The Best Drummers of All Time Bands/Musicians

The Best Drummers of All Time

original ranker MATTJG  57,294 views 265 items 95 followers
Who is the greatest drummer ever? This is a list of the best drummers of all time, voted on and ranked by music lovers worldwide. Add your own list or vote on the greatest drummers here. Although many of the top drummers in history are inarguably rock drummers, this list is not restricted to just rock music. It covers all genres, so feel free to add anyone you think is missing.

Need some ideas for the best drummers of all time? Check out this list of the best female drummers -- many of them are outstanding and certainly worthy of inclusion here.

Debate about who is truly the best drummer ever can get heated. Once you start looking at the legendary drummers like John Bonham, Neil Peart, Keith Moon and Buddy Rich, well, it's hard to rank one over the other. Many of the drummers listed here are also singers and songwriters, and some are/were band leaders as well. If you need examples, check out this list of the best singing drummers for inspiration.

What made these famous drummers so amazing? An incredible sense of time and meter, for one thing. But it's more than just technical prowess: It's an overall presence, as well. Being a drummer is about skill, first and foremost, but it's also about showmanship, particularly in the rock genre. Disagree? That's totally fine. Just make sure you vote on these drummers, one way or the other.
2,784 voters +
65 reranks

see all
rerank this list your way
View:
More Options Add Item
Rank     Name
  1. 51
    Up 21
    Down 14
    Hard rock, Heavy metal, Alternative metal More
  2. 52
    Up 17
    Down 16
    Hard rock, Jazz fusion, Heavy metal More
  3. 53
    Up 34
    Down 32
  4. 54
    Up 14
    Down 11
    Alternative rock, Rock music, Heavy metal More
  5. 55
    Up 19
    Down 18

    Michael Thomas

    Metalcore
  6. 56
    Up 17
    Down 16
    Hard rock, Heavy metal, Alternative metal More
  7. 57
    Up 11
    Down 10
    Thrash metal, Progressive metal, Avant garde metal
    added by: Mentor_rm9
  8. 58
    Up 52
    Down 75
    Post-bop, Hard bop, Avant-garde jazz More
  9. 59
    Up 11
    Down 10
    Death metal, Metalcore, Technical death metal More
  10. 60
    Up 21
    Down 16

    Ola Brunkert

  11. 61
    Up 20
    Down 17
    Soul music
  12. 62
    Up 37
    Down 32

    Shela E

    added by: DonHumber
  13. 63
    Up 43
    Down 23
    Heavy metal, Thrash metal, Death metal More
    added by: SensitivePsych0
  14. 64
    Up 1
    Down 0
    No image

    Bobby Jarzombek

  15. 65
    Up 88
    Down 129
    Heavy metal, Thrash metal, Death metal More
  16. 66
    Up 43
    Down 33
    Rock music, Rhythm and blues, Soul music More
  17. 67
    Up 8
    Down 8
    Alternative rock, Hard rock, Heavy metal More
  18. 68
    Up 13
    Down 9
    Hard rock, Heavy metal, Thrash metal More
  19. 69
    Up 9
    Down 8
    Rock music, Rhythm and blues, Funk More
  20. 70
    Up 8
    Down 8
    added by: BrianHutchison
  21. 71
    Up 33
    Down 23

    Benny Benjamin

    Rhythm and blues, Jazz
  22. 72
    Up 19
    Down 17
    Alternative rock, Hard rock, Heavy metal More
  23. 73
    Up 8
    Down 8

    Mike Joyce

    Alternative rock, Indie rock, Indie pop
  24. 74
    Up 27
    Down 17
    Hard rock, Heavy metal, Alternative metal More
  25. 75
    Up 16
    Down 14
    Heavy metal, Alternative metal, Nu metal
  26. 76
    Up 23
    Down 11

