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

[Dream Team]

I’d listen to albums by any of those combinations!

[Cool Chris]

25. John Taylor of Duran Duran.  For a group of English new wavers, Taylor has some groove and funk.

He made my list as well. LOVE his playing.

Cool.  He only got one point from me.  Anyone else vote for John Taylor?

You and Stadler and Dream Team.

Did not submit a list, but John Taylor would have been in my top 10. I really only know those first three albums, but listened to them all the time as a kid, and still revisit them on occasion. There are some killer bass grooves on those albums.

[Animal]

Am I the only one who immediately thought of putting pg1067's list of fictional bands through the ranking engine and doing the countdown?
 Anyway, for now, I'll just say My Top 5 for weirdest combos are as follows:

1. 14 (No contest)
2. 22 ( if Paul used his "Oh Darling" style vocals, it could actually work)
3. 15 (for Steve Howe and Lars Ulrich combo alone)
4. 20 (Solberg and Pastorius)
5. 18 (Anneke and Ritchie seem like a good match, almost, say, like spaghetti and parmesan cheese.But adding nutella to those two is exactly what adding Les Claypol feels like to me.)

[Animal]

Speaking of the current reveals, they are my n. 1 and 2 (and the gap between these two and my n.3 is...large), so even though I have nothing to say that can't be said, I'll say something anyway.

Steve Harris - my n. 1  I didn't get to IM until about two years ago. I was primed to expect great singing and guitarwork - I knew Bruce Dickinson was supposed to be an iconic vocalist, I had heard about the guitar power duo of Murray and Smith. All I knew about Steve Harris was that he was the main songwriter and bandleader. And I liked guitars and singing a great deal, but what stood out immediately and grabbed me by the throat was the bass The way it pulsated and drove music forward, the way it took a center stage while still giving others enough room... I could think of only one player whose bass playing had the same effect on me...which brings me to:

Chris Squire - n. 2  Love his sound, love his choice of notes to play, love his vocal harmonies, gotta check that song Indiscipline was talking about.
The great thing about Yes was  how each player had pretty much the most distinctive sound in the business, but they made it blend nicely (whether you like Squire, Anderson and Howe or not, I'd say their tones would be among the most easily recognizable ones if people were to identify a musician based on his sound after only a brief exposure).

[Stadler]

FYI, I just watched Yes Live At Montreux, 2003 yesterday.   Ah, Chris.  I miss him. 

[pg1067]

Brad Delp and Michael Schenker....I could go for that for sure.


And I think Slash and Phil Lynott would be amazing.

Yes, agree on this.

Also I'd imagine Kiske and Phil's harmonies would be amazing

I'll pick this up when I get out of my cold shower.

 

[pg1067]

Welcome to what might be the most obvious final-two reveal ever!




2 – John Myung
Appeared on 27 of 27 lists (the only one!)

Highest Finish: 2 (SwedishGoose)

22 Top 10 Finishes



From the moment I first heard the bass solo in Metropolis in the summer of 1992, I thought JM was from another world.  However, I didn’t truly understand what he was doing until I first saw DT live in November of that year.  I saw what he was doing and thought, “Whoa!  I can’t hear half of that on the recording.”  If JM had better tone and was a bit higher in the mix (e.g., in the original SFAM mixes), I might have ranked him at #2 instead of #3.  Tapping?  Check.  Harmonics?  Check.  Play fast?  He’s got it in spades.  Layback and groove?  He can do that too.  No surprise that he landed on every list.  VERY surprised that he’s the only one.  Slightly surprised he got zero #1 votes.


1 – Geddy Lee
Appeared on 25 of 27 lists (pg1067, Metro, Setlist Scotty, Indiscipline, DTwwbwMP, WilliamMunny, porcacultor, SwedishGoose, devieira73, Stadler, Kram, Dream Team, lonestar, coz, HOF, Adami, Fonzie, The Realm, King Puppies, Animal, DragonAttack, King Postwhore, TAC, wolfking, LithoJazzoSphere)

Highest Finish: 1 (pg1067, Kram, Dream Team, coz, King Puppies and the Acid Guppies, King Postwhore)

21 Top 10 Finishes



Geddy Lee was #1 right out of the chute and held the lead wire-to-wire.  Even with missing two lists, he outscored John Myung 531 to 496 (and Myung outscored Harris by 63 points, and Harris outscored Squire by 82 points).  Geddy was the guy who inspired me to play bass.  I always wanted to have Steve Harris’s right hand and Geddy’s left hand (unfortunately, I had neither).  Having also placed 10th in the DT singer countdown, I believe Geddy is one of only two people (the other being Paul McCartney) to place on multiple DT countdowns (I think both Lee and McCartney would also stand a decent chance of placing on a keyboardist countdown if we did one).

