Guitarists get all the girls, drummers get all the jokes, and singers get all the interviews. But bassists are, as all UG readers know, the backbone to any rock track.
On Wednesday we asked you to nominate and vote for your favorites baselines ever.
Hundreds of you took part, and the result is a definitive list of awesome riffs that only UG readers could pull off.
So who were the winners, and do you agree with the results? Read on to find out.
10. Green Day "Longview"
Bassist Mike Dirnt vaguely recalls writing this riff while on acid:
"I was frying on acid so hard. I was laying up against the wall with my bass lying on my lap. It just came to me. I said, 'Billie, check this out. Isn't this the wackiest thing you've ever heard?' Later, it took me a long time to be able to play it, but it made sense when I was on drugs."
9. Led Zeppelin "Dazed And Confused"
The great Zeppelin didn't originally write this song - it was first penned by singer-songwriter Jake Holmes. Still, Jimmy Page tweaked it just enough to make it his own for John Paul Jones to lay down this monster of a bassline.
8. Rush "YYZ"
This instrumental track has been one of Rush's most popular live pieces since its inception in 1981. Based on Morse code, the guitar and bass play the 'short dash' with a root note of C, and uses an F# for the Morse code 'dots'. It's the kind of genius that only a group of prog legends like Rush could conceive.
7. Red Hot Chili Peppers "Around The World"
Flea was actually the last member of the band to put his part to the song, but it became one of the coolest intros ever written. It's what the word 'party' sounds like if you pitch it down a few octaves.
6. Alice In Chains "Would?"
Bassist Mike Starr tragically died of a drug overdose in 2011, but with a rattling bass hook like this he'll always be remembered.
5. Metallica "For Whom The Bell Tolls"
Cliff Burton, yet another brilliant bassist who was taken before his time. People used to mistake this opening sound for a guitar, but instead it was Burton's bass running though distortion and a wah-pedal. He actually wrote the riff before joining Metallica, and first aired it during a 12-minute jam at a battle of the bands competition in 1979.
4. Black Sabbath "N.I.B."
It seems UG readers love a bit of wah on bass! This time it's from Geezer Butler, who recorded his part in one legendary take. Geezer says he named the song after drummer Bill Ward's beard, which makes so little sense that some Americans decided to rename it "Naivety In Black".
3. Queen "Another One Bites The Dust"
Bassist John Deacon was perhaps the most mild-mannered member of Queen, but he was a creative powerhouse. He wrote some of the best-selling Queen singles, including this one which shifted over 7 million copies.
2. Megadeth "Peace Sells..."
It's easy to let frontman Dave Mustaine and his controversial comments overshadow the awesomeness of Megadeth. Thanks to bassist Dave Ellefson, this song was pretty close to winning our award for 'best baseline ever' and missed out by only four votes.
1. Pink Floyd "Money"
Who would have guessed! All of us, obviously. Never has a 7/8 riff sounded so effortless and groovy. It could have sounded quite different - Roger Waters originally demoed this song in G-sharp minor, but it was eventually recorded in B minor. Either way, the result was one of the all-time great basslines, and today it's your winner. Enjoy!
That's your official top 10 baselines of all time. Do you feel that anyone missed the cut? Which riffs would you add, and where? Let us know in the comments.
roundabout is ridiculous and should have been in the 10, but longview is definitely also worthy. dazed and confused could have been spared to make room IMO.
It kind of is a joke, How can you have a top 10 basslines list without some Funk/Classic Motown/LES CLAYPOOL?
i don't disagree with these memorable rock bass lines being on here but some of these could easily be knocked off by the aforementioned, not a good list!
you can only blame yourself and the other members of this site for the results. sure, they don't entirely coincide with your taste, but i think it's a respectable list. i would've liked to see some tech death or prog metal, but i can accept these results.
uh, i can't blame myself for others votes that is a ridiculous statement lol. I don't listen to the music i listen to incite a riot i can only say that a certain poll is one sided, my guess?...
ultimate guitar is a great tab site, the people who actually converse on here sway one side, it's mostly kids. Some of the metal and such i see dominating these polls, kinda corny, and only children would have these strong views on one kind of music, if you don't agree, sorry but this is the truth.
