Most Talented Bass Guitarists

The Top Ten
1 Les Claypool Leslie Edward "Les" Claypool is an American musician, singer, songwriter, composer, author and actor best known as the bassist and lead vocalist of the band Primus.

Step 1 : Listen to a Primus song.

Step 2 : Be amazed and vote for Les Claypool for Best bassist ever.

No one is close to him. Especially when it comes to slapping.

2 Geddy Lee Gary Lee Weinrib, known professionally as Geddy Lee, is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush.

The title of this list is "most talented bass player". Chops aside, the fact that he plays ripping bass lines, keyboards, foot pedals and sings all at the same time makes him a very unique candidate. Not to mention the fact that his music writing skills are simply amazing. His talent bleeds way over the confines of his 4-string.

#4 You guys are crazy. John Entwistle is definitely side by side by with Geddy Lee...but still... Geddy Lee #1.

VOTE FOR GEDDY LEE. ALTHOUGH JOHN ENTWISTLE IS SIDE BY SIDE WITH GEDDY LEE. BUT FLEE? BILLY SHEEHAN? OH BOY. DISTANT FROM THE TALENT OF GEDDY LEE. GEDDY LEE RULES!

3 John Entwistle John Alec Entwistle, was an English singer, songwriter, composer, musician, film and music producer. He is mostly known as the lead bassist for the rock band The Who.

Not only a virtuoso, but THE virtuoso. The worlds fastest two finger picker by a wide margin, to the point where it's unphysical. Invented the modern bass and bass string, invented the two finger, three finger, and four finger picking technique. The only people I would say are even close to this level of technical ability are Hadrien Feraud and MonoNeon. This guy really shocked the world, like no other will.

The one bassist who played lead in the band while Townshend played rhythm. Perhaps the greatest bass guitarist of all times. A close second would be John Paul Jones of Led Zep and Nick St. Nicholas of Steppenwolf.

His talent is too good

4 Cliff Burton Clifford Lee "Cliff" Burton (February 10th 1962 - September 27th 1986) was an American musician, best known as the second bass guitarist for the American thrash metal band Metallica, recording three studio albums. ...read more.

He should be in the first place. If he did not die unfortunately that day, he would have made Metallica far better than they are right now.

Umm...first guitarist for Metallica, right?

One of my favourite bassists.

The first thrash bassist

5 Flea Michael Peter Balzary (born October 16, 1962), better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-born American musician, best known as the bassist, a co-founding member, and one of the composers of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers with whom he was inducted in 2012 into the Rock and Roll Hall ...read more.

Billy Sheehan just plays fast and Repetitive. Flea is more creative and should be in the top 2 on this list.

He's really creative and talented. Listen to Aeroplane.

Mean, lean Bass machine - jam sessions with J. Frusciante are new dropping

6 Steve Harris Stephen Percy "Steve" Harris is an English musician and songwriter, known as the bassist, occasional keyboardist, backing vocalist, primary songwriter and founder of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden.

You forgot how complex is to play Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the fast you should be for playing Fear of the Dark, The powerful tone in Hallowed by thy Name or the blasting rhythm in To Tame a Land and how you set aside the most impressive bass intro in the history in The Number of the Beast it's not about virtuosity it's when talent override the virtuosity!

He has a very unique style

7 Victor Wooten Victor Lemonte Wooten is an American bass player, composer, author, producer, and recipient of five Grammy Awards.

I'm a huge Claypool fan, but in all honesty, this guy should at least share the number 1 spot. Just an insanely talented musician. To find him at 26 leads me to believe that not many voters understand the instrument they are voting on.

He is talented.

8 Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III was an American jazz bassist who was a member of Weather Report from 1976 to 1981. He worked with Pat Metheny, Joni Mitchell, and recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader.
9 Thundercat
10 John Deacon John Richard Deacon (born 19th of August 1951) is a retired English musician, who is best known as the bassist for the rock band Queen.

Iconic bass -lines, like Under Pressure, and Another one bites the dust. Short but virtuoso bass playing in Breakthru.

One of the best bass-player, highly underrated.

Highly underrated, and one of the best!

The Contenders
11 John Myung John Ro Myung is an American bassist and a founding member of the progressive metal group Dream Theater.

I think that this picture is awesome, that background as well.

I think that john has a lot of talent

Get him higher.

12 Billy Sheehan William "Billy" Sheehan is an American bassist known for his work with Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, and The Winery Dogs.
13 Sumon (Aurthohin) Saidus Salehin Khaled (Sumon), is a bass player, singer, songwriter, composer, music producer from Bangladesh and the vocalist and bassist for the rock band Aurthohin. He is known as "Bassbaba" (Father of Bass) among his fans and audiences for his bass guitar playing.

One of the best slap bassists in the world. Both sings greatly and plays bass guitar. Not only bass riffs, but he plays bass solos too. But his tapping is what makes him even more talented. Plus his teeth grinding bass playing is also very good.

He is the best.

14 John Paul Jones John Baldwin, better known by his stage name John Paul Jones, is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. He is best known as the bassist for the English rock band Led Zeppelin. Years after Led Zeppelin split, Jones joined supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, featuring Dave Grohl and Josh Homme. He is also part of the folk band Dave Rawlings Machine.

The most underrated musician of all time.

15 Chris Wolstenholme Christopher Tony "Chris" Wolstenholme is an English musician. He is the bassist and backing vocalist for the alternative rock band Muse.

Plays innovative bass on an innovative bass. Hysteria is awesome and should be taught in music schools. +1 for the big muff though. To think, he used to be a drummer!

Muse - Hysteria has one of the best Bass lines going. normally ques come from the drummer but not on this track.
Go on then... you try playing it if you dare and keep the rhythm going for the whole track.

So good in muse

Listen to hysteria, futurism, and map of the problematique and you’ll see what I mean when I say this guy is the best

16 Geezer Butler Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler is an English musician and songwriter. Butler is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of heavy metal band Black Sabbath.
17 Roger Waters George Roger Waters is an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. He is mostly known for being the secondary lead vocalist and bassist of Pink Floyd.

He didn't even used 100% of his talent.

18 Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire was an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was best known as the bassist and founding member of the progressive rock band Yes.
19 John Taylor
20 Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. With John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, he gained worldwide fame with the rock band the Beatles, one of the most popular and influential groups in the history of pop and rock music.One of the most successful composers and performers of all time, he is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing, his versatile and wide tenor vocal range and his musical eclecticism, exploring styles ranging from pre-rock 'n' roll pop to classical and electronica. His songwriting partnership with John Lennon remains the most successful in history

We're voting for talent, not for persona or influence. The fact that he was a multi-instrumentalist does not make him the greatest bassist.

More records sold than anyone in history. Most talented songvwriter. Plays bass, guitar, piano, drums, organ, etc. Give me a break #12...really?

Good, but not the most talented bassist

21 Lemmy Kilmister Ian Fraser Kilmister, known as Lemmy, was an English musician, singer and songwriter who founded and fronted the rock band Motörhead. He was a bassist and a singer known for his raspy voice. He died in 2015 from cancer and other health problems.
22 Davie504

He's not in a band. He's just a god on youtube. But he really is a god.

23 Marcus Miller
24 Duff McKagan Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan is an American musician, singer, songwriter and author. He is best known for his twelve-year tenure as the bass guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. McKagan rejoined the band in 2016, following their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

This guy is great.

25 Jack Bruce John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce was a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter known primarily for his contributions to the British supergroup Cream, which also included guitarist-singer Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker.
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