[HOF]

Never heard of either of them! 

Myung came in at 9 for me. The only reason he's that low are that I haven't really listened to anything he's done since Octavarium, so he's more of an old favorite than someone I currently follow enthusiastically. But his work on those early DT albums, plus Jelly Jam and Platypus is absolutely top notch. In some ways, I think the first Jelly Jam album might be the finest example of his playing on album (given how low he sits in the mix for some DT albums). Though I'd probably say FII is his best all around performance and he is fairly prominent on that mix. He does it all for sure though. Speed, groove, and composition. He's a master of the instrument for sure.

Geddy is my number 4 guy. He's just always been so consistently excellent from the early Rush albums until retirement. He has his own sound and style, and really just a lot of joy in his playing. He really propels Rush's music along with Neil. Such a legendary rhythm section! Don't think I need to say too much more. Name a Rush song (other than Rivendell or BUTB2) and you've named a track with an excellent bass part.

[romdrums]

As a drummer, Geddy Lee is number one on the list of bass players I'd love to jam with. Chris Squire would be up there as well!

[Animal]

John Myung was my n. 3. He does not make bass stand out the way Harris or Squire do, but he is an integral part of my favorite band, a definition of a great team player - incredible chops that are almost never used to put himself to the spotlight, but rather to suport his more flashy bandmates. I love the way he keeps up with Petrucci when needed, without any fuss or show, almost as if saying "of course I'll play anything they throw at me, I am a DT bassist, this is just as normal driving a car".

Geddy Lee - My n. 13. I am not as big a Rush fan as many here, but what I know and like is enough to rank him pretty high.

Just a thought: Prior to all of these singer/instrumentalist countdowns, I would have sworn it was impossible to beat a DT member on his hometurf. And here we go - Freddie Mercury ousted JLB, Neil Peart won over Mike Portnoy and now Geddy Lee. Only John Petrucci won his countdown handily (if I remember, it was the most dominant win in any countdown here ever). It seem JP is really a special one, even within DT.

[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 Pete Way
24. No shot whatsoever (and that's a shame) Mike Mills
23. No shot whatsoever Lemmy Kilmister
22. Dave LaRue
21. Pete Trewavas
20. Tom Petersson
19. John Paul Jones
18. John Wetton
17. Steve Vantsis
16. Slim chance Randy George
15. Lock John Myung
14. No shot whatsoever Roger Glover
13. No shot whatsoever Sting
12. Phil Lesh
11. Lock Geddy Lee
10  Les Claypool
9.   No shot whatsoever Gene Simmons
8.   No shot whatsoever John Taylor
7.   Mike Rutherford
6.   John Entwhistle
5.   Steve Harris
4.   Slim chance Greg Lake
3.   Geezer Butler
2.   Paul McCartney
1.   Chris Squire


Really stunned that Randy George hasn't come up.

And I stand by my placement of Gene Simmons; I know that Rick Nielson of Cheap Trick said that Gene sucked but I don't think he does.  For a meat and potatoes rock band like Kiss, he plays some pretty inventive bass lines.

[HOF]

Really stunned that Randy George hasn't come up.

I'm interested to see where Dave Meros finished (my number 7). I didn't rank George, but Neal has worked with some pretty great bassists between Meros, George, and Trewavas.

[HOF]

My full list.