Actually, quite a good list, I'm surprised. I was expecting to see hysteria at number one and I'm really glad I didn't. It's a great riff, but doesn't hold a candle to some of these classics.
This, and 'The Pot'. As well as Sick Of It All's 'Straight Ahead', although most U-G'ers seem to be Metalhead-to-classic rock types. Not bashing, I listen to Cannibal Corpse and Dire Straights. I'm just saying that there's a few NOFX bass licks worthy of mention.
No, Hysteria is way overrated. Let the downvoting begin, I honestly don't care. I'm not trolling though. Muse, in general, are so overrated it's starting to annoy me.
DegaDeth has got it. Steve Harris is one of the premier bass players and he got little mention. Running Free has got to be one of the coolest basslines ever and The Clairvoyant is criminally underlooked. Right on man haha
I actually was going to say something about My Last Words (Hence my username), but seems like you beat me to it. Five magic's cool too. And those little fills in Take No Prisoners and Hook In Mouth are killing too.
I agree totally, I posted Five Magics on the original thread too, but most people don't know those songs. Given, yes they have better bass lines, people know Peace Sells.
Would've loved to see Roundabout get some recognition here, but still not a bad list. Oh and Cliff Burton is the best bassist that ever lived! What a great video showcasing his mastery of the bass
no i said metalheads(group1=good knowledge of metal music but they dont care about anything else) AND ppl with 0 knowledge(group2= not the same as group1 )what are they teaching you at school, potatoes?
How in the world can you not have Under Pressure by Queen/Bowie? Or Billie Jean? Everyone knows those two, as they should because they are probably the 2 greatest bass lines ever written.
J/k... Good list, and if I could pick a top 5 honorable mentions it'd be Come Together - Beatles, Sweet Emotion - Aerosmith, Nights on Broadway - Bee Gees, The Chain - Fleetwood Mac (The outro at least. Simple, yes, but it adds a nice, dark undertone to the song), and continue the popular demand with Schism - Tool
Why would the last paragraph get me downvotes? I was actually being serious there. If anything I assumed it's just 16 Muse fanboys upset with me that I don't think Hysteria by Muse is a top 10 bassline.
I like how some people here downvote "Hysteria." There is nothing wrong with that song. The bassline drives the entire song, it's groovy, bad ass, and Chris wolstenholme does a perfect job in terms of providing support (afterall, that is the role the bass does in a song). Basically, I feel that people downvote it because it's "popular." What are some of you now? A bunch of whiny hipsters now? Overall, it's a good list.
I've said earlier Muse has better basslines (albeit maybe not as prominent Hysteria), but the guy does have a point that it's still good. Sure some magazine put it at the top just cause Muse fans vote like crazy, but just cause it's not #1 doesn't mean everyone has to consider it the worst bassline ever or something. It used to be pretty liked around here.
As for the list, I also think Lightning Bolt's bassist is pretty great and has written some nice bass melodies.
Love this list. Really great choices. Love Longview inclusion! I can never get that bass riff out of my head once I hear it!
Very much agree also with the suggestions of The Chain and The Joker above ^
Pretty good list. I would also list, for ones that could be considered:
Bleed Black-AFI
Run to the Hills (after the solo)-Iron Maiden
Crazy Train-Ozzy (not the mundane intro, the song as a whole)
Secrets Don't Make Friends-From First to Last
Swallow-KoRn
Bitchslap-Slipknot
I think Longview is kinda jazzy if you put another rythm on it it could be in a jazz song.
data_player
Listen to the bassline after brain stew and ask yourself why people say Mike can't play differnt types of music, this is jazz. People say he can't play with fingers listen to noone knows. And if I, a person who has only played bass since January, can play with my fingers, then a professional bassist can do it to. He just preferes pic.
Green Day have some pretty great basslines, but I've noticed that over the years Mike's bass playing has become simpler and not at the front of the sound as much as it used to be.
