Greatest Drummers of All Time

When Shannon drums, my heartbeat literally changes into what he's playing. When he starts playing you can tell it's so full of passion and energy. Wait. Scratch that. He does not PLAY the drums, he lets his passion take over and it basically becomes his life. He's seriously been doing this all of his life and he'll never stop. If you ever listen and watch him drum, you'll understand. It's basically heaven.

I can say anything, but it's better if you listen the This Is War. It'll tell you everything

I love his sounds *_*. He's the best drummer on the world and he is just Shanimal! My favourite drummer is Shanimal *_*

One of the best in the world and definitely the best in the top ten. X-Japan rock.

Yoshiki has the feel and the power when he plays yoru music!. He is the best!

My beloved Yoshiki?... He's the best! No one like him! That way of playing drums doesn't have comparation with anyone in this planet! His passion, his dedication... His madness when he's playing! He puts his soul in each note he plays on drums, and you can feel it! I can't explain it, you have to see it for understand it. He's a devil monster on drums and makes my heart explose! He's not only the best drummer in this planet, it's the best pianist, rocker, and human in this universe! I love him!

I'm a fan of avenged sevenfold and I love jimmy but I don't think his the BEST drummer in the world but his drum cover is godlike although it is not the fastest but it sounds damn awesome with each and every song... as I said I don't think his the best drummer.. but he is 1 of the best drummer in the WORLD... the drum cover of a7x's first album is so godlike that it already beat most of the drummers! a 3rd position for jimmy is wonderful! he deserved it!

For me, he should be the no. 1 best drummer of all time, cause he makes his own way of drumming and own beat.. I also love the skill he always do, the "Double ride thing". It's why he is awesome.. FoREVer.. AVENGED SEVENFOLD FOREVER..

Who the hell even is yoshiki hayashi, if the rev were still her that guy would be dirt, foREVer R.I.P

This guy RAWKS!
Craig you deserve recognition for all the wonderful work you do.

Jerusha

Craig can really get the blood to going! Love to watch him play. Drummers fascinate me. I can multi-task online but drumming takes something else my brain just can't compute. Thanks Craig for giving out tips to those that occasionally sit in a song! ;)

anetnut

Craig is a fantastic drummer and fun to watch. Drummers have always fascinated me. Talk about multi-tasking... amazing! Before joining Josh Groban's band, Craig performed with Jackopierce, Toni Lynn Washington, Jess Klein, Johnny A, and the Swinging Steaks, among others. Thanks for sharing your drumkit with you know who Craig. ;)

anetnut

Neil Peart is the best! He can play Jazz. He plays for Rush and he plays really hard music. Nobody else could play Rush music in the hole list. I have went to other best drummer web sites and they all said that Neil Peart is 1. Neil Peart is the best! Go Rush! 1974-2112

uhm he should be one or two depending on your preferences... to put him at 4 is not reflective of his abilities

Neil is so technically proficient and imaginative when it comes to drumming (and indeed lyric writing) that, like others have previously said putting him at number 4 isn't really giving him anywhere near the amount of credit he deserves.

That Japanese guy up in the top sucks unlike lars

metfan001

What the heck Lars Ulrich is the best drummer in the world he must be number one of this list. He was my inspiration to play drums!

How is lars not in the top 5? Guess who inspired the rev? LARS ULRICH DID! He is truly the best drummer of all time, GO METALLICA

joey is the best drummer ever he speed and the rythem is awesome

sic(6)sic

He is my favorite and in my opinion #2, Peart is just to great, and Travis Barker isn't good at drumming, he is good at keeping rhythm and creating beats. He is a slow drummer

zack182daley

Why isn't he number one! He is clearly the best drummer out there. He can do speed and precision perfectly.

Why isn't Bonham #1? Also is it just me or are their about 7 names in the top ten I've never heard of? This list is a terrible representative of the best drummer of all time. Have you ever listened to one of Bonham's drum solos? He does so much with such a small set and can continue like 4 different rhythms at the same time. He is the best.

just listen at "good times bad times".
enough said ;)

I just love the fact that he played with four drum sticks. When you watch him play, you can see the sweat coming off of his body; drumming was a complete workout for him.

