Top 10: Best Bassists

[gyroe182]

Great selection & interesting orders. I'd say Geezer Butler is my all time favourite(finger style, never a dull moment, over the top yet below booming) - as I'd learned alot from his playing, compared to say, others in this video (so he'd personally have been my number 1!). Personally, as a bass player, Flea is a GREAT bassist, but his style (funk) is not quite in league with the great funk bassists (Larry Graham just as an example) but to me these other great names shine in their field of ROCK!

[BassMarmalade]

LES CLAYPOOL!!

[Aidos8158]

Omg, not one of these guys would make top 300 bass players. Seriously listen to people like John Patituchi, Victor Wooten, Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller, these are the people who are the greatest bass players, not these rockheads who only desire fame and fortune!

[Aidos8158]

@Aidos8158 Except Flea

[9AMrecords]

And Steve Harris from Maiden ?

[Aidos8158]

@9AMrecords Um... No.

[thefamousDrFeelgood]

LEMMY #1 anything else is insane

[MuserOfCydonia]

You forgot Chris Wolstenholme from Muse. He has the best bassline of all time!!

Muse - Hysteria

[JOSHOUSSSSSSKI]

@MuserOfCydonia Its all opinion you need proof that he is the best like to the rolling stones neil pert is the best drummer ever followed by none other than john bonham 

[MuserOfCydonia]

@JOSHOUSSSSSSKI Well. I'm not the one who say this. I mean you can recognize it just watching some Muse's live performances because the guitarrist is also the best of the Century so far and will continue.

[Aidos8158]

@MuserOfCydonia As much as I like Muse and their guitarist, he is definitely not one of the best. The players like Buddy Guy, Stanley Jordan, John Mayer, BB King, Eric Clapton and Al De Meola are the best of the century

[Aidos8158]

@JOSHOUSSSSSSKI Best drummers of the world would be people like Dave Weckl, Buddy Rich, Ronnie Verell, Steve Gadd, Dennis Chambers etc

[TheRockanHoffman]

What about Frank Bello? :D

[TheLeadSled]

not too bad but les claypool is the best of all time, that man can make a bass talk

[Subz3ro77]

For me, Les Claypool is the best, and Ryan Martinie must be in my top :)

[fretlessbass26]

@Subz3ro77 both good choices.

[HeppinnMelrakki]

Hell yeah on Cliff and Les

[MastersOfTheCamera]

FLEA IS THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MANOLO3190]

lemmy el 10????

Y TU TE CREES QUE ENTIENDES ALGO ANDA Y QUE TE FOLLEN

[o5hjtTheNinja]

I didn't know the year 2002 & 1986 had at least 27 months in them...

[ThrobnWood]

Les Claypool all the way baby :>

[evankiljoy]

Dude, you forgot Rex Brown.

[MorbidDeath73]

@evankiljoy whats so great about Rex Brown?

he doesnt even get near these dudes loool

[migueliln]

what ever

[karlmoles65]

I hate to tell all you people crying, pissing, bitching, and moaning, But there isn't a damn thing wrong with this list. And his #1 was dead on balls accurate. No one in Rock has ever performed more complex Basslines than Geddy Lee,. and that's a plain fact. Sure I won't say Sheehan, Wooten, Harris, Simmons, Myung don't belong, cause sure they do, but in his taste, not ours.

[64Ludwigs]

billy who? Vic Wooten #1, James Jamerson, Jack Bruce, Carl Radle, Rick Danko, Nick Lowe, John McVie, Randy Miesner, Rich Mechlinski, Fred Kirshner,

[migueliln]

WHERE IS PAUL GRAY AND FIELDY FROM KORN

[karlmoles65]

@migueliln In the Hall of Shame along with all the other shitty no-talent hacks? Nu-Metal is a shitty sucky joke.

[shawnknuijt1]

john entwistle should be number one. geddy lee should be number two. otherwise it's a good list.

