

30. Jeff Ament

28. Colin Greenwood

27. Bootsy Collins

26. Michael Todd
Rocco Prestia

25. *John Illsley  Dave_Manchester's #1
Ross Valory
Johan von Stratum
Ryan Martinie
Kristoffer Gildenlow

24. Oliver Holzwarth

23. Jeffrey Hammond
Robert DeLeo
Chuck Pannozzo
John Jowitt
Randy Coven
Troy Carron

22. Phil Lesh
Doug Pinnick
Fat Mike
Charles Berthoud
Nate Navaro
Brian Marshall

21. Trevor Dunn
F Chopper Koga
Mark King
Steve Severin
Babar Luck
Adam Clayton
John McVie

20. Dave Hope  Kansas remains criminally underrated around here!
John Taylor
Pete McClanahan
Juan Alderete
Fedor Freso
Johan De Farfalla
Ed Platt

19. Mike Levine
Ian Hill
Tim Commerford
Marcus Miller
Patrick O’Hearn
Danny Thompson
Johan Brand
Doug Wimbish
Tim Esau
Mike Kerr
Tom Araya
Peter Baltes

18. Leon Wilkeson
Alan Goldstein
Jon Jeary
Scott Thunes
Chuck Dukowski
"Filthy"
"Fieldy"
Tony Terusa

16. Carol Kaye
Peter Asp
Haraguchi
Giorgio Piazza

15. Joe Dibiase  His bass work on Monument was...well...Monumental!
Steve Hanley
Gregg Edwards
Jon Sykes  Apparently, this is not the guy from Whitesnake.
Mike Dirnt

14. Adam “Nolly” Getgood
Jeff Berlin
Mike Inez
Misa
Colin Moulding
Paul Raven
Scott Clendenin
Noel Redding
Nick Seymour
Henkka Seppala
Jari Kainulainen

13. Tim Starace  I was pleasantly surprised that someone else included him on a list!
Simon Gallup
Charles Mingus  He was the subject of a Jeopardy clue last week.
Paul Chambers
Charles Walter Rainey III
Dieter Horns

12. Bryan Beller
Mohini Dey
James Hornsey
Zach Cooper
Davie504
Daryl Stuermer
Sean Andrews

11. Pino Palladino
Kim Deal
Ron Carter
Rex Brown
James Jamerson

10. Gail Ann Dorsey
Dee Dee Ramone
Felipe Andreoli
Ivar Bjornsen
Larry Graham
Glenn Cornick
P-Nut
Roscoe Beck

9. Chris Wolstenholme
Carl Cadden-James
Shahzad Ismaily
Andy West
Steve Vantsis
Louis Johnson
Hugo Prinsen Geerligs
Peter Hook
Marcel Jacob
Dominic Lapointe

7. Jimmy Bain
Chris Dunn
Marjolein Kooijman
Tom Fowler

7. Nikki Monninger
Jack Bruce
Dee Murray
Paul Webb
Mark Hoppus

6. Jim Smith
Tom Petersson
Jonas Hellborg
Roy Estrada
Tony Kanal
Cliff Williams

5. Juna Serita
John Norwood Fisher
Shayne Webb
Ville Sorvali
Kyle Brock
Tony Franklin
Petr Vavrik

4. Guy Pratt
Bill Wyman
Dirk Lance
Francois Fournier
Simon Grove
Jiri Veseley

3. Dan Maines
Fran Sheehan
Rudy Sarzo
Sam Rivers
Jimmy Johnson
Stuart Gili-Ross
Felix Pappalardi
Tom Hamilton
Ralphe Armstrong
Grutle Kjellson

2. Hettsu
Kerry Hatch
Martin McAloon
Mick Karn
John Glascock
Ian Salmon
Timi Hansen
Colin Marston

1. Boz Burrell
Prince
Paul Grey
Leland Sklar
Paul Denman

[HOF]

Deleting the massive quote since I did a separate update to my list with the guys revealed so far.

[TAC]

Of all of the bassists Paul just listed, I only had Cliff Williams and Deiter Horns on the list.