If this is a list of human drummers Travis doesn't belong here. I mean he's like super human when he plays drums. I love his style hi's awesome. Blink <3

Simply the best, the one with a unique style! Just because he is open to play every type of music, and he kicks ass!

He must be in the top one in my opinion because every time I hear his composition my feet are tapping along the beat. I like his composition in miss you of blink 182.

What a shame putting Buddy Rich in Ninth Place? Gene Krupa is up there with Louie Bellson laughing out loud. Buddy was the King of drummers. You put the other drummers that are on this so called list on a one and one battle with Buddy and they would go home crying. Just goes to show you where todays drumming has gone to? Travis Barker and Sullivan are you kidding. Sponge Bob Square Pants plays better drums than them.

Todays Rock Drummers are useless. Only Pay attention to Buddy Rich. If you want to play in the sandbox and still wear diapers waste your time on Rock Drummers. If you want to play like a pro and sound like a pro listen and pay attention to Buddy Rich

Most kids don't even know who Buddy rich was. Ask any real drummer and they will tell you quite simply that Buddy Rich has no equal!

Everybody who has ever been at a Bon Jovi concert knows that Tico plays the drumms with great zeal and he loves what he is doing!

TICO is the best drummer of the world and very beautyful persion one big is the best drummer TICO TORRES long life to TICO TORRES ^^ BON JOVI

bon jovi is one of the best bands.
Tico has done great work

richie4life

mike is the second best drummer in HISTORY. Only Neil Peart comes first. Anyone who disagrees is not a rock fan and you should keep your pathetic opinions to yourself. This genre is personified by Mike. I give Neil first place ONLY cause he did similar first. Mike took it to the next level and is the BEST nodern drummer. Im a big fan of death metal drummers like Origin and Pete Sandoval but overall no one can stand up to Mike Portnoy. Thanks Mike for the years of inspiration!

chriscrim74

his jam, his speed and his odd time signature br the soul of metal. not only for dream theater, but also for all of metal bands after dream theater. he influenced them so much, by his skill and by his brain. MIKE PORTNOY!

personally, I think its a tie between portnoy and mike mangini. look him up. lars ulrich sucks. portnoy is amazing. buddy rich is also an amazing and respectable drummer. those should be top 3. portnoy, mangini, and rich.

deadgrass27

+2Keith does it without even thinking about it as he was a pure natural talent when it came to playing the drums.

Keith was and still is the master of Rock and Roll drummers.

We can all have our opinions and who we think is best and there are many, many fine drummers in this world. So enjoy them all and remember keith was the best of his time on this planet.

+2I lose faith in the world every day, Joey Jordison and Travis Barker ahead of Keith Moon?

PeterSteveBobGraemeBloke

+1How can he not already be #1? best without doubt, just listen to almost ANY song by The Who, and you'll easily see why. He didn't have to even think about anything, and yet, he spun out the best drumlines EVER!

rush2ryme

The. Best. Maybe he's not #1 because perhaps the others are better in some way(I don't listen to japanese music... ) But Mr. Wright deserves a position above #5, unanimously, hands down, and THAT GOES WITHOUT SAYING!

Best drummer ever! Drum god! He is amazing! Please vote for him he is a beast at the drums! Way better than that jap!

Wow. How is Tre not at #1?!?!? That japenese guy sucks! Tre is amazing and plays with lots energy and anyone who watches him can totally tell he loves what he does! Go Tre and Go Germany!

Kicking ass at drumming and singing at the same time... That deserves higher than place 19. He may not be the fastest drummer, but his actual ability to hold a song together whilst backing up vocals and providing main vocals is a lot more than any of the other nominees can do.

he should be number one cause of his style and his charisma. secondly the way he moves his stick while playing drums. he is also contributes greatly to rock music. he as written such wonderful songs such as these are the days of our life. he is a multitasker. he plays drums, sing song, plays guitar, electric guitar and sometimes even piano.
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HE IS THE BEST.

Why is he not in the top 10? He does the near impossible with no frills, bare bones, pure talent. Are the people voting actually paying attention?

Carey is not necessarily as fast as most of the other drummers out there today. But he's definitely the most intricate and well versed in drums.
He deserves better than 16th. I don't know of any other drummer with as sound an internal clock and ability to play according to the song as him.

is it even possible to compare to him
sure some ppl can play really fast and do drum solos etc. but this is a man who has such an intricate way of playing that puts the songs together

Okami

I don't know why I voted in this list cause it has no credibility. The drummer from bon jovi is in the top ten. It has to be a joke, its like naming the backstreet boys drummer best drummer.

