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The Worlds Best Drummer List
By kevin | July 19, 2008
FIrstly, a huge thankyou to everyone who contributed by commenting on my last post where I asked the Question “Who is the best drummer in the world?”
Obviously this is a really tough choice to make, as there are so many great players who we all look up to as drummers and percussionists. Many of you gave more than five - and thats fine… I did my best to include every drummer mentioned, and I tried to create a ranking system that would include the wishes of those people who ranked drummers in order and those who just named some without ranking them.
I never intended it to be a very scientific study - I really just wanted to get a list of drummers who are influential to everyone at the moment. All I did was tally up the number of votes that each drummer got and Ive ordered the list that way.
So… Drum roll please…. here is the list:
Buddy Rich
Steve Gadd
Vinnie Colaiuta
Neil Peart
Dave Weckl
Peter Erskine
Elvin Jones
JoJo Mayer
Thomas Lang
Jeff Hamilton
Louis Bellson
Art Blakey
Grant Collins
Greg Bissonette
Steve Smith
Clyde Stubblefield
Dennis Chambers
Evelyn Glennie
Tito Puente
Tony Williams
Alex Acuna
Billy Cobham
Chris Adler
David Garibaldi
Franz di Cioccio
Jack DeJohnette
Joe Morello
John “Jabo” stark
John Bonham
Max Roach
Giovanni Hidalgo
Omar Hakm
Travis Barker
Danny Cary
Gene Krupa
Idris Muhammad
Jeff Porcaro
Jon Knox
Morgan Agren
Mr Changuito
Philly Joe
Roy Haynes
Art Tatum
Jason Bittner
Kenwood Denard
Marco Minnemann
Mike Portnoy
Mr Kalani
Pancho Sanchez
Roy Wilfred Wooten
Vinny paul
Airto Moreira
Joe Marchisella
Simon Phillips
Trilok Gurtu
Alex Duthart
Andrew Gander
Antonio Sanchez
Billy Martin
Clayton Cameron
David Jones
Dougie Brown
Freddie Gruber
Gary Chaffee
Hamish Stuart
Horacio Hernandez
Jabo Starks
James Waples
Jason Bonham
Jeff Queen
Jim Black
Joey Baron
Kevin MacNeil
Leung Heung Wing
Mark Kennedy
Virgil Donati
Yaron Isreal
Yim Hok Man
There are people in this list who I’ve never heard of, and for that I’m really grateful. I’m going to make it my mission over the next couple of months to find out something about each one of these players and listen to some of their music.
This is just a starting point, and there is some obvious weaknesses in the way I did this informal survey, so what I’m going to do is create some polls for this website which will give us some more helpful information a bit more scientifically.
The first polls are going to be..
Who is the most influential drum set player of all time?
Who is the best classical percussionist of the current era?
Who is the greatest conga player/percussionist of all time?
I’m going to start with this list as the nominations - and you can nominate anyone to be included at any time, by simply leaving a comment on the appropriate posting. These posts will be up in a few days - once I’ve figured out the new software I’ve installed to do it!
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Topics: Announcements, Drum Kit, Drum Set |
July 19th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
I think Chad Sexton should be on that list. He is an amazing drummer with his own style. He did drum corps before picking up the drum set, so with his corps experience is incorporates a lot of rudiment in his playing and is basically a human metronome. I think he is definitely more talented than Travis Barker. Check him out on Youtube or something.
July 19th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
And sorry about my horrible typing : - P
July 20th, 2008 at 1:22 am
yeah there is a lot of incredible drummers that don’t apear in this list… but anyways… its a good point for u kevin!
July 20th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Hey dudes, Art Tatum is a piano player!
I guess the list kind of came down to most popular rather than best in choices like Chris Adler (who’s a fine drummer, don’t get me wrong.)
Also I thought world’s best drummer meant they had to be alive which is why I didn’t have Buddy Rich, Tony Williams and Jeff Porcaro in my list.
