i am curious about what brands/lines tend to be considered best for or associated with what genre of music? for example: fender jazz = funk, esp = metal, etc…?
i fully understand that you can play basically anything on basically anything, but i am just curious about ‘brand reputation.’ (also those examples might be off as i have no idea what i am talking about.)
Fender P Bass for everything. Next question lol 
The funny thing is that that actually is true 
It will never be the best value, and it will often not be the best choice, but it will always work 
Funny, I would say the Fender J Bass for everything. Pretty sure a Jazz is more versatile. 
Any bass with double humbuckers would work too.
Schecter, Spector, ESP, Ibanez, Warwick, Charvel (maybe) are typical brands that you see often referred to for metal/rock. Also because they offer a wide range of double humbucker/soapbar configurations.
I think all the other brands target all type of genres equally.
I think it was Josh that said, “Nobody ever gets mad if you bring a P bass to a gig.”
Jackson be like:
XD
Jackson guitars for sure! I even got a Jackson Misha Mansoor signature which I love. It seems to me their basses aren’t that popular but that is just my assumption. But it should defo be in the list (even more than Charvel).
StingRay (MM or Sterling): “I slap’a da’ bass. Flea rules.”
Fender P Bass: “I am a session guy and I might sit in with your band when I get a minute.”
Fender J Bass: “I am a session guy and I might be too good for your band.”
Fender PJ: “This was the first bass I bought but I still play it a lot.”
ESP tuned to Eb: “You know… St. Anger isn’t as bad as everyone says.”
Spector Eurpoean bolt-on: “I am the future of metal bass.”
Ibanez: “I wanted to steal a guitar, but I stole a bass by accident.”
This is me Technically it isn’t a Fender, but I think it still counts!
To be fair, though, the only famous bassist I can think of that plays a Jackson is David Ellefson, tbh. And his is the only signature bass on their site 
It’s a little difficult to find others that play them due to the name.
Jackson Guitar or Bass: “I have excellent taste and enjoy the stylings of heavy metal music.”
If you were born in Japan you are only allowed to play Ibanez
Judging by local bands I would say Ibanez is more popular in the US, actually. Here it would be more ESP
Lots use Ibanez and other Japanese brands too of course but ESP seems to be everywhere. Which kind of makes sense.
B.C. Rich: “I drink blood for breakfast.”