25  Maybe...probably not
24  Flea  Maybe...probably not
23  Quite possibly...even likely
22  Depends how high Stadler has him
21  Cliff Burton   Will make the list
20  Nope Cliff Williams
19  John Paul Jones  Should make the list
18  Jason Newsted  Probably will make the list
17  Highly doubtful
16  Geezer Butler  Quite possibly
15  Quite possibly
14  Not likely  Sean Andrews
13  No shot..I'm the only person to list him  Deiter Horns
12  Nah
11  Probably not
10  Definitely not
9  Should make the list
8  Lock
7  Nope..I'm likely the only voter  Peter Baltes
6  Phil Lynott It's possible I guess
5  Not going to make it
4  I have some faint hope
3  Nah
2  Lock
1  Lock

[pg1067]

Of all of the bassists Paul just listed, I only had Cliff Williams and Deiter Horns on the list.

Also Peter Baltes (and you were right that you were the only person to list him).


Also, I fixed the double mention of Bryan Beller.

[TAC]

Of all of the bassists Paul just listed, I only had Cliff Williams and Deiter Horns on the list.

Also Peter Baltes (and you were right that you were the only person to list him).

Thank you. I fixed my list. I didn't see him when I perused the list.

[pg1067]

Of all of the bassists Paul just listed, I only had Cliff Williams and Deiter Horns on the list.

Also Peter Baltes (and you were right that you were the only person to list him).

Thank you. I fixed my list. I didn't see him when I perused the list.

Managing all these names is bitch!

[lonestar]

Updated with the revealed bassists...


25- 95% in Cliff Burton
24- No chance in hell - Hettsu (Hanabie)
23- 70%
22- 80% - Les Claypool
21- Nope - Juna Serita (Jazz Avengers)
20- 100% - Geezer Butler
19- 22% - Chuck Ponazzo (Styx)
18- 5% - Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead)
17- 0% - John Jowitt (IQ)
16- 100% Tony Levine
15- 65% Jason Newstead
14- 5%, 10% if Jingle did a list - Mike Levine (Triumph)
13- 100% John Paul Jones
12- Nope - Misa (BAND-MAID)
11- 97.3% - Phil Lynott
10- 0%, hands down the cutest and most entertaining - Haraguchi (Nemophila)
9- 100%
8- 80%
7- 5% - Tim Esau (IQ)
6- 75% - Pete Trewavas
5- 0% and a criminally unknown player -F Chopper Koga (Gacharic Spin)
4- 100%
3- 100%
2- 95%
1- I'll fucking cry if they don't make it. John Entwistle

[Adami]

25. 0% chance but good rock n roll bassist for the most part Duff McKagan
24. Steve Di Giorgio (Honestly wouldn't have made my list if I had remembered John Deacon and at least one other guy)
23. 0% chance Sam Rivers, the dude from Limp Bizkit
22. Probably a good chance of making it? I dunno Billy Sheehan
21. 0% chance Johan van Stratum of Stream of Passion and all live Ayreon stuff
20. Exceedingly unlikely Robert Trujillo from some metal band I can't remember
19. Never in a million years Ryan Martinie of Mudvayne
18. Not a chance in hell Marjolein Kooijman of The Gathering
17. Higher chance of Stadler ever being correct Hugo Prinsen Geerligs also of The Gathering
16. Definitely a lock Geezer Buttler
15. I assume a lock Paul McCartney
14. Total lock
13. Sadly not a chance Jason Newsted guess I was wrong about this one! Very surprising.
12. Youtube bassist that stands no chance but hopefully I wasn't the only one who voted for (Not Davie) Charles Berthoud
11. A lock I assume John Paul Jones
10. Seems quite unlikely (Not on the list above, so who knows?)
9. A deceased former bassist of mine Filthy
8. Not even a sliver of a chance Leon Wilkeson of Lynyrd Skynyrd
7. Cliff Burton
6. Top 5 lock
5. Should be on the list but he's a bit too modern and niche I'd think (also not listed above, so I dunno)
4. Great modern rock bassist who I wouldn't be surprised only made mine and maybe one other list Brian Marshall of Creed and Alter Bridge
3. A good friend of mine, so nope Troy Carron also not listed above but I assume haha
2. Lock for top 5
1. Dave LaRue

[Adami]

Honestly at least bottom 4 on my list would be out if I had remembered John Deacon, Kristopher Gildenlow, the dude from Muse and 1-2 others.