[Heatseeker14345]

lol... Les Claypool got #5????

[Garnsay]

Rolling Stones Magazine has claimed that the top three rock bassists are

1.John Entwistle (The Who R.I.P)

2.Flea (RHCP)

3.Paul McCartney (The Beatles)

I totally agree with their list and some others like Geddy Lee are on their too. Rolling Stones knows their stuff

[karlmoles65]

@Garnsay Rolling Stones doesn't know their ass from a hole in the ground.

[karlmoles65]

Respond to this video... And fucking LMAOROTF at McCartney tii

[jchanman911]

YES!!! LES CLAYPOOL!!!

[klaptongroovemaster]

Chris Squire - Yes.

[weztangelo1968]

man where is billy sheehan?? victor wooten???

[RubHerSoul1]

Good list. But I'm sorry folks, but Paul McCartney is still the finest Bassist in Rock. And not because he was in the Beatles. YOU try playing the bass to Hey Bulldog, Everybody's got something to Hide except for me and my Monkey, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds for starters. He was also self-taught. Totally winging (no pun intended) it and pioneering the way you could move the rythym section. Entwistle was the craziest back in the 60's, but no one else was playing bass like Paul in rock.

[jeffhanshaw]

Good list! My personal favorites are as follows. Keep in mind I'm not into bass acrobatics or else Stu Hamm would be my fav. I'm more about someone who's mastered playing bass in a band context. 1) Geddy Lee 2) Paul McCartney 3) Eric Wilson - Sublime 4) Brian Ritchie - Violent Femmes 5) Sting 6) John Paul Jones - Led Zep 7) John Enwhistle - Who 8) Flea 9) John Taylor - Duran Duran 10) Cliff - Metallica

[10INCHCRUSHER]

I would have put John Deacon on that list.

[jpiwick]

Good but a little dull. I say John Paul Jones rules!!! just listen to the Lemon song.

[RubHerSoul1]

@jpiwick Listen to any Zeppelin song and there's some sick Bass going through it. The man was a pro all the way. I put him in the top 5. I think they have him at 6 here.

[Stratodreamer25]

Flea = number one !!!!!!!

[Lordoftheflies234]

Matt Freeman?

[VictorRechnageL]

No Jack Bruce? :-(

[PawelKosinsky]

Larry Graham, James Jamerson, Tony Levin etc.

[Trademark691]

Entwistle kicks Lee's ass across the earth and back, no one comes close

[coasternut3091]

5.Geddy Lee

4. Justin Chancellor

3. Ryan Martinie

2. Micheal Lepond

1. John Myung

[SolusChristus924]

nice list...i would've put S. Harris up there...but Maiden is one of my favorites, so I am biased.

[irena7777777]

Great call...Geddy is immense!

[TheMattio100]

jack bruce?

[1skullduggery]

haywood jeblome ?

[Megamusicfan1997]

Where is Jaco?

[sbirulines]

Lemmy is god! listen to lemmy solo in "Wake the Dead" !!!

[hang10jerry]

John Glascock , Was he a bass player?

[GoodbyeRubyTu3sday]

you can't put GOD at second place...

[Stephanavich]

I agree with all of them, except no steve harris

[rede233]

Victor Wooten?????

[metaltera86]

CLIFF BURTON FTW! but i think steve harris should be in here

[speckfracas]

cliff burton?! wtf man...also, where the hell is victor wooten?! are you kidding me?!

[ytpking1000]

paul mccartney were is he in all this

[mikeymeth]

yeah theres a solid bassline in almost every rancid song, and if you see them live he will elaborate on that solo for minutes. freeman kicks arse

[hiilikecookies]

Geddy Lee ROCKS!!!!!

[BloodlessToque]

Trevor Dunn?

[sluterry]

lol fail any one that put les in the middle is obviously too stupid to know what good music is and the BRILLIANCE required to make it on his part

[kittiesgomow33]

Where the f*** is STEVE PRIEST??? WHERE??

