The Greatest Drummers Ever According To Me

I recently bought the TD-17KVX electric drum set from Roland, so I thought this would be a good time to do a list of the best drummers of all time. I always like reading lists like this, and I love how worked up people get over them, so I like to write them to. I know I will get a lot of messages from people telling me to die, because I did not choose the same drummers they would have chosen for their list.

A drummer playing the drums

Look, this is my list. These are the drummers I like. I am fully aware that most people would choose different drummers for their own lists. You’re free to do that. There is no need to attack me because my favorite drummers are not the same as yours. So please, save us both the time and don’t send me hateful comments.

If you’d like to let me know who you would include on your list, then please do so. I always love reading other people’s lists. Just don’t attack me for mine. Accept that I have different taste than you do. Most of us can accept that, so why can’t you?

Enough of that. Let’s get onto the actual list. We’ll begin with my favorite drummer of all time, mainly because he is in my favorite band of all time. Well, not mainly. He is also an amazing drummer and deserves to be on this list, though I don’t know that most people would put him first.

 

Danny Carey

Danny Carey is the drummer of tool. If you’ve not heard their music, you may still be familiar with them from my post about Maynard James Keenan, the lead singer of tool. Clearly I love this band.

One reason for that is that every member is extremely talented. Among those members, Danny Carey gets the most accolades. That should tell you something. He is always near the top of best current drummers lists and also of the best of all time.

There are definitely a few drummers that most people will put ahead of him and that is completely understandable. Most of those drummers you will find further down on this list. I put Danny Carey first, because I like his music best among the others. That is not to say that I don’t like the rest of their music too. I’m a huge Led Zeppelin fan, for example. But I like Tool better.

 

John Bonham

John Bonham is the drummer, sorry was the drummer, of Led Zeppelin. He died many years ago in 1980, but his legacy lives on. I didn’t do any research on this, but I would guess if everyone on earth made a best drummers list, John Bonham would top more of those lists than any other drummer.

A drum set

And he would be in the top five on just about all of them. How could he not be? His drumming with Led Zeppelin changed rock and defines their music, although every member of that band was also one of the best ever.

 

Keith Moon

Keith Moon is another drummer who has died. He was a drummer for The Who and he was also a maniac, similar to John Bonham. Both struggled with alcohol during their lives and both died from alcohol.

It seems the “live hard and die hard” model is especially prevalent among drummers. Drugs were also a big problem. I can only imagine what they would get up to toady with many countries relaxing their cannabis laws. I suppose not much would change, since weed was always readily available and people grew it indoor everywhere.

Back to the matter at hand. Keith Moon teamed up with John Entwistle to form the rhythm section of The Who and made this band one of the most popular of all time. These two drove the band.

 

Neil Peart

Neil Peart is the drummer for rush, the Canadian band that is famous for its progressive music, its highly talented musicians and its large fan base. Among the musicians, Neil Peart and the bassist and lead singer Geddy Lee are considered some of the greatest that their positions to ever grace the world of music.

They’ve been affiliated with the band rush their whole lives and are still playing. This band is almost like a science project, in the way that they approach music and that is what many of their fans love. They are highly skilled and highly technical and they make music for people who really appreciate good music. Neil Peart is a very large part of that.

 

I’ll end this list here, so as not to make it too long. These are my top four drummers. I know there are many more I could have included and I’m sure I will hear about that from all of you. Again, I welcome comments, but not hateful ones. Feel free to disagree with me, but don’t tell me how you want to kill me because I chose Neil Peart over some guy you like better.