Jokes aside, there is a small number of very talented drummers in the world naming anyone among them is useless. My personal favorite is danny carey and he is among the top.

He has more talent than anyone out there today! Best drummer, singer, and song writer hands down.

kurt Even said he was better than bonham :O

Dave Eric Grohl... simply him, only him... he MUST be in top 10! the best singer guitarist songwriter and drummer of ever... oh Dave I love you

what makes a drummer the best? it is not only their technical performance, but also charisma and feeling. yukkie has all that

Yukihiro is simply amazing! Despite his skinny appearance, his tempo, beats and speed are unbelievable! He'll always be the best for me <33

did you see him perform live in DIES IN CRIES and L'Arc~en~Ciel? his beats are so fast that make his drumsticks fly.

ronluna

Dom Howard, in my opinion, is one of the best drummers EVER! He should be in the top ten.
All of the members of Muse should at least be in the top ten of all their "fields". So, Matt should be in the top ten guitarists, Chris the top ten bassists and Dom in the top ten drummers. Because, in my opinion, they are ALL amazing. X

He is amazing drummer can play a lot of drum. He can play a lot of song that was so hard to play it. He can play fast as he can. He also can play very long time without exhausted and looking tired when play at the concert. He is the best player drum I had saw at the wembley stadium before.

Knights of cydonia. Resistance. Dom howard is the best. We love you dom! Keep up the good work

Hottest drummer ever! Rob bourden should be in first place you inspired me to play the drum's I'm 14 years old and I've been playing since 2002!

Rob Bourdon is the BEST drummer Ever! Please VOTE for Rob, He Should be at first place! Go Rob Bourdon, Go Linkin Park...

Best drummer ever! He plays in my favourite band, and he's the best drummer I know! He should be at first place! VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE GO SOLDIERS!

+11Larry not only is the BEST drummer EVER, he's also the reason we have the best band EVER. Larry's a street drummer. He simply is unique and MAGNIFICENT! -Mary Brown Holland

+10If you play live for millions of people, if your band albums have sold millions of copies, that makes you the best drummer.

Desperado

+9Larry is just a genius. He is such a special and such a unique drum player. He also was the one who started U2 and should be given real credit for that!

He just has a great drum technique and was born to play the drums!

~ Thomas McKernan

Dave Lombardo is better, faster and more aggressive than Lars Ulrich.
He is in another level
Is the best and favorite metal drummer of all time
And SLAYER isn't as mainstream as many bands here
Slayer is true, rude and aggressive metal

dave deserves much more than 21st place. its disgrace for him to be so low in this list

dave lombardo is probably the world's fastest drummer, just listen to any slayer song and you will know, not even jusr my opinion, for a fact dave lombardo should at least be in the top five, that is how good he is people.

The minimum that he deserves to be in the top 5. his extreme beats done with a single pedal and skills like the 14/8 riff that not any drummer can perform. I think the octupus Nicko McBrain is the best in his british heavy metal music.

this guy deserves to be in the top 10 for sure his skill is unmatched

Mr. Octopus. THE KING OF SINGLE PEDAL, he prefers to employ a fast, bare foot technique using a single pedal, so why not he be the first...

Just a natural feel drummer and gave the backbeat to Beatles classics which as Robin Williams said in an interview they are part of our DNA. So in that alOne Ringo's drumming is part of the Dna of all drummers. So that is #1

This guy invented all the cool rock drum riffs.

And there he is, all out of key and nerves preforming act naturally... RINGO!

maxwarawa

besides the fact that he was voted by drummer magazine the best drummer alive he also holds the world record for playing the worlds largest drum kit

Look up "RHCP-I Like Dirt, Rolling Rock Festival 2000". It's crazy.

Johannes9

chad play drums like a animal.. he has got a rocker spirit but he don't know that. red hot chili peppers the best ever.

Carter's style is versatile and his groove relentless. His presence in the ensemble's sound is both essential and completely natural.

He's the best, for sure!
No one play drums like Carter! I'm falling in love with his way to play drums!