[drumoff15]

why black sabbath? u just say that cos hes a rock bassist he doesn't as much tech nique as say JOHN MYUNG for instance

instead of having just rock bassist try expanding your knowledge of music and BASS PLAYERS THAT ARE GOOD!

having said that some o0f your options are very good

[themabin]

only number 5? les claypool is way better than flea and cliff burton. cliffs the shit though just saying

[HVoltage152]

where the hell is Billy Sheehan??

[babou00]

Where is Chris Wolstenholme ?

[TheOllars]

Cliff Burton over LES "FU*@ING" CLAYPOOL?!?!?!?!

[deppwaswho]

hmm. its your opinion....but they just seem like basissts from big famous rock bands. what about the funk? larry graham? Victor wooten? but good job on mentioning flea

[codeman2557]

flea should be first and geddy lee should be second

[codeman2557]

flea shoukd be first

[RossW2112]

nice first man

[jiroumy]

search it man: Larry Graham

[Jeans11234567]

The best bass player is from "The Doors" and they dont even has him as a member of the band...... realy the best bass player is ------> "Unknown"

[mansaringkeita76]

Family man barrett?

[JasonBonitati]

Uhhhh....putting Geddy Lee in front of Entwistle even by one position makes me mad. Entwistle number one clearly!

[badhoster]

1.Flea

2.Les Claypool

3. Marcus Miller.

4. Davidsinrocks :D

[Axes83]

john entwistle on number one in my opinion, and this should be alled top 10 rock bassists... because I didn't saw jaco pastorious or ron carter... and many others non-rockers bass players.... just a thought...

[ThrobnWood]

Hmm. Some good bassists in there to be sure, & Geddy is definately up there, but Les Claypool is definately my #1. Also, Victor Wooten should be acknowleged. I haven't heard much of Wooten, but he seems pretty good.

[guitarlad89]

im so glad philo made the list :)

[thehoundz1]

Youtube bouncer says....corners gentlemen

[ThreeDaysSasuke]

I thought Paul McCartney would be in here.

[Awesomeman37]

eric from sublime and flea are the best

[HeyItsCoop]

What about Justin the bass player for Tool?

[AMartins92]

Dude John Myung is fuckin awesomeee

[Xnothinbetter2dewX]

evidently no one has heard of john myung ...and im a metallica fan but cliff burton is very overrated

[cmjmkcapbpjhdsatjx]

Your an idiot cliff is the best

[FenderUsa]

@cmjmkcapbpjhdsatjx lol no

[saemikneu]

very cool list. But here are more, sure. and way better ideas for a cool John Entwistle line than "my generation"

[vtprisonco]

Ahem, you list ten bassists of ALL TIME and they are all from the same genre...which leaves out VICTOR WOOTEN, JACO PASTORIUS, Rob Derhak and many others. At least you got 4 out of 10 right. Expand your horizons and you will be grateful!

[MusicMan41894]

finally a top ten bassist video with geddy lee thank god

[heinzpo]

You miss: Jack Bruce, Steve Harris, Ian Hill, to mention a line. And you miss Sting, Chris Squire, Glen Hughes. Good effort but definitely not the same tastes as mine.

[invaderzimgirl14]

Glad to see Thunderfingers was there!!

[kudohulk]

10 is tooooo little list !!!!!

[NinjaJedi11]

wuts the song they used for phil lynott?

[lugaconfii]

What about Squire of Yes!!!

[ultramagnus58]

John Definately 1

[nanarockband]

nice one for getting Lemmy in there. Too damn right

[MRPOTNOODLE99]

What about Peter Hook? D: 

[tommyau2006]

what about Jack Bruce, Larry Taylor, Bill Wyman, Paul McCartney?

[bassmachine666]

I like this guy. Geddy lee = best fucking bassist ever!