July 21st, 2008 at 12:17 am
I think Danny Heifitz should also be on the list - (he works with mr. Bungle and Secret cheifs 3 and others) His technical ability and versatility of musical styles is amazing
July 21st, 2008 at 11:42 pm
No Tony Allen?
July 30th, 2008 at 10:04 am
JOEY JORDISON OFF SLIPKNOT!!
he’s sick and an ace drummer
August 19th, 2008 at 2:21 am
And Tré Cool? He’s an amazing drummer and represents the Punk Rock.
August 20th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
[...] - bookmarked by 3 members originally found by henry2k7 on 2008-08-02 The Worlds Best Drummer List http://percussioneducationonline.com/2008/07/best-drummers-list/ - bookmarked by 3 members [...]
October 4th, 2008 at 7:16 am
I think that Stewart Copeland(formally of the police) should be on the list
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:53 pm
the late Bert Barr, Blair Brown need to be on this
October 24th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Travis Barker he’s an amazing drummer
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Bissonette is good but I think Ringo should get a spot ahead of him
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Neil Peart is the greatest at creating a matching sound to his groups music and singers voice for sure
December 1st, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Travis Smith of TRIVIUM!
December 8th, 2008 at 1:33 am
Yoshiki of X-Japan :))
ps: I thought he’s already in top 10 World’s Best Drummer…nvm though.
December 24th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Brann Dailor
January 2nd, 2009 at 8:32 am
What about Dave Lombardo from Slayer!?
Hell blow away many drummers off that list..except the old school good ones, don’t get me wrong chris adler n joey jordison are good, but dave lombardo will play rings around them
January 6th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Travis Barker is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my 5 top:
Travis Barker**
Neil peart
joey jordison
bonham
lars ulrich
January 16th, 2009 at 6:07 am
Josh Freese is the new master of rock drumming. He is the perfect example of skill, stylistic diversity, and taste. There are few modern drummers who even compare. Any practicing drummer be it jazz, rock, pop, metal, ect. could take a lesson from him. He has worked with everyone. Check his wikipedia.
February 9th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
How about Carter Beauford???
February 10th, 2009 at 11:03 am
You missed Sivamani. India’s best drummer. Check out his work.
February 18th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
How could you possibly create any list of teh who’s who of drumming and not include the hands-down best drummer of all time?
From the time he joined the band in 1967 at the age of 17, Keith Moon of the Who immediately changed the world of drumming forever. Never before, or since, has any single drummer even come close to producing the full, complete sound of Moon. Sure, Townshend wrote all of that great music, and Daltry was the “face” of the Who, but it was Moon’s driving drums, and Entwistle’s phenomenal bass playing the gave the Who their unique sound. Even the great Bonham, King of the Off-Beat, didn’t even come close to generating the amount of sound Moon did with seemingly little effort. Keith Moon was without a doubt the best drummer to ever live. And as with anyone of that magnitude, his life was tragically cut short, and his contribution to the music world wasn’t recognized until long after his passing.
Compiling any list of the world’s best drummers absolutely must include Moon, if not at the top of the list, surely in the top 5
BTW - Where’s Ringo’s son Zack in your list?
February 18th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Correction… Moon joined the Who in 1964, not ‘67…
Fat finger mash many keys… my deepest apologies
February 20th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Lars Ulrich should be on this list. I agree with the top few, but he should be in your top ten.
February 21st, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Questlove.
Plays for hip-hop band The Roots, best drummer I’ve heard.
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:08 am
anybody who doesnt have danny cary top five is just plain smokin crack
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:11 am
danny cary is the greatest drummer on the planet
March 11th, 2009 at 1:25 am
Gavin Harrison is one of the cleanest most pure drummers you will ever listen to.
