The TOP 20 Bassists of All Time

[@frankbrown3717]

Nice list. Victor Wooten is a definite contender. He would make my top 5.

[@BrockwaysVinylBytes]

Hey Frank!! Oh yeah!! He is amazing!! 🤘🎶

[@user-vd4bg9rc8k]

Mel Schacher of Grand Funk Railroad would be a honorable mention. 😎👍

[@arnaudb.7669]

1- Stanley Clarke 2- Paul Jackson 3- Ralphe Armstrong 4- Jaco Pastorius 5- Alfonso Johnson 6- Percy Jones 7- Ray Shulman 8- Patrick O'Hearn 9- Miroslav Vitous 10- Victor Wooten 11- Chris Squire 12- Geddy Lee 13- Jeff Berlin 14- Richard Sinclair 15- Bernard Paganotti 16- Janick Top 17- Jonas Reingold 18- Mark Egan 19- Anthony Jackson 20- John Myung

[@BrockwaysVinylBytes]

Amazing list!! 😃🤘

[@shaynewest8757]

1. Gary Thain 2. Steve Harris 3. Chris Squire 4. Cliff Burton 5. Roger Glover

[@BrockwaysVinylBytes]

All amazing choices!!! I love all of them.

[@ilabelle1]

Alright here’s my list of four string maestros. In no order cuz they’re all great. I’ll stay away from your list Cody. Here we go! 01. James Jamerson 02. Larry Graham 03. Jack Bruce 03. Flea 04. Mick Karn 05. Jeff Berlin 06. Lee Pomeroy 07. Esperanza Spalding 08. Victor Wooten 09. Pino Palladino 10. Bootsy Collins So there you have it, some more crazy good bass players. If you don’t know some of them check them out.👍

[@BrockwaysVinylBytes]

I know 8 of the 10! You are a man of musically good taste 🤘🤘🤘🤘 love the list.

[@ilabelle1]

@@BrockwaysVinylBytes But I love the Monkees too!

[@user-vd4bg9rc8k]

Getty switched from the Rickenbacker to the Fender J Bass back 20 years or so I believe. 😎👍

[@BrockwaysVinylBytes]

Around the time of Roll the Bones I think! 😃🎵🤘

[@jeffschielka7845]

Chris was and will always be THE GOAT!! I miss him terribly. 🕊🕊🕊😎

[@ilabelle1]

I miss him too Jeff.😢

[@BrockwaysVinylBytes]

Not ashamed to admit I cried a few tears the day he passed.

[@jeffschielka7845]

@@BrockwaysVinylBytes I cried like a baby. YES are my second family. My buddy, also my brother in law passed away yesterday. I am heart broken. R.I.P. John. 🙏🕊🕊🕊😎

[@BrockwaysVinylBytes]

Hey Jeff. You won’t hear anymore from Ed around here - he’s an a**. Very sorry about your loss in your family brother. ❤️ thinking about you.

[@jeffschielka7845]

@@BrockwaysVinylBytes Thank you. I appreciate that brother.👍😎

[@420namtab]

I'm surprised you didn't have Les Claypool or Rex Brown

[@BrockwaysVinylBytes]

Love em both!!! They really are worthy…

[@mauricemorning]

Have you never heard of Jack Bruce? He played bass the way Clapton played guitar and wrote most of Cream's music while singing lead! You got the top spots right imo except I am unfamiliar with the bass player #2 (my bad and I now have some homework!). Also, imo Mike Rutherford is overrated as a bassist qua bassist. He did everything Genesis needed him to do as a member of the group, including background vocals, playing guitar and stomping on bass pedals so that he could also play guitar but he has never been a match for Squire, his biggest rival at the time. Also, I think Billy Sheehan, from the few clips I have seen, rivals Chris Squire for top spot. Of course, my own bass playing owes a large debt to master Geddy. I still have a copy of Bass Player magazine from the late 80's (just after the release of Power Windows, I believe) wherein he talks about practicing singing while playing complicated bass lines AND triggering midi keyboards (are you kidding me!?).He is mos def a person who has made the world a better place. Honorable mention for me would be Trevor Bolder who replaced John Wetton, who had a brief stint, as you mentioned, with Uriah Heep (how lucky were they?!) Heep fans of my generation and ilk go on and on about how great Gary Thain was but to me Bolder did what Thain tried to do without batting an eyelash. He had way better chops and never stepped all over a song the way Gary (R.I.P) did regularly. Case in point: Suicidal Man--a great Uriah Heep song plagued by the horrific production of Gerry Bron. I have been to videos where overly ardent fans have professed this is some of the best bass playing ever! I agree that it could be in theory. But it is like a bass solo throughout the entire song and in the last verse he jumps up an octave for one phrase and the bottom is completely lost. As a drummer I am sure you would appreciate what I am talking about. Geddy Lee can do it. Jack Bruce, Chris Squire and even Trevor Bolder could pull it off but Gary Thain, bless his heart, imo. ruined more great songs than he improved. This opinion has been a long time in the making and may be more than is being called for here but there it is. BTW I am a bass player who used to worship Gary Thain. Check out Bolder. You might be surprised. Thanks again for a great discussion.

[@BrockwaysVinylBytes]

Thanks for your comment!! 😃 love Jack and all of the bassists you mentioned! 😃🎵🎵