Greatest Bass Player of All Time

Discuss.

My vote goes to either John Entwistle from the Who or Jack Bruce from Cream.

Of all time, huh? Hmm... You need to take a lot into consideration.

John Entwistle is a definite possibility, for obvious reasons. However, it depends on whether you are talking about all genré's, or just rock. If you're thinking just rock, then yeah, I'd go for Entwistle.

However, if you're thinking all genré's, the undisputed champion would have to be Victor Wooten. The man is insane, as you know, and there's really not much that can be used against him. Though Billy Sheehan could give him a run for his money.

Flea is another great choice, though I don't know if I'd put him higher than Entwistle. Jack Bruce is good too, as is Geddy Lee, Chris Squire, Tony Levin, Paul McCartney, Bootsy Collins, Jaco Pastorius, and numerous others. It really just depends on what you're looking at.

IMO, it's jaco

flea hands down...paul mccartney comes in second

gotto put my vote on entwistle, gotto love him :D he kinda made the bass solo with the whos song "my generation" ^^

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Les Claypool or Flea... both are amazing.

"I just thought I'd add that though Flea is a good bassist,he has little musical knowledge,and is not as "sensitive" a bassist to the music as,say,Mike Rutherford,who knows exactly what is required for a song and fits his part in perfectly."

I'd beg to differ. Really, it's hard to compare the two of them when talking about their "sensitivity" to the music, because what they played was so different from each other, it just can't be compared at all. But, if you want to talk about musical knowledge (and I'm assuming you're talking about theory), then Flea knows a lot more than you might think. He started off as a trumpet player (and still holds that today), so he obviously knows how to read sheet music. Along with that, he would have to know the theory behind sheet music, and everything else that goes with it. So he knows his theory.

If you want to talk about fitting a part in a song, then Flea does it just as well, if not better, than most bassists. It's just that the music he plays requires the bass to be more profound and be in the forefront as opposed to the rear. Which isn't to say that he can't just sit back and let the guitarist, vocalist or drummer take over. It's just that the music he plays doesn't really call for him to do that as much. At least not with the Red Hot Chili Peppers (go take a listen to The Mars Volta's first album, De-Loused in the Comatorium, which Flea played bass for entirely; the bass is only heard either giving small fills, or a small solo in the last song. Other than that, it's in the background totally, showing that Flea does, in fact, know how to "fit his part" in a song perfectly as well).

I agree mostly with your list, though there are a few people missing. At least in my opinion.

Just thought I'd add Billy Sheehan to my list...I just watched a video of him soloing,and my god,there are no words...

Katanalad:
Go to the "Check This Shit Out" thread and check out the videos I've put up. Namely, the one by Billy Sheehan. And pretty much any of the ones with Victor Wooten in them. And the Flea one isn't bad either. *shrugs* Might give you some more stuff to marvel at.

Gots to be Jaco. For some real slap, I give my vote to Louis Johnson.

Myself, the best Bass Player alive today would be Flea, but Entwistle was fantastic as was Jaco. The best bassist I've seen live (I've never been to a big concert) has to be a Blues/Funk Bassist who playes for a Guy called Ian Siegal. I saw him in Abertyleri Blues Festival, and he was fantastic!

Flea, (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)
Cliff Burton (Ex Metallica) (RIP)
and Steve Harris (Iron Maiden)