[HOF]

Might as well update mine too, with some explanation of who some of them are.

25. Nope, but might get some votes (Guy Pratt - Toy Matinee, also Pink Floyd, Madonna, many others)
24. Nope (Martin McAloon - Prefab Sprout)
23. Nope, but might get some votes (Bryan Beller - Mike Keneally/Beer for Dolphins, many others)
22. Probably not, but should get some votes (John Wetton)
21. Decent chance (Dave LaRue)
20. Nope (Roscoe Beck - Eric Johnson)
19. Nope (Paul Webb - Talk Talk)
18. Probably not, but should get some votes
17. Nope, but might get some votes (Ross Valory)
16. Probably not, but should get some votes
15. Probably not, but should get some votes (Adam Clayton)
14. Nope (James Hornsey - The Clientele)
13. Nope (Nick Seymour - Crowded House)
12. Nope, but might get some votes (Colin Moulding - XTC)
11. Decent chance (Doug Pinnick)
10. Nope, but might get some votes
9.  Definitely will
8.  Definitely will
7.  Probably not, but should get some votes
6.  Good chance (Mike Rutherford)
5.  Nope
4.  Definitely will
3.  Definitely will
2.  Good chance (Billy Shehan)
1.  Probably will (Pete Trewavas)

Surprised by how poorly Pinnick did. I gave him 15 of his 22 points.

Did somebody else list Nick Seymour (Crowded House)? I gave him 13 points but he was listed as having 14.

[SwedishGoose]

I had quite a few of these so this is my list now...

My basists
1 Should hope so - Tony Levin (5)
2 Definitely
3 Think not
4 Should hope so
5 Definitely
6 Think not - Johan von Stratum (NR)
7 Absolutely not - Danny Thompson (NR)
8 Slim chance - John Wetton (19)
9 Think not
10 Absolutely not - Peter Asp, (NR)
11 Absolutely not - Jon Sykes )NR)
12 Absolutely not - John Jowitt (NR)
13 Slim chance
14 Slim chance
15 Absolutely not - Kim Deal (NR)
16 Slim chance - Billy Sheehan (7)
17 No chance - Johan Brand (NR)
18 No chance - Chris Dunn
19 Most probably not
20 Most probably not - Mike Rutherford (16)
21 Most probably not
22 Most probably not - Paul McCartney (6)
23 Most probably not - Guy Pratt (NR)
24 Most probably not - Kristoffer Gildenlöw  (NR)
25 Slim chance - Geezer Butler (8)

[SwedishGoose]

Jon Sykes  Apparently, this is not the guy from Whitesnake.

No, he is the bass player for The Pineapple Thief.

[The Realm]

Paul McCartney - my rank 12. Not much more to say but had to be there.

Tony Levin - under serious consideration but didn't make it in the end.

Of all the bassists listed above with 30 or lower points I don't see any that are on my list.

I think the remaining 4 are obvious but I only ranked 3 of them and one that I ranked I'm not the biggest fan of...but had to be there

[Stadler]

39. Billy Sheehan
36. Tony Levin
35. Lee Sklar
34. Jeff Ament
30. Andy West
29. Jimmy Bain
27. Tom Hamilton
---------------------
25. Slim chance
24. No shot whatsoever (and that's a shame)
23. No shot whatsoever
22. Dave LaRue
21. Pete Trewavas
20. Tom Petersson
19. John Paul Jones
18. John Wetton
17. No shot whatsoever (and that's a shame) Steve Vantsis
16. Slim chance
15. Lock
14. No shot whatsoever
13. No shot whatsoever
12. No shot whatsoever Phil Lesh
11. Lock
10  Les Claypool
9.   No shot whatsoever
8.   No shot whatsoever
7.   Mike Rutherford
6.   John Entwhistle
5.   Lock
4.   Slim chance
3.   Geezer Butler
2.   Should be a lock, but not looking good. Paul McCartney
1.   Lock



Tony Levin.  I like him, don't love him.  The sound.  I know he's an icon and a hero, and I like his work with Gabriel, but he's got the same problem as Billy Sheehan; they're almost too recognizable and almost intrusive to me.   But I recognize his talent.