For anyone interested in more great basslines:
Camel-Earthrise
Alcest-Solar Song
Atheist-Samba Briza (or any other song; Roger Patterson and Tony Choy are both beasts)
Between the Buried and Me-Viridian
The Mars Volta-Viscera Eyes
MGMT-Electric Feel
Obscura-Orbital Elements
Opeth-Nectar
Trioscapes-Seperate Realities (the whole album)
Yes-Starship Trooper
Ah, a decent list. While that's good, I'm sure all of these have made a similar list in the past. I think what we really need is something refreshing. Perhaps something that would require a little digging might probe the minds of the readers a little more. For example, something like "Our Top (Insert #) Obscure Entries" with an opening to article such as this, "We scoured the net for some of the most articulate and underrated artists to bring you this article." Maybe I'm crazy, but that sounds like an interesting article to me.
The fact that there's no Muse seems to annoy a lot of people in the comments but I'm pretty certain that more people are glad they're absent from this list than aren't!
No Les Claypool, but I'm just glad to see a list that ISN'T full of predictable entries that NME could have assembled.
Nice one UG!
Wow, what a lame and predictable list. If this is people's idea of good bass lines, no wonder bassists are the butt of all the jokes!
No Jaco, Victor, Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, Michael Manring? Not even an entry from Primus/Claypool (pretty much anything he ever played on bass is better than this list)? Come on kids, there's a lot of music out there besides rock and metal, check it out!
There's a guy called Steve Harris from one of the most successful metal bands in the world...Ever heard of him Ultimate Guitar...He's pretty good, so i hear.
No complaints from me. I feel like Testament's "Souls of Black" could've been an honourary number 11 at the very least.
With the kind of comments I'm seeing on these top 10 lists, UG could probably come up with extremely viable top 100 lists.
Missing In Action:
Chris Squire : Roundabout
Sir Paul : Lovely Rita Meter Maid
Kim Deal/Pixies : No. 13 Baby
John Wetton/King Crimson : The Great Deceiver
Mike Watt/Minutemen : One Reporters Opinion
Spinaltap : Big Bottom
Love all the hipsters hear saying how hysteria sucks, its to overrated, if something is popular it must be crap, im not saying it is the best in the world there is many a better bassline out there but hysteria is good bands like muse, led zeppplin, greenday and tons more all have great bass lines in virtually all their songs, shame about the annoying hipsters on this site though :L
There's a lot of awesome bass riffs that go unnoticed. Here's quite a few I can think of, not all of them are complex, but at least memorable.
"The Real Me" and "Pinball Wizard" by The Who
"Schism" by Tool
"I Saw Your Mommy..." or "War Inside My Head" by Suicidal Tendencies
"Santeria" by Sublime
"Is This It" by The Strokes
"Dirt" or "1970" by The Stooges
"Aeroplane" or "Higher Ground" by RHCP
"The National Anthem" by Radiohead
"Feel Good Hit of the Summer" by Queens of the Stone Age
"My Name is Mud," "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver," and "Tommy the Cat" by Primus
"Young Lust" and "Pigs (Three Different Ones)" by Pink Floyd
"Come As You Are," "Sliver," and "Love Buzz" by Nirvana
"Hysteria" by Muse
"Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth" by Metallica
"Disorder" by Joy Division
"Lovesong"and "Fascination Street" by The Cure
"Drive" by Incubus
"The Passenger" by Iggy Pop
"Damaged Goods" by Gang of Four
"We Care a Lot" by Faith No More
"Mongoloid" by Devo
"Come Together" by The Beatles
Lars Norberg. Nuff said. Go listen to "Insect" by Sprial Architect and tell me that isn't some of the sickest bass you've ever heard. That's not even his best stuff.
Surprised Hysteria isn't on there, though they probably wanted to avoid all the Muse hate, and seeing as this isn't an NME list they don't have to be on there.
Why no KoRn!?? Their bass lines are amazing and unique. no one slaps da bass like feildy does! check out Got the life or Ball Tounge if you want to hear some great bass lines from them
what about "no more tears" by ozzy ... and a second fave of mine "the toys go winding down" by primus. the baseline from the second song make me shudder everytime i hear it. it's perfectly eerie.
It's obvious this poll is the "most recognizable basslines in mega-popular ROCK songs", which is cool. Of course there are countless basslines that are technically superior to these 10, but those are for the "best obscure basslines" list. Let's face it, the best basslines are in funk, R&B, progressive rock, and metal.
