Modern Drummer's 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time (2014) by 
AAL2014 
Here's a fun chart idea I came up with.. Modern Drummer Magazine, the same mag I've been subscribed to and thumbing through for almost 5 years, published a list of the 50 Greatest Drummers of all time voted by the readers back in 2014. I love lists and this was a very poignant list at the time for me. Of course with any list, there will be omissions. Everyone on this list is a very special and influential player so it's tough to say who should be on instead.
This chart is ordered the exact way the drummers were voted. The albums chosen are ones I think of as being the best (or one of the best) works by the artist, and the comments on each are my own. Drums have been an enormous part of my life for almost 10 years. I wouldn't be apart of this website without the drums choosing me to be apart of a spectacular rhythmic journey.
Here is my tribute to the drums, the greatest drummers, and the greatest drum magazine on the planet.
- Chart updated: 06/28/2017 21:15
- (Created: 08/23/2016 21:27).
- Chart size: 50 albums.
There are 3 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Modern Drummer's 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time (2014) has an average rating of 87 out of 100 (from 2 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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CARL PALMER
[First added to this chart: 08/25/2016]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
813
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
20
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LARS ULRICH
The Legend: Few rock drummers have been more important and influential over the last 30 years than Lars Ulrich and that is exactly why he is on the list. Lars deserves a lot of credit for being a driving force in making Metallica one of the biggest bands in the history of rock music and in turn putting heavy music on the mainstream map. Lars may not have many chops, but he has great feel for James Hetfield's rhythm guitar and can arrange a great drum track based around it. The drum tracks on songs like Master of Puppets, One, Blackened, and For Whom The Bell Tolls really helped mold my metal drumming early on.
The Album: ...And Justice For All is Metallica at their most progressive. On Master of Puppets, Metallica already had long song structures with elongated solos and other instrumental breaks, but those qualities were only amplified on Justice. Songs like Frayed Ends of Sanity, Blackened, and ...And Justice For All feature fierce grooves, sprawling fills, and plenty of odd time. Lars pushed his drumming to its peak and in terms of technical ability he was never this good again. Luckily we will always have this album as documented proof that Lars Ulrich was indeed a fucking bad ass drummer. [First added to this chart: 08/25/2016]
The Legend: Few rock drummers have been more important and influential over the last 30 years than Lars Ulrich and that is exactly why he is on the list. Lars deserves a lot of credit for being a driving force in making Metallica one of the biggest bands in the history of rock music and in turn putting heavy music on the mainstream map. Lars may not have many chops, but he has great feel for James Hetfield's rhythm guitar and can arrange a great drum track based around it. The drum tracks on songs like Master of Puppets, One, Blackened, and For Whom The Bell Tolls really helped mold my metal drumming early on.
The Album: ...And Justice For All is Metallica at their most progressive. On Master of Puppets, Metallica already had long song structures with elongated solos and other instrumental breaks, but those qualities were only amplified on Justice. Songs like Frayed Ends of Sanity, Blackened, and ...And Justice For All feature fierce grooves, sprawling fills, and plenty of odd time. Lars pushed his drumming to its peak and in terms of technical ability he was never this good again. Luckily we will always have this album as documented proof that Lars Ulrich was indeed a fucking bad ass drummer. [First added to this chart: 08/25/2016]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,315
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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SIMON PHILLIPS
[First added to this chart: 08/25/2016]
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DANNY CAREY
The Legend: Originally, Danny Carey was not the drummer in Tool. However he was the one renting out the space for Tool to practice. After multiple sessions in which their drummer did not show up, history unfolded the way it was supposed to and Danny Carey became the drummer in Tool. A heavy hitter like Bonham, a progressive wizard like Neil Peart, a creative, dynamic maestro like Billy Cobham, Danny Carey used his influences to craft a beautiful and identifiable skill set that has influenced a generation of drummers all the same. I had tried to learn the syncopated poly-rhythmic groove from Eulogy for a long time, only recently has it started to fall in place. Danny's use of odd groupings (especially within odd time signatures) has a hand in making Tool one of prog's greatest acts. He's incredible.
The Album: Funny to think of it this way, but 2006's 10,000 Days is still Tool's latest release. So we're going on 4,000 Days since Tool's last album.
Anyway, 10,000 Days is the reason I'm so into Tool now. It was the first album I listened to with intent all the way through from them. Upon each re-visitation, I kept hearing more and more details (big and small) I hadn't noticed before. Especially from Carey. You could honestly pick any of the last 3 Tool studio albums as Danny Carey's finest moment, but this is the most influential to me. Jambi, The Pot, Vicarious, and of course Wings (10,000 Days) have incredibly precise yet kick ass drum tracks aided by incredible production. Don't be fooled by the 75/100 score on Best Ever Albums, 10,000 Days is a great album. "Why can't we just admit it?"
Best Performances: The Grudge, Pushit, Lateralus [First added to this chart: 08/25/2016]
The Legend: Originally, Danny Carey was not the drummer in Tool. However he was the one renting out the space for Tool to practice. After multiple sessions in which their drummer did not show up, history unfolded the way it was supposed to and Danny Carey became the drummer in Tool. A heavy hitter like Bonham, a progressive wizard like Neil Peart, a creative, dynamic maestro like Billy Cobham, Danny Carey used his influences to craft a beautiful and identifiable skill set that has influenced a generation of drummers all the same. I had tried to learn the syncopated poly-rhythmic groove from Eulogy for a long time, only recently has it started to fall in place. Danny's use of odd groupings (especially within odd time signatures) has a hand in making Tool one of prog's greatest acts. He's incredible.
The Album: Funny to think of it this way, but 2006's 10,000 Days is still Tool's latest release. So we're going on 4,000 Days since Tool's last album.