25. Guy Pratt (Toy Matinee, also Pink Floyd, Madonna, many others)
24. Martin McAloon (Prefab Sprout)
23. Bryan Beller (Mike Keneally/Beer for Dolphins, many others)
22. John Wetton
21. Dave LaRue
20. Roscoe Beck (Eric Johnson)
19. Paul Webb (Talk Talk)
18. Sting
17. Ross Valory
16. Jonas Reingold (The Flower Kings, The Fringe, The Tangent, others)
15. Adam Clayton
14. James Hornsey (The Clientele)
13. Nick Seymour (Crowded House)
12. Colin Moulding (XTC)
11. Doug Pinnick
10. Kip Winger
9.  John Myung
8.  Chris Squire
7.  Dave Meros (Spock's Beard)
6.  Mike Rutherford
5.  Greg Spawton (Big Big Train)
4.  Geddy Lee
3.  Tony Levin
2.  Billy Shehan
1.  Pete Trewavas

[Kram]

Geddy Lee was my #1 and it's not even close for me.  He's the reason I started playing bass in 1982, and probably my all-time favorite musician (new poll?) lol

I had Myung at #5. Like already mentioned, a monster player who can do anything on the bass.

I had both Randy George and Dave Meros.  Here's my complete list.

25. Prince
24. Les Claypool
23. Stanley Clarke
22. Jeff Berlin
21. Stu Hamm
20. Cliff Burton
19. Mike Rutherford
18. Connor Green
17. Victor Wooten
16. Randy George
15. Dave Meros
14. Nick Beggs
13. John Paul Jones
12. Greg Spawton
11. Paul McCartney
10. Tony Levin
9.   Chris Squire
8.   Steve Harris
7.   Dave LaRue
6.   Billy Sheehan
5.   John Myung
4.   John Entwistle
3.   Jaco Pastorius
2.   Pete Trewavas
1.   Geddy Lee

[lonestar]

OK.... just as Entwistle and Squire could've been tied for #1, Lee and Myung are tied for #2. Both are so crucial to their band's sound, and both are icons on the general music scene in my eyes.


25- 95% in Cliff Burton
24- No chance in hell - Hettsu (Hanabie)
23- 70% - Nick Beggs (Steven Wilson, Kajagoogoo)_
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% - Steve Harris
8- 80% - Connor Green (Haken)
7- 5% - Tim Esau (IQ)
6- 75% - Pete Trewavas
5- 0% and a criminally unknown player -F Chopper Koga (Gacharic Spin)
4- 100% - John Myung
3- 100% - Geddy Lee
2- 95% - Chris Squire
1- I'll fucking cry if they don't make it. John Entwistle



And that's a wrap on my list, curious to see how high Beggs and Green got ranked.

[ReaperKK]

Not surprised to see these two at the top. I really like JM but if I'm being honest I wish he would do more lead bass playing like he did on WDADU. He has his cool moments here and there but in the past 20 years or so his stuff is largely forgettable.

[DragonAttack]

Just saw two comments on Chuck Panozza.  I had him at #15.  Quite prominent on the mixes for 'Equinox', 'Crystal Ball', 'The Grand Illusion', and 'Pieces of Eight'.  The man was a virtual statue during the two Styx shows I saw in the 70s, which was so different that I took notice and still remember.

I wasn't listed in the recap, but I did have both artists today

You were listed for both Squire and Harris.  You and I and lonestar gave Chuck his 23 points.  His prominence in Styx's music really started to go down with Crystal Ball.  I'd say Equinox was his best album.

The second time in a year where I have double checked, made a comment, and then the gremlins went back and inserted what I didn't see.  OY!

23.  John Deacon (#7)   
18.  Phil Lynott (#21)   
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)   
5.  Tony Levin (#11)   
4.  Steve Harris (#17)
3.  Chris Squire (#5)
2.  John Myung (#6)
1.  Geddy Lee (#2)

Thanks for running this, Paul, along with all the stats and extras   

[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 Steve Harris
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?) Michael LePond
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 John Myung
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) Eugene Abdukhanov of Jinjer
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 Geddy Lee
1. Dave LaRue

Honestly, Geddy could've easily been number 1 and might be if I redid the list a different day. Dude is just incredible and original with it. I can't tell you how many times, while recording bass to my newest album, I tried to figure out what Geddy would do.

John Myung has fallen off a lot for me recently. He used to be my favorite, and his playing for the 80's, 90's and 2000's (mostly) was insane. He hasn't really done much to impress me in the last 15+ years, but his early stuff really blows me away.

[HOF]

Yes, thank you Paul for running this one. It was a lot of fun!

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Steve Harris is on my extended list, and I probably would have included him a decade or more ago, I just haven't spent a ton of time listening to Maiden in quite some time. 

