Top 10 Best Punk Rock Bassists
Douglas Glenn Colvin, known professionally as Dee Dee Ramone, was a German-American musician, singer and songwriter best known as founding member, songwriter, bassist and occasional lead vocalist for punk rock band the Ramones. Dee Dee is better than Mike. His bass riffs match perfectly with aggressive, fast-paced guitar riffs. Mike, on the other hand, often played bass lines without other instruments in the background, which helped him become popular. Lots of people think Mike is amazing because they could clearly hear his bass riffs, while some good bassists have their sound mixed in with the drum beats and guitar riffs, causing people to sometimes miss their contribution.
His energy and charisma are just outstanding. He could downstroke through an entire show with barely any breaks. He got kinda weird towards the end of The Ramones, but on the first three albums, he really showed how important bass was to punk.
Michael Ryan Pritchard, known professionally as Mike Dirnt, is an American musician best known for being the co-founder, bassist, backing and occasional lead vocalist of the American punk rock band Green Day. He gets a lot of hate for Green Day not being "real" punk, but Mike Dirnt is an outstanding bassist - you cannot deny that. "Longview," "Welcome to Paradise," "She," and "Basket Case" all feature awesome basslines that drive the whole song.
Just listen to any given song off of Insomniac. That should convince any living soul that Mike is the best of all time!
You can hear Mike's bass throughout every Green Day song. It sounds like beautiful thunder.
John Beverly, born John Simon Ritchie, later named Sid Vicious, was an English musician, most famous as the bass guitarist of the influential punk rock band the Sex Pistols, and notorious for his arrest for the alleged murder of his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen. He's a terrible bass player, but he is truly iconic and deserves to be on this list nonetheless. He wasn't a musician before joining the Sex Pistols, and he was so drugged out that it was a miracle he could even see the frets. He was a true punk.
Paul Gustave Simonon is an English musician and artist best known as the bassist for the punk rock band The Clash. He is way better than many people think. In my opinion, he is the most underrated bassist ever, across all genres of music. Guns of Brixton, London Calling, Magnificent Seven, Rock the Casbah, Jimmy Jazz, Rudie Can't Fail, Lost in the Supermarket, This Is Radio Clash, and Straight to Hell all have epic basslines.
The guy just had great bass lines... London Calling, Magnificent Seven, Radio Clash, Safe European Home.
Interestingly, when he joined The Clash, he couldn't play bass, but he practiced constantly and became an awesome bassist.
Can't believe he's not on the list. He is undoubtedly a top ten punk bassist, if not the best.
The greatest bassist of the original punk era. His melodic, lead style of playing is the driving force behind so many great songs. His growling bass sound, along with Hugh Cornwell's jagged guitar riffs and Dave Greenfield's Doors-esque keyboards, gave The Stranglers a melodic aggressiveness unmatched by any other band. He is also the toughest guy in rock.
The coolest bassist in the world. Quality, originality, and style. Long live the men in black!
Very few of the others here even come close! The coolest, the best, the punkest!
Glen Matlock is an English musician best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He was a better bassist than people realize and much better than Sid Vicious. He may not have been the most technical bassist, but he held down the low end exceptionally well.
Underrated team player. Heavily contributed to the band only to be fired. Sad.
Matt's number one. Mike Dirnt has had some memorable basslines, but Matt's solos and walking lines are just superior. Plus, Green Day's only punk album was their very first, and maybe Kerplunk.
This list is dumb. Anyone who says any of these chumps are better than Matt Freeman obviously doesn't get it.
I don't know why so many non-punk bassists are on this list. Freeman is easily the best.
His basslines truly defined DK's sound, adding so much depth. He delivered fantastic, clean bass work that was always on time and fit perfectly within the context of the song.
Uh... hello? The basslines he came up with hold the songs together.
This guy is awesome! His bass is epic, and his image is cemented in punk. The Misfits are the face of horror punk. He wasn't the most proficient bassist, but he did more than what was asked of him.
Mark Allan Hoppus is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist for the pop punk band Blink-182. Born in Ridgecrest, California, Hoppus spent his childhood moving back and forth between his mother and father's... read more Blink-182 may be "pop" punk, but Mark is an excellent bassist. He is one of the only people on this list who was the lead vocalist, bassist, and songwriter, and he did it all very well. He doesn't have any basslines that particularly stand out from the mix, but he did his job by holding down the low end. Why ask for more?
He's very talented and has a great voice. If Mike Dirnt is #2, then Mark deserves to be higher. He's responsible for a lot of Blink-182's hits as well.
He should be first. Mike Dirnt is second, how?
Alvarez has always been underappreciated. He was great with the Descendents and was even more phenomenal in All!
How is Karl not number one?! He's a phenomenal bass player with melodic and walking basslines.
McCaslin should be placed before Hoppus, I believe. Personally, my absolute favorite band is Blink-182, so I love every member. However, Mark plays very similar bass lines in the majority of his songs. Most of his parts consist mainly of grouped eighth notes that only support the guitar. Jason, on the other hand, plays at a much faster pace and also incorporates the melody in some songs. A perfect example is the post-chorus of Heart Attack. Sum 41 is my second favorite band, so my opinion may be a little biased.
His bassline on "Why Don't You Get a Job" is one of my favorites ever. He's an all-around good player, although he doesn't get much recognition.
He's the best punk rock bass player of all time. His basslines are amazing and hard to play.
Great bassist, really supports the guitars, great bass tone as well.