Dragonaut. Has to be my favourite bassline to play, of all time. And sure, it may sound like Money, but it has that deep metal funk that just can't be beat. Should've been on here anyway.
Great list, I mean they can't include everyone, there is only 10 spots after all, but this is the first top 10 where I actually agreed with probably the entire thing (might have had them in different order but still) and listened to all the songs displayed
How does Sweet Child O' Mine not get a mention?! Like Billy Joe said at the HoF induction, you can practically sing along to the bassline for Sweet Child.
Mustaine isn't the one who physically played the bassline on the album track though. The riff may have been written by Dave, but Junior played it when it counted. And actually the basic idea for the riff was actually Ellefson's if you watch the original VH1 Behind the Scenes video of Megadeth
I would of personally put The Art Of Shredding - Pantera and Too Tough To Die - Black Label Society...not saying those are the best but IMO they're sweet.
Eye Empire Has some pretty cool bass intros too you should look up Self Destructive, Obvious, and Great Deceiver. Corey Lowery is a good bassist.
I disagree with the Queen selection, I do agree with everything said about John Deacon but his greatest contribution to bass riffs has to be Under Pressure. It's absolutely one of the most recognizable bass lines in history, that is with great sadness that is due to Vanilla Ice ripping them off. Also I'm truly shocked that Schism didn't make this list. Of Course I guess this list is probably more on the technical side of things than actual memorable riffs.
I actually quite like this list surprisingly. As said before, the lack of Maiden and Tool is frustrating but it is honestly too hard to pick one single song by either of em for a best bassline.
Everyone says "Schism" by Tool but I'd like to see something like "Parabol/a", "Eulogy", or literally anything off of "10,000 Days". That album probably has the greatest bass work of all time IMHO.
As for Maiden, any choice is valid but I'd say "Stranger in a Strange Land" just for the bass solo/line behind the guitar solo or "2 Min to Midnight".But the lack of Harris and Chancellor on this list is a huge dissapointment...
Agree. Every top 10 list has something Muse in it. The best bassist, the best live band... So overrated. I mean, nothing wrong with them but they are just so over hyped that people jump on the bandwagon and vote them as the best whatever.
Of the basslines in this list I would choose
1 Longview
2 Another one bites the dust
3 All around the world
4 Peace shells
5 Money
Even though I'd never heard the two last on my list, I still liked them.
On my own list, if you can't choose many from one band, it would be.
1 No one knows
2 anything by rhcp (I haven't really made up my mind about that yet)
3 Another one bites the dust
4 Time bomb
5 Money
Then I don't really know yet
peace sells is way to high on this list...its pretty catchy but there are tons of better basslines (Fwtbt should be higher imo) even megadeth themselves have better basslines...and for ****s sake...where is iron maiden
Rush/Geddy had wayyyy better basslines than yyz. La Villa Strangiato, 2112, Xanadu,etc.. and as someone that cant stand Green Day, Longview has every right to be in this. only real prob with the list is no Les, Entwhistle, Kim Deal, Krist Novoselic, and where the **** is When the Musics Over? I dont care if they didnt use an actual bass guitar, Ray Manzarek laid down so many timeless baselines.
I'd like to see a bit of Colin Edwin here. He's got a whole lot of mind-blowing skills.
And yes, Souls of Black. Great bassline, not too hard, and very fun to play.
Really suprised Primus hasn't had a touch, that and Tool's Schism really should be on here.... Still, too many songs out there for a top ten and as far as it goes, this is a pretty solid ten.
Good list. Still, it's funny how people always think a good bassline must sound "funky" in some way. But anyways, Mic Todd deserves a mention here. The man's a beast of a bassist. And Coheed's new bassist is good too... You hear the basslines on "Domino the Destitute?"
It's more like "Best Bass Lines In Hit Rock Songs That Everyone Knows." Top 10 lists should actually have some diversity to them that teaches the reader about new music. This site is very bias.