Chris Squire is on mine, love the attack he gets playing with a pick on a 6-string bass.

John Myung is actually why I went straight from guitar to 6-string bass.

Geddy Lee's voice my be polarizing, and his keyboard playing in the 80s seems to put fans at odds with the more guitar-centric 70s material, but I'd have thought his bass playing was universally agreed upon, though I guess not everyone included him. 

[King Postwhore]

Here's my list.

1. Geddy Lee
2.  Jonas Reingold
3.  Victor Wooten
4.  Nate Navaro
5.  Les Claypool
6.  Ed Platt
7.  John Patitucci
8.  Flea
9.  Francis Rocco Prestia
10.  Chris Squire
11.  Connor Green
12.  Tony Levin
13.  Charles Walter Rainey III
14.  Steve Harris
15.  John Myung
16.  P-Nut
17.  Pete Trewavas
18.  John Deacon
19.  Justin Chancellor
20.  Tony Kanal
21.  Nick Beggs
22.  Francois Fournier
23.  Dave Meros
24.  James Jamerson
25.  Leland Sklar

[nobloodyname]

That Sir Nicholas Beggs didn't make the list is utterly befuddling

Geddy would probably have been my number one, too.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Thanks to pg for running this. 

Here's the list I sent, with who they're most associated with, or who I enjoy them most for.

25:  Paul Denman (Sade)
24:  John Patitucci (Chick Corea)
23:  Ralphe Armstrong (Jean-Luc Ponty)
22:  Simon Grove (Plini)
21:  Tony Franklin (Derek Sherinian)
20:  Chris Squire (Yes)
19:  Stu Hamm (Joe Satriani)
18:  Jaco Pastorius (Weather Report)
17:  Dominic Lapointe (Augury)
16:  Victor Wooten (solo)
15:  James Jamerson (Motown sessions)
14:  Matt Freeman (Rancid)
13:  Billy Sheehan (Niacin)
12:  Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
11:  Randy Coven (Ark)
10:  John Myung (Dream Theater)
9:  Tony Terusa (The O.C. Supertones)
8:  Alan Goldstein (Aghora)
7:  Justin Chancellor (Tool)
6:  Johan De Farfalla (Opeth)
5:  Stanley Clarke (Return To Forever)
4:  Steve DiGiorgio (Quo Vadis)
3:  Tony Levin (King Crimson)
2:  Geddy Lee (Rush)
1:  Sean Malone (Aghora)

Honorable mentions:  Abraham Laboriel (session), Adam Clark (Atlas Grey), Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse), Amos Williams (TesseracT), Anthony Jackson (Al DiMeola), Anthony Sallee (Whiteheart), Bunny Brunel (CAB), Carol Kaye (session), Charles Mingus (solo), Chris Kringel (Cynic), Chris Wolstenholme (Muse), Dave Ellefson (Megadeth), Dave LaRue (Dixie Dregs), Doug Pinnick (King's X), Ethan Phillips (Fitz & The Tantrums), Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Gary Willis (Tribal Tech), Gregory Spawton (Big Big Train), Jeff Berlin (Bruford), Jennifer Young (Travis Larson), John Wetton (King Crimson), Jon Camp (Renaissance), Jon Stockman (Karnivool), Jonas Reingold (Kaipa), Lars K. Norberg (Spiral Architect), Matthew Tennikoff (Hillsong), Michael League (Snarky Puppy), Michael Lepond (Symphony X), Mike Dirnt (Green Day), Nathan East (session), Nick Beggs (Iona), Nick Verschoor (Kingfisher Sky), Nikki Monninger (Silversun Pickups), Oteil Burbridge (Tedeschi Trucks), Otto Price (session), Paul Chambers (John Coltrane), Paul Jeroen Thesseling (Obscura), Phillip Bynoe (Steve Vai), Pino Palladino (John Mayer), Ralf Cetto (Aziza Mustafa Zadeh), Randy George (Dave Bainbridge), Ric Fierabraci (Yanni), Rick Laird (Mahavishnu Orchestra), Robin Zielhorst (Exivious), Ron Carter (solo), Ryan Fisher (Vertical Horizon), Sam Rivers (Limp Bizkit), Steve Harris (Iron Maiden), Stuart Zender (Jamiroquai), Tal Wilkenfeld (Jeff Beck), Tim Commerford (Rage Against The Machine), Tommy Sims (Whiteheart), Tony Grey (Hiromi), Tony Kanal (No Doubt), Tony Choy (Atheist), Trey Gunn (King Crimson), Tye Zamora (Alien Ant Farm)

[HOF]

Here's my list.