Paul.  Literally, my vote for the greatest living rock musician.  He would be my number one but for my unreasonable love for No. 1, but he is, IMO, underrated at #6.   Listen to Rubber Soul.  Sure, there were certain guys doing some of this stuff, but he was the guy that introduced it to a widespread audience.  He was an innovator in a lot of ways; one of the first to use the fuzz bass.  One of the first to use the Rickenbacker 4001 (you Rush fans know that instrument); that was his go-to in the studio from about 1965 on.   And I know this doesnt' register with a lot of you, but he probably influenced more people on this list than anyone else (including my number 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 13, 16, 20, 21, 24, 27, 33, 36, and 38.)

[HOF]

So, have any of the other bassists on the list besides McCartney and Levin played with John Lennon?

[pg1067]

4. Great modern rock bassist who I wouldn't be surprised only made mine and maybe one other list Brian Marshall of Creed and Alter Bridge
3. A good friend of mine, so nope Troy Carron also not listed above but I assume haha

Fixed my list above.  I knew I missed a few names because some of the numbers didn't add up, but I went through twice and didn't see these.  I'm sure there are a couple others.

So, have any of the other bassists on the list besides McCartney and Levin played with John Lennon?

Not that I know of.  Just doing a pass through the Lennon discography, and Klaus Voormann seems to have been the most frequent bass collaborator, and no one mentioned him.

Did somebody else list Nick Seymour (Crowded House)? I gave him 13 points but he was listed as having 14.

Yup.  He was someone's #25.

[devieira73]

Tony Levin (my #5) is fantastic, he always manages to infuse his great groove in any band he plays, even in all craziness that is LTE music. I'm super fan of KC albums with him, being THRAK my favorite KC album. I also think the 2 Bozzio Levin Stevens albums are amazing, among the best things Tony had ever recorded.

[Setlist Scotty]

22. Doug Pinnick

This one surprised me - I thought for sure Doug was a given for the top 25.

18. Jon Jeary

If my calculations are correct, I'm not the only one who included Jon, although whoever it was ended up 25 on their list. 
 
 

13. Simon Gallup

Pleasantly surprised to see that he made at least one other person's list!
 
 
My updated list:
25. no way – Simon Gallup (didn’t make the list – 79)
24. lock – Doug Pinnick (didn’t make the list – 71)
23. maybe – Dave LaRue (21)
22. unlikely
21. maybe
20. maybe
19. probably – Paul McCartney (6)
18. unlikely
17. no way – Carl Cadden-James (didn’t make the list – 83)
16. maybe
15. probably – John Paul Jones (9)
14. probably
13. probably – Jason Newsted (10)
12. maybe
11. lock
10. maybe
9. no way – Jon Jeary  (didn’t make the list – 75)
8. probably – Phil Lynott (17)
7. lock – Cliff Burton (11)
6. lock – Billy Sheehan (7)
5. lock
4. lock
3. probably – Tony Levin (5)
2. lock
1. maybe – Mariusz Duda (25T)

Not ranked: Steve Di Giorgio, Dan Briggs, John Deacon, Flea, Jaco Pastorius, John Wetton, Les Claypool, Mike Rutherford, Pete Trewavas, Stanley Clark, Justin Chancellor, John Entwistle, Geezer Butler

[LithoJazzoSphere]

My parents were certainly Beatles fans, but for the most part they never connected with me. 

Tony Levin was quite high on my list.  My favorite thing was seeing him and his brother Pete with their jazz combo live.  There's not much Tony can't do. 

[DragonAttack]

I met my prediction for naming nine on the list today.  Maybe I'll reach twelve.