[PapaRoach51]

NO #1 Is Paul Gray

[mangekyou10sharingan]

STEVE HARRIS D:??

[cjf799]

Entwhistle

Squier

Butler

Lee

Harris

Burton....

[mikeymeth]

was sad not to see matt freeman. maxwell murderer solo c'mon

[MCarlson89]

@mikeymeth he's good, but one solo doesn't make you great.

[dersh65]

You CANNOT BEAT Johnny Entwistle!!! The GREATEST BASSIST OF THE GREATEST!!!! LONG LIVE PETE!!! :LONG LIVE THE WHO!!! I also Love Gary...Geddy Lee!!! Play IT my Jewish Bro!!!!!

[LiLFlea15]

FLEA IS THE BEST BASSIST EVER

[luzier13x]

no disrespect! dats ur opinion. but beliv me, if technicallity will the basis, Billy Sheehan would eat them all in breakfast. if your a basist, check him out. he's a beast. peace!

[egyptianminor]

In this list,John Entwistle's the virtuoso pioneer, but McCartney's earlier.Where are Sting & Chris Squire?,they're both very inventive bassists .If Jazz/Funk/fusion were 'allowed', then must be included(w/o order): Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Clarke, Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, Larry Graham, Dave Holland, James Jameson, to name a few.

[Weitug]

FLEA IS THE BEST! Proof = listen to Coffee Shop

[bluespirat]

and every more

[OkstadOo]

Really? Cliff Burton? Shouldn't you name this list as "the bassists of my favorite bands", instead?

[espChris93]

@OkstadOo Cliff died at such a young age that his sense of composition and musical dynamics for his playing experience was great and is still underatted. Although he is overatted by every ignorant metal head kid that just thinks hes the best bass player ever

[soulsfate]

no roger walters, chris squire, steve harris or justin chancellor :o

[SadoKaden]

As far as talent goes, Les Claypool would be #2, Vic Wooten #1.

[espChris93]

@SadoKaden Les wouldnt be better than Geddy or John Entwistle he would admit that himself

[SadoKaden]

@espChris93 He might, but I still think he's better. I like his music better, that might have something to do with it. He does some crazy shit. Vic still the best.

[espChris93]

@SadoKaden yeah its all a matter of opinion anyway and its not like les is bad. All of those bassists are so far above everyone else that its just an opinion of taste that makes one the best or the worst in someone's eyes

[SadoKaden]

@espChris93 Couldn't have said it better myself =)

[wolverine84]

No Chris Squire?

[wolverine84]

Where's Greg Lake?

[metalbass16]

cliff#1

[shaftymcshifterson]

GEDDY!!!!!! FTW

[soer5523]

Gene simmons

[alejolaya]

@soer5523 LOL... Gene Simmons??? He knows nothing of playing a bass guitar ! He is just some kind of clown... hahahaha Gene simmons... come on man...

[POPCORN454545]

@alejolaya ......wtf?...dude bass is like the simplest instrument to play and gene simmons does it well...and even if you still think he sucks..hes certainly better than you

[alejolaya]

@POPCORN454545 that's the fucking matter with music today... the fact that fucking simmons has sold millions of albums and tons of toys and all that bullshit, doesn't mean he plays bass as good as any rock bassist. kiss is more like a circus than a great band... tell me: when you go to a kiss gig, is it because of the music?... i think is beacuse of the fire, the blood, and flying stanley... there is no art... however, this top ain't right at all... steve harris should be # 1 and he isn't here..

[albert14841]

@alejolaya  kiss are great

[alejolaya]

@POPCORN454545 and if you say bass is the simplest instrument you know anything about playing a fucking instrument... and... you don't know how i play bass, so don't compare with that fucking moron...