1. Geddy Lee
2.  Jonas Reingold
3.  Victor Wooten
4.  Nate Navaro
5.  Les Claypool
6.  Ed Platt
7.  John Patitucci
8.  Flea
9.  Francis Rocco Prestia
10.  Chris Squire
11.  Connor Green
12.  Tony Levin
13.  Charles Walter Rainey III
14.  Steve Harris
15.  John Myung
16.  P-Nut
17.  Pete Trewavas
18.  John Deacon
19.  Justin Chancellor
20.  Tony Kanal
21.  Nick Beggs
22.  Francois Fournier
23.  Dave Meros
24.  James Jamerson
25.  Leland Sklar

Kind of surprised Jonas Reingold missed the list. You and I must have been the only ones to list him.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

For my favorite, Sean Malone, some have heard him in Cynic (or maybe Death, or Gordian Knot), but the way he and Sean Reinert lock in as a rhythm section is incredible.  The gold standard for fretless playing and tone.  I actually like them even more on Aghora's debut. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY08SDr61YI

[pg1067]

Alrighty...so I've already posted everyone who earned 30 or fewer points in the countdown.  That covers 64th place through the end, so here's everyone who hasn't been mentioned yet:

27T.   Markus Grosskopf (67 - 4 lists) (until the last few lists I received, he was languishing in the sub-30 point range - my list and one other)
27T.   Roger Waters (67 - 6 lists)
29.   Gene Simmons (63 - 5 lists) (he was in the top 25 for a long time and then didn't show up on most of the last half of the lists)
30.   Dave Meros (60)
31.   Nick Beggs (59 - 6 lists) (I don't know why I know who he is, but I was shocked to see the bassist from Kajagoogoo show up in the countdown)
32T.   Michael Anthony (57 - 8 lists)
32T.   Kip Winger (57 - 4 lists)
34.   Victor Wooten (52 - 4 lists)
35T.   Sting (51 - 7 lists) (still my favorite thing Sting ever did:  https://youtu.be/h1Fk_mDem4o?si=aVpIA9TWCRunbgE6 )
35T.   Jonas Reingold (51 - 3 lists)
35T.   Duff McKagan (51 - 5 lists)
38T.   Colin Edwin (50 - 3 lists)
38T.   Mike Lepond (50 - 3 lists)
40.   Peter Steele (49 - 4 lists)

41T.   Pete Way (48 - 4 lists)
41T.   Mike Mills (48 - 5 lists)  (WilliamMunny's #1 pick)
43.   Stu Hamm (45 - 5 lists)
44T.   Eddie Jackson (44 - 6 lists) (I was hoping I'd get a list from Samsara to push him a bit higher)
44T.   Randy George (44 - 5 lists) (he was riding high after the first 11 lists but didn't show up on any of the final 16 lists)
44T.   Dave Ellefson (44 - 3 lists)
47.   Joey Vera (43 - 4 lists) (a monster player on some of Fates Warning's best stuff)
48.   Robert Trujillo (42 - 5 lists)
49.   Connor Green (41 - 3 lists)
50.   Martin Mendez (40 - 4 lists)

51.   Sean Malone (39 - 3 lists) (LithoJazzoSphere's #1 pick)
52T.   Greg Lake (38 - 3 lists) (I was surprised how poorly he performed relative to John Wetton)
52T.   John Patitucci (38 - 3 lists)
54.   Troy Sanders (37 - 2 lists)
55T.   Lemmy (36 - 4 lists)
55T.   Matt Freeman (36 - 2 lists)
57T.   Bob Daisley (35 - 5 lists) (a disappointingly low performance)
57T.   Greg Spawton (35 - 2 lists)
57T.   Frank Bello (35 - 2 lists) (only Tim and me, and I'm genuinely surprised at this)
60T.   Muzz Skillings (32 - 2 lists) (another guy who probably would have benefitted from a Samsara list)
60T.   Dennis Dunaway (32 - 2 lists)