He's the best! For sure! He may be in the top of this list! Where's the dave mathhews band fans?

John bonham, Neil peart, phil Collins, Keith moon, ringo, Dave grohl, and Chad smith should all be in the top ten!

Anybody who has 15 minutes should go on youtube and check his solo's or his duets with Chester Thompson, especially Genesis in concert. Truely mesmerising!

good drummer and vocalist

Yellowcard is such an underrated band. But he is the driving force behind almost all of their songs. He can nail any drum solo they ask him to. Fantastic!

As somebody else said, a great drummer who is so underrated just because there aren't as many Yellowcard's fans in the world as they deserve...

If you ever listen to him, you will easily know he is the best out there. Sad thing is, most people don't listen to him.

Stewart Copeland's precision percussion, timing and rhythm must have this guy higher up this chart?

Bonham's really my favorite, but I had to vote Copeland to push him up a little in the polls. For me, when it comes to quintessential rock drumming, there are four names: John Bonham, Phil Collins, Stewart Copeland, and Keith Moon (who is really off in his own, unique category. )

Probably controversial, but Copeland is wicked in many styles and worthy of his place on this list.

AKPickin

Never misses a beat both live and at the recording studio. Fast, hard, and unforgiving.

Just the fact that he can do double base, fast drum rolls, and always has a natural rhythm set up in every System of a Down song puts him at #1 in my book. Listen to Soil. That's him at his best.

no body can did like him. play on the spinning cage! he's the best!

god

NUMBER 31!!!!!Who made this list,Im sorry to say but Tommy should be at least in the top 10 i mean drumming while spinning upside down and all the other stuff.Come on u must be blind or something.Who ever made this list needs to be shot or giving a new pair of ears.Tommy is one of the best drummers in the World.PERIOD

“Eddie is the star in the family, but this guy is a monster. In addition to the method in which his drums are recorded (the sound is beautiful), his technique is flawless. His changes are dynamic and for the speed in which he plays, he is capable of downshifting in a nano-second. Very worthy of top 10 status.

AKPickin

“One of the most recognizable drum songs of all time. Not only in "Hot for Teacher", but especially in "Dance the Night Away" and "Mean Street". He has the feeling for playing drums, like an angry dog.

“just listen to the Hot For Teacher intro and youll see what incredible drumming skills Alex has

OzzyVanHalen

Masterfully combining very heavy, rolling rock beats with jazz feel and fine nuances. He pioneered rock drumming by infusing jazz musical sense and sensibility: never the repetitive, boring stuff you get so much of in pop and rock drumming today. Always varied, creative, and in the tradition of jazz ensembles a soloist and equal co-creator to most of the classic Cream hit-songs.

Listen the Cream-Song Toad and you will see that he is the number one.

I agree Gene Krupa was the greatest, These young voters haven, t studied drummers or techniques and probably have never heard Krupa play the drums.

I am a young voter, 15, and I agree Gene Krupa is one of the best. I prefer his drumming over Buddy Rich's because Buddy's is mainly just "Hey, look how fast my hands go! ". Gene just puts a certain feeling into it that many drummers just can't.

Krupa played when there was no tunes to add he made his own sounds and they were for real, no additives.

That man made me wanna play drums!

sublime is awesome. I would put bud in the top 10 if it were up to me. he is awesom he made me want to play

Thanks Dub and Had A that inspired me to take up the drums.

His high hat progression and use of the bass drum convinced me to buy a drum set and jam along to Sublime's tunes.

Can't deny it, the man is an underrated genius.

Rick Allen was a beast when he had two arms... Check out Pyromania and high n Dry! At the time, he was only about 20 years old... Had he matured and had both arms, think of all the legends he would've left behind. But alas, even with one arm, he'll destroy most of the drummers out there. I vote him as top 5 drummers of all time hands down!

Even before he had one arm he was truly great at drums. Listen to "Rock of Ages" and he was one fantastic drummer! Yet he can still do that work with one arm!

he's simply a true icon symbol for drummers around the world! All should be amazed to what he can do with a set of drums and a stick- rock on Rick!

“Listen to Barracuda and you will agree.

“Mike is as good or better than any one on this list.

