What makes a drummer great? There are many metrics to consider, but here we rank the best all-time drummers based on technical skill, creativity/innovation, compositional ability, and attitude.
Here is a list of the greatest people to ever hit the skins. Did your favorite musician make the list?
Travis Barker
Travis Barker is most famous for the incredible drum talent he brought to punk band, Blink-182. Travis plays fast, loud, and clean and incorporates hip-hop drums into distorted power-chord heavy pop-punk.
Mick Fleetwood
A drummer who never seemed to be working in his personal style, Fleetwood was praised for being able to act instinctively, add flair, all while playing super fast.
Jim Gordon
Present on the Beach Boys Pet Sounds, Eric Clapton recruited Gordon to form Derek and the Dominoes. Gordon later recorded with Randy Newman and Steely Dan and even made one of the most sampled hip-hop drum beats of all time.
Sheila E.
Sheila E. bounced around legendary bands for a while, playing with the likes of Herbie Hancock and Marvin Gaye at a very young age. She was later hired to play with Prince, and the rest is history…
Max Weinberg
Weinberg showed up at a try out for Springsteen. He had experience playing in Broadway pits as a kit drummer and stand percussionist. Springsteen was blown away by his talent and let him walk onto the band right before ‘Born To Run’ began recording.
Amir “Questlove” Thompson
Arguably the most prolific drummer of this generation, Questlove is a Philly guy, who plays complex, old school hip-hop to an audience of predominately white young adults, and he’s absolutely crushing it. He and his group, The Roots, are the in-house group for the Jimmy Fallon Show.
Cindy Blackman
Cindy grew up studying jazz but was picked up by Lenny Kravitz, who was notorious for his fairly pocketed songs. Cindy was hired to stay in the pocket, but add subtle flavor and fills when applicable. Cindy is one of the greatest drummers to ever live, and she’s also married to another music legend, Carlos Santana.
Chris Dave
Questlove describes Chris Dave as the “most dangerous drummer alive.” He has been featured on many high-profile pop hits like Adele’s 21 and D’Angelo’s Black Messiah. Chris Dave is known for his extravagant kits, one of which has 5 snares to give songs lots of texture.
Meg White
While Meg White is considered one of the “worst” or “most-untrained” drummers, she’s actually doing something pretty unique. Her lack of formal training has lent so much flavor to the White Stripes’ jangly, DIY blues-rock sound. Without Meg White’s pocket creativity and “childlike” beats, the White Stripes wouldn’t be as famous as they are today.
Tomas Haake
The long-standing percussionist in the Swedish metal group, Meshuggah, Tomas Haake, made his name known for playing 4/4 grooves with his off-hand and playing poly-rhythms with his dominant hand. Tomas is impressive due to his precision and unique ability to incorporate complex rhythms into “accessible” metal songs.
Brian Chippendale
Brian’s drumming style is powerful and primal, taking influence from free jazz and industrial music. Chippendale also rigs a microphone mask to his face and distorts his vocals to sound almost like a cross between a 1930s commercial narrator and the devil himself. Talk about eerie…
Janet Weiss
A seriously powerful and catchy drummer, Janet Weiss was the third person added to legendary alt-rock group Sleater-Kinney. Janet Weiss led the band in rhythm, playing aggressively but without sounding overzealous. Weiss has also been active in Bright Eyes, the Shins, the Jicks, and many more groups.
Moe Trucker
Moe Tucker, of the Velvet Underground, chose to stand instead of sit, she played with mallets instead of sticks, and she, for the most part, avoided using cymbals. Tucker chose to follow the emotional flow of the song above the time signature. She was a rhythm section of her own and somehow didn’t overpower Lou Reed.
Earl Young
This guy was in a few bands, did a couple of Blue Note Recordings, backed some big acts, but his greatest contribution was inventing disco…casual. Earl Young was the first drummer to kick on all 4 beats of a measure and improvise over it and brought it to dance halls. Drummers started catching on and eventually, one of the greatest revolutions in house music began.
Earl Hudson
Earl Hudson of the hardcore band, Bad Brains, got his start as a jazz drummer. Hudson played like a man possessed, and became the prime example for the east coast hardcore drumming technique.
