So I’ve been watching Leland Sklar’s YouTube channel, and I am struck by his economy of motion. Everything from his muting, to his plucking, what he plays, and what he doesn’t play looks effortless. I’ve always been a fan of the rhythm section, and a lot of my favorite musicians are bassists, but Lee has jumped to the top.
So who do you like. And why?
Got a couple of favourites…
Lemmy for his drive behind the Motörhead songs and Geddy Lee for his technical ability
Matt Freeman from Rancid for his pure tone and super fun, playfully walking lines.
Les Claypool for his slaptastic style and unreal slapping speed.
Mike Gordon of Phish for his ability to carry the pulse and rhythm, while blending in melody and harmony at the same time, all while improvising as he goes.
Lots of others, with Joe Dart as an honorable mention. It is hard not to smile from ear to ear while listening to him on bass.
Pick: Peter Hook, from Joy Division/New Order.
Slap: Kiyoshi
Fingerstyle: hmm. Too many to choose from. I’ll stick with those two 
I like the cut of your jib, sir. Hooky is a favorite. My goal is to figure out his drone on the G for Love Will Tear Us Apart.
Leland is one of the best bassists ever, and his list of accomplishments is staggering.
Adam Clayton and Timothy B. Schmit continue to be my favorites, only because they are so cool and relaxed on stage when they perform, yet their basslines are impressive. There are likely quite a few more that don’t come to mind right now.
Flea is good, but I find his on stage antics annoying.
I love this video for that, so much. What a cool guy, just hands his fan a BB1200 that hasn’t been made since 1980, and then shows him how to play it
I like many listed already, so I won’t mention any of them, except a shout out for Lemmy, RIP
Robert Trujillo I really like
Tom Araya, Frank Bello of anthrax is all fingers like Robert Trujillo.
Many punk rock bassists Idk the name of, cuz they fly under th radar.
Eric of Sublime is pretty awesome.
Bass for Guttermouth, NOFX, Decebdants, 1st Vandals album, Rex of Pantera, how can I not add Geezer Butler. Ahhh, so many. And I know he sucked as a bass player, but he was Punk as F¥€k. Sid
Could also go with Rotten’s next bassist, Jah Wobble from PiL 
Rotten wasn’t in PIL
Liden was 
Heh true. Everyone still called him Johnny Rotten though.
Back in the sixties, when everyone and their dog were playing harmony on a P or a Höfner, a teenager working in the guitar department of a Boosey & Hawkes shop in Regent Street, London fed the bridge element of his newly-acquired Rickenbacker 4001 into a guitar amp, quite often through some effects, purposely used string buzz as a sound, making it sound way too dirty (and badass) for the time… and on top of that, played MELODY on a bass, thus carving out a new path for many, many bassists after him.
He later said he couldn’t get gigs because nobody liked what he did, so he ended up playing in a band with some folks who dug it.
His opening notes of their debut album set the stage for things to come. It blew me away, and it may have sown the seeds of the low end in me.
Chris Squire was a phenomenon, and hugely influential. His name should be mentioned here.
My work here is done. 
i dunno man i love so many of them for their little tweaks i love looking at them as a whole so this one is something i really cant define i learn from them all if that makes sense?
Yes, I agree to some extent, I know I appreciate them all, even if I am not into their style, or a fan of their music. They are Bassists, and for that, they get my nod.
It does. I love and appreciate all who put down the bottom end, but there are some who stand out to me. Kind of like trying to pick your favorite finger.
In no particular order after 1 and 2
David Hood - The Muscle Shoals sound
Donald “Duck” Dunn - The foundation of the Stax Volt sound.
Jaco Pastorius / Charles Mingus / Ron Carter - jazz greats who are at the top in this genre
Larry Graham - master of the slap bass. Great work with Sly and the Family Stone.
Corey McCormick - fabulous player from Lukas Nelson and POTR
Jimbo Hart - a member of the 400 unit. Check out his work with Jason Isbell, especially on the song “What’ve I Done To Help.”
Geezer Butler - great work with Black Sabbath
Nathan East
Willie Weeks
Oteil Burbridge
Tal Wilkenfeld
Too many others to mention
Hi @gipsj,
They are all great players , but I would have Chris squire at the top of the list.
Other notables not mentioned are Verdine White, some of his playing with earth wind and fire is amazing.
John patitucci has the jazz style covered.
Flea from the chilli peppers has great chops.
I agree with geezer as the god father for heavy metal, although when I listen to a black sabbath album now I don’t think it’s as heavy as I thought it was when I was a teenager in the seventies, now I sound old?
Cheers Brian
All great players too but I can’t believe I forgot about Chris Squire.
Definitely have a few.
1-James Jamerson
2-Geddy Lee
3-Less Claypool
4-Victor Wooten
…and so many more!
These are my favourite bassists in no particular order