March 16th, 2009 at 1:16 am
I’m not a drummer! I’m a bass player in a Judas Priest tribute band. I am a huge fan of heavy metal music. There are many drummer’s I respect and love. Bill Ward, Mickey Dee, Nick Menza, and the list goes on. I’ve always been a supporter of metal musicians. However, yesterday I had the opportunity to see a DVD of Mr. Buddy Rich. I was amazed at his fluid ability to play things that I’ve never seen another drummer do before. He has the technical ability of anyone I’ve ever heard. He also makes it look so easy. If you asked me two days ago I’d say Bill Ward was the best drummer in the world. Sorry Bill, Buddy Rich has got my vote. Bill Ward is still my favorite drummer! Metal is my favorite music. Having said that, Buddy Rich in my opinion is the best drummer ever to walk the earth.
March 24th, 2009 at 6:49 am
Ah… Sorry :S
But where is Jon Hiseman??? He is very missing, should be on the top
April 13th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
What an incredible bullshit it is I’m reading here. Why do people keep on discussing who’s the best drummer, bass player, guitarist etc? How can one judge this? It’s obvious that most people reflect their personal taste in this forum. Which appears to be mainly rock. As if only rock drummers are the best drummers of all time.
My trousers drop to my feet when I read that Ringo should be on this list……. Ringo for fuck’s sake!! The other Beatles had to hire other drummers to play his parts in some cases because he couldn’t handle his parts.
And who came up with Art Tatum? Brilliant!!
“Danny Cary is the greatest drummer on the planet.” Who the fuck is Danny Cary and how did you measure his abilities?
I think before commenting here, most of you people should broaden their minds by listening to other kinds of music too.
Look for instance in the list on the right: “Who is the most influential drum set player of all time?” I think you will find most of the finest drummers of all time in this list……..
Have fun.
April 17th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Where Dave Mackintosh???
April 28th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
HEY YOU GUYS FORGOT ABOUT ALEX GONZALES FROM THE BAND MANA
May 7th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
what about the Rev from Avenged Sevenfold ???!!
May 18th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
i think barker is an amazing drummer but just as amazing are the drummersw from bad religion be it finestone or wackermen both are amazing and talented drummers.as well as travis barker
May 24th, 2009 at 3:23 am
GAVIN HARRISON? love how Dutharts on the list tho, have never seen a pipe band player on a top drummer forum list before. since this is the case wheres jim kilpatrick?
May 24th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
travis barker should be at the top!!!
June 15th, 2009 at 5:29 am
DAVE LOMBARDO…Drum world called him “the godfather of the bass drums” he would crush alot of these drummers..he should be ahead of T.Barker Buddy Rich is the greatest!!!!
June 15th, 2009 at 5:38 am
Lombardo’s bass drumming alone has such a great sound and is so unique..he is the only drummer i can recognize, i hear a song..if its Lombardo i usually know it. He has played with slayer, grip inc., testament, apocalyptica, movie sound tracks, he’s filled in for METALLICA. this guy can play. he should be in the top 10.
June 24th, 2009 at 6:33 am
Travis Barker is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my 5 top:
Travis Barker**
Neil peart
joey jordison
bonham
lars ulrich
to say that lars ulrich and travis barker are even close to the top of a constantly changing list is so stupid it hurts..
they’re not even in the top 5,000 amazing drummers that walk this planet…
i realize its just a matter of opinion so ill give you mine…
ROMAIN GOULAN of all drummers ive heard up to this point in time in my opinion is far superior in style, rythmic technical ability. and choice
of all said drummers on the long list above, and if youve read this much than you definately need to checkout ROMAIN GOULAN of NECROPAHGIST….
anyways good list but most are over rated…
June 25th, 2009 at 12:56 am
what about aaron gillespie from underoath
June 29th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
OK, it is obvious that whomever compiled this list, must have just done a google search for drummers. Where are Jon Bonham and Carter Beauford? Not to mention countless others, but these two should be in the top ten. And how about a ranking system, not just an alphabetized list. There must be some criteria that was used to determine the greatness of these drummers, or did you just take their names from another list?