Anyway, 10,000 Days is the reason I'm so into Tool now. It was the first album I listened to with intent all the way through from them. Upon each re-visitation, I kept hearing more and more details (big and small) I hadn't noticed before. Especially from Carey. You could honestly pick any of the last 3 Tool studio albums as Danny Carey's finest moment, but this is the most influential to me. Jambi, The Pot, Vicarious, and of course Wings (10,000 Days) have incredibly precise yet kick ass drum tracks aided by incredible production. Don't be fooled by the 75/100 score on Best Ever Albums, 10,000 Days is a great album. "Why can't we just admit it?"
Best Performances: The Grudge, Pushit, Lateralus [First added to this chart: 08/25/2016]
Year of Release:
2006
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,179
Rank in 2006:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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ALEX VAN HALEN
The Legend: AVH was the very first player to make me want to play the drums. Huge influence on me growing up. Often times, he may get overshadowed by his little brother... whose name alludes me at the moment, ;) .... but it's Al's groove, drum tone, and brilliant rock orchestration that helped make his brother standout and become the guitar God we all know him as today, and also helped to make Van Halen the global force it was for several decades. I don't care how many tracks there are in the intro to Hot For Teacher, it's an unbelievable moment in the history of rock drumming and beyond, not to mention many drummers' first double bass influence. Purists may see this Modern Drummer list and wonder why a guy like Alex is here. Don't. He's arguably the most important rock drummer in the post-Bonham-pre-Grohl era.
The Album: The aforementioned Hot For Teacher isn't the only great drum song/moment on 1984. Jump, Van Halen's most successful hit features unmatched feel and a very cool syncopated groove underneath Edward's solo. Listen again if you don't recall. Some of Al's most powerful grooves are packed into 1984 such as I'll Wait, Panama, and Drop Dead Legs, which shows the Van Halen brothers weren't going to let odd time slow their groove down.
Best Performances: Hot For Teacher, I'm The One, Little Guitars [First added to this chart: 08/25/2016]
The Legend: AVH was the very first player to make me want to play the drums. Huge influence on me growing up. Often times, he may get overshadowed by his little brother... whose name alludes me at the moment, ;) .... but it's Al's groove, drum tone, and brilliant rock orchestration that helped make his brother standout and become the guitar God we all know him as today, and also helped to make Van Halen the global force it was for several decades. I don't care how many tracks there are in the intro to Hot For Teacher, it's an unbelievable moment in the history of rock drumming and beyond, not to mention many drummers' first double bass influence. Purists may see this Modern Drummer list and wonder why a guy like Alex is here. Don't. He's arguably the most important rock drummer in the post-Bonham-pre-Grohl era.
The Album: The aforementioned Hot For Teacher isn't the only great drum song/moment on 1984. Jump, Van Halen's most successful hit features unmatched feel and a very cool syncopated groove underneath Edward's solo. Listen again if you don't recall. Some of Al's most powerful grooves are packed into 1984 such as I'll Wait, Panama, and Drop Dead Legs, which shows the Van Halen brothers weren't going to let odd time slow their groove down.
Best Performances: Hot For Teacher, I'm The One, Little Guitars [First added to this chart: 08/25/2016]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,119
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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LOUIE BELLSON
[First added to this chart: 08/25/2016]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank in 1989:
None
Rank in 1980s:
None
Average Rating:
Comments:
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CARTER BEAUFORD
[First added to this chart: 08/25/2016]
Year of Release:
1996
Appears in:
Rank Score:
994
Rank in 1996:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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STEVE JORDAN
[First added to this chart: 08/25/2016]
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TONY ALLEN
[First added to this chart: 08/25/2016]
Year of Release:
1999
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1
Rank in 1999:
Rank in 1990s:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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CARLTON BARRETT
[First added to this chart: 08/25/2016]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,368
Rank in 1974:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 50. Page 5 of 5
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Modern Drummer's 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time (2014) composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 4 | 8% | |
| 1960s | 8 | 16% | |
| 1970s | 14 | 28% | |
| 1980s | 12 | 24% | |
| 1990s | 3 | 6% | |
| 2000s | 8 | 16% | |
| 2010s | 1 | 2% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Dream Theater | 2 | 4% | |
| Frank Zappa | 2 | 4% | |
| Gene Krupa | 1 | 2% | |
| Tool | 1 | 2% | |
| Genesis | 1 | 2% | |
| Porcupine Tree | 1 | 2% | |
| Van Halen | 1 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Modern Drummer's 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time (2014) chart changes
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87/100 (from 2 votes)
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Showing all 2 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 90/100  | 06/15/2017 01:45 |  bobbyb5 | | 90/100 |
| 100/100 | 10/01/2016 12:41 | mostlymor | | 89/100 |
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From AAL2014 06/15/2017 06:54
AAL2014 06/15/2017 06:54
Thank you Bobby. I appreciate that, I still have some work to go on this chart with comments and I still have a couple of these drummers to listen to so I can provide an honest comment on why they were voted onto this list. So hopefully you'll revisit later haha.
Karen Carpenter was indeed a great drummer. Unique player who had a lot of personality and made it come through in her playing. I haven't listened to a ton of the Carpenters' music however I've seen a number of awesome solo videos from her on YouTube. Pretty great snare chops.
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90/100
From bobbyb5 06/15/2017 01:49
bobbyb5 06/15/2017 01:49
That was very informative to someone like me who really doent shit about music. Heh heh. I like it. Ive heard people i know who play drums say that Karen Carpenter was actually a good drummer. Is that true? I thought they were joking but they weren't. Lol
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From mostlymor 10/01/2016 12:42
Excellent chart, enjoyed your comments particularly.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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