Here are more bass lines:
"Apostrophe" - Frank Zappa
"Roundabout" - Yes
"Hysteria" - Muse
"Elephant Talk" - King Crimson
"Southbound Pachyderm" - Primus
"Blue Turk" - Alice Cooper
"For The Love of Money" - The O'Jays
"Smooth Criminal" - Michael Jackson
good times by bernard edwards of chic, its the most sampled song ever (i think, dont quote me on that, but its pretty high on the list im sure of that), as is obviously the inspiration for another bites the dust
How is Dazed and Confused on this list? They didnt even write that ! And if any zeppelin song was to be on this list, original or not, it should be the lemon song.
The bassline for "Around the World" sounds too similar to the guitar line from "Breadfan" so I can't agree with that one. If they're going to put up a RHCP bassline, then I'd go with the one from "Soul to Squeeze." It's just sublime.
OK list, none of the basslines on there are bad, but still really weak considering how many more, better ones there are out there. For almost every band on the list, I can think of several other basslines that would have fit better.
oh man. ima bass player and this is just theee shittiest list ever put together. mabe like 2 or 3 of them r worthy enuff 2 b on it but wow. i play technical bass so i kno my basslines. just when i thought my day was brightened it was brought back down. *******s
YYZ – Rush
Die Young – Black Sabbath
Ala Delta – Divididos
Why – Uriah Heep
Dani California – Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Simple Man – Lynyrd Skynyrd
Ramble On – Led Zeppelin
No, no, no – Deep Purple
Badge / White Room – Cream
Sixteenth Century Greensleeves – Rainbow
Definitely need a top 20 at least to fit in Roundabout, something by Tool, something of Les Claypool's, something by Victor Wooten... And many more. Everything on UG is so biased nowadays... But still, these 10 on the list are some pretty damn good basslines
Well, it saddens me to see all the hatred and misunderrstandings here.
To me this top ten list is about the basslines, not about who is the best bassist.
It is about who made a bassline that is great. It can be simple and still be in the top ten.
that's why you don't find geniuses like myung, sheehan, claypool and wooten in these lists. they are gods, but have they created evergreens of basslines? not really. listing seven nation army doesnt mean i think jack whites plays better guitar/bass than john myung.
But sadly no one sees what this top ten thing is about.
Since I want to be different and not spread hate I will list my top ten right now (regardless if one of the listet basslines has been named before or not and), but not in an order.
Queen - Another one bites the dust
Queen - Under Pressure
Muse - Hysteria
Muse Futurism
Pink Floyd - Money
Tool - Schism
The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
Metallica - For Whom The Bell Tolls
Black Sabbath - Crazy Train
Limp Bizkit - The Truth
I understand the essence of what you're saying and I agree. However, to say that Claypool, Wooten, etc. don't have any great bass lines to their name is just wrong. They excel in laying down great bass lines just as well as they excel in their flashier playing. It's just that most people are only familiar with their technical aspect. Exploring these players' music in depth is where the real reward is at. Wooten alone is worth years of study.
My favourite bassline's Kalmageddon by Lordi, which is pretty good, but it would never make one of these lists, i suppose. Schism at least should be on there!
People forget that Longview was the launching point for one of the most successful careers ever that is currently persisting through all the garbage thats on the radio now.
I'm very surprised at lack of Funk or Jazz tunes in this list. I'm not sayin any of these songs are bad, but this list says top 10 bass lines of ALL TIME, and there are TONS of basslines that I feel are much groovier than anything up there. Honestly, out of the 10 given, I'd say Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" has the coolest, grooviest bassline, and they use the rest of the band to compliment it nicely (much of a good bass line is how well it jams with the rest of the rhythm section. And it's gotta be more than just a good chord progression. Anyone can pluck away at the bass note of a chord). Black Sabbath's "N.I.B." I feel shouldn't even be up there. The bass just copies the melody for far too much of the song. But if you really want some of the best groovy bass lines, I'd say go look for some funk bass stuff or some jazz tunes. Here's some examples of some songs with basslines I feel could easily beat the majority of this list, but I still probably wouldn't put them on a top 10 list. There are so freakin many songs out there, narrowing down 10 songs feel pretty impossible. Maybe make like a top 100 list? But man, I still feel the vast majority would be funk/jazz tunes.