62T.   Roger Glover (31 - 3 lists)
62T.   Glenn Hughes (31 - 3 lists)

[pg1067]

And our top 10 hypothetical bands:

Band #10 (this would be friggin' amazing!)
Geddy Lee - Vocals
Randy Rhoads - Guitar
Jason Newsted - Bass
Bill Bruford - Drums


Band #9
Ray Alder - Vocals
Joe Satriani - Guitar
John Paul Jones - Bass
Phil Collins - Drums


Band #8
Devin Townsend - Vocals
Steve Vai - Guitar
Geezer Butler - Bass
Nicko McBrain - Drums


Band #7
Russell Allen - Vocals
Tony Iommi - Guitar
Billy Sheehan - Bass
Marco Minneman - Drums


Band #6
Ronnie James Dio - Vocals
Jimmy Page - Guitar
Paul McCartney - Bass
Danny Carey - Drums


Band #5 (not a lot of guitar soloing, but this could be interesting)
Steve Perry - Vocals
James Hetfield - Guitar
Tony Levin - Bass
Mike Mangini - Drums


Band #4
Geoff Tate - Vocals
David Gilmour - Guitar
Chris Squire - Bass
John Bonham - Drums


Band #3 (you could just call this Harris & Son)
Bruce Dickinson - Vocals
Alex Lifeson - Guitar
Steve Harris - Bass
Gavin Harrison - Drums


Band #2 (aka bizarro world Dream Theater)
James Labrie - Vocals
Eddie Van Halen - Guitar
John Myung - Bass
Mike Portnoy - Drums


Band #1 (I don't know about Mercury, but I think the other three would really enjoy this - as we all would)
Freddie Mercury - Vocals
John Petrucci - Guitar
Geddy Lee - Bass
Neil Peart - Drums

[LithoJazzoSphere]

The funny thing about Michael Anthony is that the rumor is that EVH actually plays a good chunk of the parts on the albums. 

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Ok, band #1 is pretty damn awesome (as I guess it should be). 

[HOF]

Man, DT with EVH handling guitar and keyboards would be pretty fun. I think these two are the most interesting from this batch (to me):

Band #9
Ray Alder - Vocals
Joe Satriani - Guitar
John Paul Jones - Bass
Phil Collins - Drums


Band #6
Ronnie James Dio - Vocals
Jimmy Page - Guitar
Paul McCartney - Bass
Danny Carey - Drums

[pg1067]

Band #6
Ronnie James Dio - Vocals
Jimmy Page - Guitar
Paul McCartney - Bass
Danny Carey - Drums

If you could keep Dio and Page from killing each other!

[HOF]

Alrighty...so I've already posted everyone who earned 30 or fewer points in the countdown.  That covers 64th place through the end, so here's everyone who hasn't been mentioned yet:

27T.   Markus Grosskopf (67 - 4 lists) (until the last few lists I received, he was languishing in the sub-30 point range - my list and one other)
27T.   Roger Waters (67 - 6 lists)
29.   Gene Simmons (63 - 5 lists) (he was in the top 25 for a long time and then didn't show up on most of the last half of the lists)
30.   Dave Meros (60)
31.   Nick Beggs (59 - 6 lists) (I don't know why I know who he is, but I was shocked to see the bassist from Kajagoogoo show up in the countdown)
32T.   Michael Anthony (57 - 8 lists)
32T.   Kip Winger (57 - 4 lists)
34.   Victor Wooten (52 - 4 lists)
35T.   Sting (51 - 7 lists) (still my favorite thing Sting ever did:  https://youtu.be/h1Fk_mDem4o?si=aVpIA9TWCRunbgE6 )
35T.   Jonas Reingold (51 - 3 lists)
35T.   Duff McKagan (51 - 5 lists)
38T.   Colin Edwin (50 - 3 lists)
38T.   Mike Lepond (50 - 3 lists)
40.   Peter Steele (49 - 4 lists)

41T.   Pete Way (48 - 4 lists)
41T.   Mike Mills (48 - 5 lists)  (WilliamMunny's #1 pick)
43.   Stu Hamm (45 - 5 lists)
44T.   Eddie Jackson (44 - 6 lists) (I was hoping I'd get a list from Samsara to push him a bit higher)
44T.   Randy George (44 - 5 lists) (he was riding high after the first 11 lists but didn't show up on any of the final 16 lists)
44T.   Dave Ellefson (44 - 3 lists)
47.   Joey Vera (43 - 4 lists) (a monster player on some of Fates Warning's best stuff)
48.   Robert Trujillo (42 - 5 lists)
49.   Connor Green (41 - 3 lists)
50.   Martin Mendez (40 - 4 lists)