“tomas haake is the best drummer of all time but few of them know about him his simply born as a drummer and after him is george kollias

ado006

“why is this guy after lars ulrich? metallica are great but when it comes to talent meshuggah rape

Pravus

Oh come he should be at #1 his drumming fires faster than a machine gun, he's very inventive, he's just everything the perfect drummer has so how the hell is he only at 39!

Tetsu Kikuchi is one of the best (If not the best) drummers out there. I hope everyone votes for him. D'erlanger is one of the best bands, his fills and rhythm are just incredible. Long life to Tetsu Kikuchi! The best drummer of the world!

One of the best and fastest rock drummers in Japan from the band D'ERLANGER. He was the drummer of SAVER TIGER and ZI:KILL. He and CIPHER created CRAZE after D'ERLANGER disbanded and in 2007 his main band reunited again.

ronluna

On the drum, Mr. Steven "Popcorn" Adler

which is better than Matt sorum, Frank Ferrer and other drummers that guns n roses had

ronluna

not the best drummer of all time but he deserves some credit. No one suited guns n roses bluesy/hard rock style on appetite for destruction like steven did. You gotta love that cow bell!!

All of the drummers on top are the "popular" drummers that everyone knows. This guy is almost unknown yet he is far better than some of the drummers in the top ten

Wow goes to show how little people know about great drumming, vinnie has skills beyond any above him
On the list. You people need to hear his "going no where"

Watch his Baked potato performance. He is by far better than anybody who has ever lived. He is the Michael Schumacher of drumming

Denis Chambers at 10 was better than Gene Kruper who was himself a drum genius. He has played with santana and a whole number of funk bands. He is a virtuoso. Look up the tube clip with denis chambers and McGlaghlon playing and see the awe in his eyes when Chambers goes into a solo break which lasts for about 5 minutes. Buddy Rich was all speed by comparison to Chambers. Tony Royster Junior who I don't think is even on here was playing drums at age 4 and competed against Chambers in a drum off when Chambers was about 30 and Roster Jnr was about 10 - wow what a great drummer he is too. Jo Jo Mayer may not be pecifically a funk drummer but he is the quitessential 'everything drummer'. May just be better than Roster but not better than Chambers.

gumobe

Drum extrodinaire. Has play with George Clinton, Santana, various jazz musicians, as well as Latin and other types. Probably the most diverse drummer of our time.

AKPickin

the best of all time
he also play dw drums, wtf, he so the best!

gerald_dk23

he can play any kind of music... he started out with jazz. then rock. then rnb. that covers almost all styles.

“50 piece drum set! come on!

“probably the fastest drummer ever

Why in the world his thomas lang 46, he should be in the top 5. His speed is incredible and when he plays his sticks look like lightsabers. I mean, you can't even see his hand when he plays. He can effing roll his brush sticks!

This list is just a popularity contest. There are only a few people on it who deserve to be. Thomas Lang would wipe the floor with all of them.

ThisIsTheArtOfStrato

why the hell is this guy not at #1. He can play every style, extremely technical and fast drummer, it is a sin that he's not at the top.

Chad is the best drummer of all time, yet he never gets any credit. Do yourself a favor and go check out a 311 show and you will be amazed by his drumming.

totally amazing if you see 311 eleven live he also will impress you with a inhuman drum solo and he does this unique drum style thing in "applied science"

what is dave doing all the way down here? God help me!

This dude is technically way more gifted than many of the names above. Jimmy "the REV" the best? he´s good but COME ON, i´m sure most of the people who voted never heard weckl

just a amazingly funky drummer the best I recoun

“You only have to listen to a handful of stones songs to understand the genius Charlie brought to the high hat and snare. Songs such as jigsaw puzzle, honky tonk woman and stray cat blue all rely solely on his inventive fills and beats. Only a true talent like Watts could've brought together the ragged harmonies of Keith's guitar and Jaggers croon. Combined with Bill Wyman the Stones had themselves one of the greatest rhythm sections in history. Why isn't he higher?

“he isn't the best but his work with rainbow was great

How? How? 59?!?! He is undoubtedly the best... Nobody can question his sheer brilliance. How many other drummers in his genre actually play without triggers? He is the reason I started playing the drums.

just the most talented drummer in the world... chris is my personal insperation on music and life. listen to blacken the cursed sun or 11th hour you'll see what I'm takkin about!