23.  John Deacon (#7)   
18.  Phil Lynott (#21)   
16.  Mike Rutherford (NR, but I listed Daryl Steurmer😉)   
14.  Stanley Clarke (#3)   
12.  John Entwistle (#4)   
11.  Cliff Burton (#25)   
9.   John Paul Jones (#9)   
8.  Geezer Butler (#22)   

6.  Paul McCartney (#1)   Expanding on Stadler's comments above...

Starting with the B-side ‘She’s A Woman’, and then onwards with the ‘Rubber Soul’ LP, The Beatles bass sound in the mix was enhanced.  With good reason (and better technology). And then there’s ‘Rain’, and….and…and….did I forget this and that one.      Mrs. DA’s favorite bass player as well.  Hell, he's probably the only bass player she could name.

How many guys picked up the bass because they thought it was cool due to Paul? 

Btw, another shout out to Carol Kaye.  Paul said he imitated her bass playing from The Beach Boys 'Pet Sounds' on 'Sgt. Pepper'. 

5  Tony Levin (#11)   A fun watch during those LTE sessions.

[TAC]

Mrs. DA’s favorite bass player as well.  Hell, he's probably the only bass player she could name.

The only bass player my wife could name would be John Deacon.


She knows who Paul McCartney is, but would have no idea that he was the bass player.

[DragonAttack]

Mrs. DA’s favorite bass player as well.  Hell, he's probably the only bass player she could name.

The only bass player my wife could name would be John Deacon.

She knows who Paul McCartney is, but would have no idea that he was the bass player.

Duh....well, of course, Mrs. DA  knows of Deaky    

[TAC]

Oh no, I wasn't saying that, it's just that he is the ONLY bass player my wife could name.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

25. 0% chance but good rock n roll bassist for the most part Duff McKagan
24. Steve Di Giorgio (Honestly wouldn't have made my list if I had remembered John Deacon and at least one other guy)
23. 0% chance Sam Rivers, the dude from Limp Bizkit
22. Probably a good chance of making it? I dunno Billy Sheehan
21. 0% chance Johan van Stratum of Stream of Passion and all live Ayreon stuff
20. Exceedingly unlikely Robert Trujillo from some metal band I can't remember
19. Never in a million years Ryan Martinie of Mudvayne
18. Not a chance in hell Marjolein Kooijman of The Gathering
17. Higher chance of Stadler ever being correct Hugo Prinsen Geerligs also of The Gathering
16. Definitely a lock Geezer Buttler
15. I assume a lock Paul McCartney
14. Total lock
13. Sadly not a chance Jason Newsted guess I was wrong about this one! Very surprising.
12. Youtube bassist that stands no chance but hopefully I wasn't the only one who voted for (Not Davie) Charles Berthoud
11. A lock I assume John Paul Jones
10. Seems quite unlikely (Not on the list above, so who knows?)
9. A deceased former bassist of mine Filthy
8. Not even a sliver of a chance Leon Wilkeson of Lynyrd Skynyrd
7. Cliff Burton
6. Top 5 lock
5. Should be on the list but he's a bit too modern and niche I'd think (also not listed above, so I dunno)
4. Great modern rock bassist who I wouldn't be surprised only made mine and maybe one other list Brian Marshall of Creed and Alter Bridge
3. A good friend of mine, so nope Troy Carron also not listed above but I assume haha
2. Lock for top 5
1. Dave LaRue

Ah, you're the other one that had Ryan Martinie. Extremely overlooked and underrated bass player. He could probably play circles around a lot of the bass players on the consensus top 25.

Here's my full list of those that have been revealed so far.

42   Nikki Monninger
41   
40   
39   
38   
37   Christopher Wolstenholme
36   
35   Dominic Lapointe
34   
33   
32   Steve DiGiorgio
31   Felipe Andreoli
30   
29   
28   
27   
26   
25   Tim Starace
24   Colin Marston
23   Grutle Kjellson
22   Dirk Lance
21   Ville Sorvali
20   Jonas Hellborg (I'm disappointed in all of you )
19   John Wetton
18   Charles Berthoud
17   
16   Larry Graham (I'm even more disappointed in all of you)
15   Flea
14   Davie504
13   Tony Levin
12   Mariusz Duda
11   Pete Trewavas
10   Justin Chancellor
9   
8   Ryan Martinie
7   Les Claypool
6   Juan Alderete
5   
4   
3   Dan Briggs
2   Oliver Holzwarth (You should all be ashamed in yourselves!)
1   

[TAC]

2   Oliver Holzwarth (You should all be ashamed in yourselves!)
1

Never heard of him.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

2   Oliver Holzwarth (You should all be ashamed in yourselves!)
1

Never heard of him.