51.   Sean Malone (39 - 3 lists) (LithoJazzoSphere's #1 pick)
52T.   Greg Lake (38 - 3 lists) (I was surprised how poorly he performed relative to John Wetton)
52T.   John Patitucci (38 - 3 lists)
54.   Troy Sanders (37 - 2 lists)
55T.   Lemmy (36 - 4 lists)
55T.   Matt Freeman (36 - 2 lists)
57T.   Bob Daisley (35 - 5 lists) (a disappointingly low performance)
57T.   Greg Spawton (35 - 2 lists)
57T.   Frank Bello (35 - 2 lists) (only Tim and me, and I'm genuinely surprised at this)
60T.   Muzz Skillings (32 - 2 lists) (another guy who probably would have benefitted from a Samsara list)
60T.   Dennis Dunaway (32 - 2 lists)

62T.   Roger Glover (31 - 3 lists)
62T.   Glenn Hughes (31 - 3 lists)

So Nick Beggs is better known here for playing on Steven Wilson's solo albums, but I recently checked out that first Kajagoogoo album, and he was a monster on it even back then. Almost so much that it's out of place even on Too Shy, which I never payed much attention to before now.

Kip Winger at 32 is pretty great!

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Nick Beggs has been awesome for a long time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nKiOCLcnMU

[TAC]

2 – John Myung
Appeared on 27 of 27 lists (the only one!)

Highest Finish: 2 (SwedishGoose)

22 Top 10 Finishes



1 – Geddy Lee
Appeared on 25 of 27 lists (pg1067, Metro, Setlist Scotty, Indiscipline, DTwwbwMP, WilliamMunny, porcacultor, SwedishGoose, devieira73, Stadler, Kram, Dream Team, lonestar, coz, HOF, Adami, Fonzie, The Realm, King Puppies, Animal, DragonAttack, King Postwhore, TAC, wolfking, LithoJazzoSphere)

Highest Finish: 1 (pg1067, Kram, Dream Team, coz, King Puppies and the Acid Guppies, King Postwhore)

21 Top 10 Finishes
 

So I had JM at #8. When compiling my list, I didn't over weight technical skills, as I take into account the whole thing. Playing of course, presence, do I notice...that sort of thing. JM is always way too buried in the mix. Live, it's better, as you can hear him chugging away.


I had Geddy at #2. the guy is just ridiculous. His basslines have always stood out to me. He's technical but what gets me is how smooth he is.


25  Maybe...probably not   Bob Daisley
24  Flea  Maybe...probably not
23  Quite possibly...even likely   Micahel Anthony
22  Depends how high Stadler has him   Gene Simmons
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   Lenny Kilmister
16  Geezer Butler  Quite possibly
15  Quite possibly   Robert Trujillo
14  Not likely  Sean Andrews-Redemption
13  No shot..I'm the only person to list him  Deiter Horns-Lucifer's Friend
12  Nah   Duff McKagen-GnR
11  Probably not   Dave Ellefson-Megadeth
10  Definitely not   Dennis Dunaway-Alice Cooper
9  Should make the list  Joey Vera-Armored Saint
8  John Myung  Lock 
7  Nope..I'm likely the only voter  Peter Baltes-Accept
6  Phil Lynott It's possible I guess
5  Not going to make it   Frank Bello-Anthrax
4  I have some faint hope   Markus Groskopf-Helloween
3  Nah   Pete Way-UFO
2  Geddy Lee  Lock
1  Steve Harris  Lock





Oh, and my all time band

Michael Kiske
Michael Schenker
Gart Moore
Steve Harris
Mike Portnoy

[HOF]

My ultimate band going by my number 1 for each list would be:

Steve Hogarth - vocals (could add keys/piano as well)
Eric Johnson - guitars
Pete Trewavas - bass
Nick D'Virgilio - drums

That band is probably better suited for a younger, rangier Steve Hogarth, but it would be quite excellent I'm sure.