[POPCORN454545]

@alejolaya i play the drums....and again hes still better than you...hes been doing it for like 30 years...youve been doing it for like...5

[alejolaya]

@POPCORN454545 30 years of xp... but playing the easiest things, is that a good xp?.... ¬¬ but ok, ok..... simmons is the best bass player of all time... none can play his music... he plays impossible things... ¬¬

[POPCORN454545]

@alejolaya ?...i never said its impossible to play waht he plays...with enoguh hours and practise into learning the frets and shit you can play exactly like him and the songs....its not hard...

[sluterry]

@alejolaya

that and cliff burton he is crap

[MrMusik111]

and steve harris?

[tommyau2006]

@MrMusik111 and Burke Shelley

[kittiesgomow33]

@MrMusik111 steve harris? what about steve priest??

[jack0eagle]

steve harris

[Popcornboy004]

1. Flea

2. Voctor Wooten

[SadClownPropaganda]

I dig your top 5, but... dude! what about Dave Ellefson from Megadeth?

[WHITEBOYxOFxAMERICA]

what about john myung, victor wooten, jaco pasterius, and stanley clarke

[lpcrush]

Cliff Burton is not 4th, he's at least 2nd. Geddy is awesome though. I'd switch Cliff With Entwistle. Then switch Geddy with Cliff.

[pisartist]

Some classy picks, but lists will always court controversy. Geddy Lee No1? 

[Surfvolcom77]

never heard of Matt Freeman? I can tell your a metal head. nothing wrong with that, but next time but 'top 10 bassist in metal".

[RmFrRifleman]

Glad to see Roger Glover in there and Bill Wyman formally of the Rolling Stones would be another person worth mentioning.

[spbassist90]

There's a lot more that goes into making a great bassist other then solos.

[VGNC13]

dude i respect you opinion. but u shouldn't miss harris of iron maiden..

[FIERO871]

Are you fuckin' crazy!? The Ox is the best ever bassist.

[simpsonNirvana94]

les claypool should be number 1. ever hear that guy play a bass solo?

[millsy2625]

i choked when les was 5th

[psfbacknow]

ni puta idea, STEVE HARRIS THE BEST

[someonewon]

Futoshi Uehara from Maximum the Hormone is by far my favorite.

[Zombieman27]

RUSH ALL THE WAY

[DACHEWY]

no stu hamm?

[paice95]

finally someone that shows Roger Glover some respect.

[yicker39]

there are many different styles of bass playing ...victor wooten....john entwistle....flea...all great in there own right....but the sound and style which does it for me and i can not believe he has not been mentioned........JJ BURNEL.... of THE STRANGLERS.......check out the bass line towards the end of the song GENETIX ..then come back and vote again!!!!!!!

[ps3fanforever]

Where's Fieldy from Korn and Steve Harris from Iron Maiden?

[toberichmoe]

1. Geddy Lee

2. Les Claypool

3. Steve Harris

4. Cliff Burton

5. Flea

[Galladefan777]

1.roger waters

2.flea

3. les claypool

4. geddy lee

5. john entwistle

6.john paul jones

7. paul mccartney

8.geezer butler

9.roger glover

10.randy coven

[darklordjp]

i like cliffy :)

[2Boobie4]

can someone put up a list of all the songs used here??

[cptkurt4]

Paul Mccartney!!!

[MrJmm96]

where is Steve Harris ???

Steve Harris is the best

[Jordo1900]

sting is aload of shit

but where is victor wooten,stanley clark,marcus miller

[Jordo1900]

my top 10 1.Flea 2.Duff McKagan 3.Victor Wooten 4.Cliff Burton 5.Stanley Clarke 6.John Paul Jones 7.Marucs Miller 8.Noel Redding 9.Phil Lynott 10.Paul McCartney

[atgskater14]

My top ten

1.John Entwistle

2. who gives a shit about whos before 1

[000theUnforgiven000]

duff Mckagan?

[Renegator92]

GEDDY LEE!!!!!!!

[XXXsnwmanXXX]

amazing setlist i think that flea is second thou...FUCK YEA