Just listen to now you've got something to die for or ruin. His drumming is fast yet unique. Probably one of the best metal bands out there right now. Won best metal drummer. I don't know why he is this low?

WAY underappreciated. One of the best of all time. When it comes to incredible speed, power, control, creativity and influence, he's hard to beat.

his invation to playing drums with so much energy and groove... it was so innovative for his day...
... speed... technique... musical interpretation... diverse styles... he could play

Not an insane, crazy, drummer, but he set the mood for many of their greatest songs.

Darrell

If Nick Mason is not the best, for sure he is one of the top 10.
Just listen to some of the Pink Floyd songs such as Run Like Hell or Time and you'll recognize his talent.

“Probably the most complete drummer to pick up sticks. Though jazz was his focus, he could play many different genres of music.

AKPickin

Mike mangini's control is amazing. If there is someone who has the right to claim that he's mastered the Drums on a completely different level then most other proffesional drummers have then it is Mike Mangini. He has mastered absolutely each and every aspect of the drums

There is no possible sequence of drumbeats that can't be played by him. Every style at every speed. Hardly comprehensible poly rhythms. Not only a top category drummer, he's also a good teacher using his former studies on human nervous system.

“no not the best ever but probably the best female drummer ever

most underrated drummer. should be way ahead of steven adler.

DylanBr00ks

“The most innovative drummer of them all - and his technique is unparalleled!

One of the greatest drummers of all time...part of Dethklok's success is due to Mr. Hoglan.

style, finesse, control and metronomic time-keeping! It's no wonder everyone was after him. In Japan he was called Steve God. Period.

If you asked pro drummers across all genres to compile this list, Steve Gadd would be in the top ten easily.

Mikkey is the beast with motorhead. Like lemmy sad. "the best drummer he had ever played with"

Mikkey is insane! Rocked with Motorhead, Helloween, King Diamond and Dokken, thats a pretty impressive list. Listen to Hell Was Made In Heaven and tell me he doesn't belong in the top 10

“Responsible for a totally new style of drumming.

AKPickin

“determining who is the best needs to know all drummers. I don't! but o know that Terry was able to play "black page" composed by franck Zappa.

Plays one of the top 5 drum solos of all time. He should be in the top 10 easily not only for his stick skills but vocal ability also.

Just saw Don play with Bob Seger in Pittsburgh. At 63, he is a better drummer now than he was 40 years ago. No frills, just straight ahead, power drumming, without the theatrics of being part of the "New" GFR.

A drumming dynamo... guaranteed to get asses out of the seats and jumping like madmen!

“He is so complex and passionate player!

Ian paice solo on space truckin deserves a mention he is certainly up there with the sandy nelsons kieth monn and cozy powell greats

+1The idea that he could keep up with the intellectual energy is amazing. The fact that he put a beat, rhythm and tempo to it is profound. Check him out on any of the classic quartet's pieces.

AKPickin

+1the only bassist alive that can keep up with les claypool's inhuman bass playing

Shrieve was only 17 when playing at Woodstock

Watch Santana at Woodstock. You cannot take your eyes off of Mike Shrieve.

“Best Double and Alternate Bass ever created... just astonishing

By putting LB # 87 on any list of drummers, you've demonstrated the list is a waste of time!
Bellson applied complex rudiments to drums in the 1930s and perfected them over the next 50 years. He was a composer, arranger, and bandleader throughout his career.
Duke Ellington said he was the greatest drummer and greatest musician he knew... DE knew more than a few musicians in his life... Including Buddy Rich.
I saw Ringo Starr up there above Bellson somewhere... Do you have any idea what you're talking about?

The Tonight Show drummer. Loved the sideburns as well as the drumming.

“Pat Travers, Ozzy Osborne this guy can destroy a set of drums

Lenny the funkified ambidextrous drummer stylist. My greatest drummer... He drove the greatest supergroup in the world of Jazz RTF. Chick chose Lenny to compliment what he was doing and a monstergrew... Always placing music first... A powerful metronome in four zones with God controlling the puppet. Cue him up. I am already a believer.

“one of the best drummers, probably should be behind bonham as number three best drummer

+1What an earth he is doing over here? He is number one in my opinion. Rock the Nation DVD is great, because he is in the drums.

“Great drummer for Billy Joel