    Dave Weckl

  27. 77
    Up 14
    Down 11

    Alex GonzĂ¡lez

    Rock music
  28. 78
    Up 19
    Down 14

    Dan Richardson

  29. 79
    Up 15
    Down 15
  30. 80
    Up 38
    Down 32
    Soul music
  31. 81
    Up 3
    Down 3
    Alternative rock, Folk rock, Electronic music More
  32. 82
    Up 0
    Down 0
    Rock music, Hard rock, Progressive rock More
  33. 83
    Up 16
    Down 17
    Jazz fusion, Jazz, Funk More
  34. 84
    Up 11
    Down 12
    Hard rock, Heavy metal
    added by: Devereaux
  35. 85
    Up 8
    Down 9
    Hard rock, Progressive rock, Jazz fusion More
  36. 86
    Up 39
    Down 62
    Hard rock, Heavy metal, Blues-rock More
  37. 87
    Up 8
    Down 9
    Pop punk
  38. 88
    Up 1
    Down 3
    Alternative rock, Post-hardcore
  39. 89
    Up 10
    Down 13
    Rock music, Hard rock, Jazz fusion More
  40. 90
    Up 1
    Down 3
    No image

    James Cassels

  41. 91
    Up 1
    Down 3
    No image

    Angelo Parente

  42. 92
    Up 20
    Down 21
  43. 93
    Up 20
    Down 14

    Jonathan Moffett

  44. 94
    Up 9
    Down 10
    Alternative rock
  45. 95
    Up 1
    Down 3
    No image

    John Dolmoyan

  46. 96
    Up 16
    Down 12
    Hard rock, Heavy metal, Alternative metal More
  47. 97
    Up 43
    Down 69
    Rock music, Hard rock, Jazz fusion More
  48. 98
    Up 1
    Down 2

    Clive Burr

  49. 99
    Up 7
    Down 5
    Rock music, Rock and roll
    added by: GregDearman
  50. 100
    Up 6
    Down 9

    Scott Plouf

  51. +Add New Item

items 51 - 100 of 265

rerank this list your way embed list
what's a rerank?
  • LOADING HISTORY

    leave a comment

    comments powered by Disqus
    1. Matt
      The Best Drummers of All Time at 6/01/2012 7:20 PM
      Why is the Rev on this list. The Rev doesn't even deserve to be on here. I don't get why all these kids think he is the best drummer, listen to some of these other drummers, he doesn't compare. Neil is the greatest drummer of all time. The best Heavy metal drummer is Lars, enough said.
    2. Richard
      The Best Drummers of All Time at 3/03/2012 11:59 PM
      where is eric carr of the 80's lineup of KISS?
    3. james
      The Best Drummers of All Time at 3/02/2012 1:49 PM
      wheres jimmy the rev sullivan?
    4. unbelievable
      The Best Drummers of All Time at 2/28/2012 9:37 AM
      Lars Ulrich in the top 40? Ringo Starr in the top 20?? LOL
    5. dave5544
      The Best Drummers of All Time at 2/11/2012 12:26 PM
      Albert Bouchard drummer of Blue Oyster Cult, wrote most of the songs from Tyranny and Mutation 1973. Dynamite song is track 8, Mistress of the Salmon Salt, only missing some more Cowbell.
    6. eltrut
      The Best Drummers of All Time at 2/05/2012 11:31 PM
      WTF....Ringo Starr is on this list? Are you effin' kidding me? This is a joke, right?
    7. Rooky
      The Best Drummers of All Time at 1/14/2012 9:11 AM
      I've looked at a lot of these lists... Where is Jimmy Sullivan? anyone ever notice that "double bass ride thing" he did? Amazing. Totally agree with John Bonham being #1 tho.
    8. druss300
      The Best Drummers of All Time at 1/13/2012 8:04 AM
      where's Buddy Miles?
    9. Toolnut
      The Best Drummers of All Time at 11/25/2011 7:46 AM
      Where's Neil?
    10. krowten
      The Best Drummers of All Time at 11/16/2011 7:41 AM
      um... the late richie hayward of little feat? no one cut time as idiosyncratically as richie.
    11. bobm839
      The Best Drummers of All Time at 11/15/2011 4:20 AM
      where is Albert Bouchard?
    12. subvertex
      The Best Drummers of All Time at 9/27/2011 1:43 PM
      Is there seriously no Phil Rudd in this list?
    13. DarthKarl
      The Best Drummers of All Time at 9/05/2011 9:51 AM
      It's a joke having Beauford that high. The fanboys must have raided this list
    14. rafa
      The Best Drummers of All Time at 5/29/2011 5:24 PM
      deen castronovo 68? scott travis 89?

    today on Ranker