[TAC]

2   Oliver Holzwarth (You should all be ashamed in yourselves!)
1

Never heard of him.

Jingle.gif

[LithoJazzoSphere]

19. Never in a million years Ryan Martinie of Mudvayne

Ah, you're the other one that had Ryan Martinie. Extremely overlooked and underrated bass player. He could probably play circles around a lot of the bass players on the consensus top 25.

He was on my extended list.  It's taken awhile for much associated with that scene to get any respect, and they were never one of the more popular ones in it anyway.  "Death Blooms" was always my favorite of theirs, some really cool lines on that one. 

[skydivingninja]

Mad respect to those who put Mr. PC, Mingus, Gallup, and both Coheed bassists!

1. Lock
2. Brian Cook - Bassist for Russian Circles, These Arms are Snakes, Botch, and Sumac. The king of distorted bass tones, which add a supreme heaviness to every band he works with. He's sort of like the Geddy Lee of post-metal and metalcore. If you watch him live he will play the synth with his picking hand's pinky finger while also playing the Moog Taurus with his feet. Snakes is probably his flashiest work, but Russian Circles is the major reason why he's up here.
3. Mike Watt - The man in the van with a bass in his hand! Kind of surprised to see some other punk players named Mike revealed but not Watt. For anyone curious, put on Minutemen's What Makes a Man Start Fires or Double Nickels on the Dime and you'll see why he's here. He's funky, he's groovy, he's intensely punk playing some of the weirdest punk music of the 80s. His solo work has a lot of tasty songs too, and if you're curious about his legacy, peep the credits list on his debut solo record Ball Hog or Tugboat or the dedication on a little indie album called Blood Sugar Sex Magic. Seeing so many players I respect cite this guy made me check him out and I hope this inspires others here to check him out.
4. Simon Gallup - His basslines are half the reason I care about the Cure at all. Simple but driving and melodic. No joke, Fascination Street in particular is one of the greatest and simplest basslines ever.
5. Paul McCartney
6. Juan Alderete - Not surprised Juan is this low in the forum rank since it's been 12 years since last playing with TMV and I don't think the forum at large is hip to Big Sir, Deltron, Dr. Octagon, or his pedals and effects channel before his traumatic brain injury in 2020. But he has a really cool approach to the instrument especially in a world where a hip hop act is going to sound bigger than a rock or metal act.
7. Tony Levin
8. Justin Chancellor
9. Tina Weymouth - With about as much experience as a middle schooler picking up the bass she wrote a *ton* of memorable lines that drove Talking Heads, and she only got better doing more with less.
10. Les Claypool
11. Thundercat - One of the most popular new guys on the block along with Joe Dart, and there's a reason for that.
12. Colin Greenwood - He gets overshadowed by Thom, Johnny, and Ed but his bass work is a key ingredient to Radiohead's greatness IMO.
13. Jaco Pastorius
14. John Paul Jones
15. Definitely in the top 4
16. Chris Wolstenholme - A little surprised he dipped so low in the forum rankings. Muse has not been my cup of tea for a long time now, but he's one of my first inspirations to pick up the bass so he absolutely deserved a spot.
17. Dan Briggs
18. Tim LeFebvre - Best known as Bowie's last bassist but I'm consistently impressed with his work every time. Check out his work with Knower, New Age Doom, Tedeschi Trucks, Donny McCaslin, and his solo stuff Whose Hat is This?
19. Steve DiGiorgio
20. No chance
21. No chance
22. Cliff Burton
23. John Deacon
24. Bootsy - It's Bootsy, baby! Come on!
25. KT Chang - Check out Elephant Gym, y'all. She's a monster player and the band is a really cool eclectic mix of jazz and pop.