Pete Thomas
Pete Thomas was tasked with holding down Elvis Costello’s ever-changing rhythm section. From album to album, Costello constantly challenged himself and the Attractions to adapt to new ideas. Pete Thomas held every single album down, and is considered by Elvis Costello himself as the “single best drummer of our generation, without a doubt.”
Butch Trucks and Jaimoe
Some might say this is cheating because there are two drummers in this band, but pairing them up just makes more sense. Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny “Jaimoe” Johanson were inseparable since they met at the conception of the Allman Brothers Band. They bounce off of one another, one plays polyrhythms, and the other stays in the pocket, and they switch off. It’s rare that a band with two drummers are able to play so cohesively, but these two really do the job.
Tommy Ramone
The punk self-starter from the UK, Tommy Ramone was known for providing the Tommy-gun drums to accompany Johnny Ramone’s buzzsaw guitar. So many future drummers got inspiration from him.
Dale Crover
Crover had a brief stint in Nirvana, but he is best known for his work in the Melvins, one of the original sludge metal bands, and definitely an innovator of the genre.
Jerome “Bigfoot” Brailey
Drummer of the legendary alien funk group, Parliament Funkadelic, Brailey led the group through outer-space and back.
Greg Errico
A member of one of the most innovative funk bands of all time, Greg Errico drove Family Stone with his unbelievable skillset. He later composed and produced for other folks like Lee Oskar, Betty Davis, and Parliament Funkadelic.
Kenny Aronoff
Aronoff made his presence known by being the “hard basher” in John Mellencamp’s band for sixteen years. He has also worked with the Rolling Stones, Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Eric Clapton, Sting, the Smashing Pumpkins, and Lady Gaga, just to name a few.
Chad Smith
Smith was the perfect rhythmic match for Flea to play off of. Flea kept Smith around for his “mighty power and great vibes.”
Dennis Chambers
While Chambers’ stage presence never solidified him as the core drummer for any group, however, he was an incredibly popular throw-in drummer. He was actually the house drummer for the Sugar Hill label.
Tony Thompson
Tony was arguably the hardest rocker of the disco era. He laid down floor grooves for Chic and also played drums for Madonna on the hit record, “Like a Virgin.”
Clem Burke
A product of the CBGB scene in the 80s, Burke has been described as “the happiest drummer who ever lived.” When he hit the stage, he couldn’t shake the smile from his face.
Jimmy Chamberlin
Chamberlin stood out so hard in the Smashing Pumpkins that the founder, Billy Corgan, wasn’t sure he would stick around. But stick around he did, and he brought an element that drove the Smashing Pumpkins to the level of fame that they are on today.
Vinnie Colaiuta
Colaiuta is one of those drummers who is pure magic around the kit. With permanent offers from the Bee Gees and Frank Zappa, Colaiuta was an all-around musician dedicated to perfecting his craft.
John “Drumbo” French
Captain Beefheart let Drumbo help compose the chaotic avant-masterpiece as Beefheart had a very narrow view of music theory. Drumbo totally slayed on that album, developing some of the whackiest and hard to understand lines ever made.
Dave Lombardo
Lombardo must be from another planet. Just one listen to “Angel of Death” off of the Reign in Blood album proves it. The song is 210 BPM, no human should be able to play that fast.
Bill Stevenson
Bill Stevenson co-founded the Descendants at the ripe age of 14. Stevenson laid the groundwork for basically every punk drummer who came after him, and he accredits his success to eating a ton of snickers bars and drinking a load of coffee before sets.
Jon Theodore
Fuser of Afro-Cuban, Latin American, and experimental metal drumming, there isn’t much this guy can’t do. After drumming in the Mars Volta, Theodore bounced around until he ended up in Queens of the Stone Age. He’s most well-known for his ability to hold down some of the most chaotic music out there.
George Hurley
Another So-Cal punk band to hit the scene, George Hurley contributed jazz-influenced stripped down drumming to Minutemen. Somehow he sounds clean and chaotic at the same time. He plays differently from the standard punk drummer, yet his style has been emulated and celebrated over the years.
Ronald Shannan Jackson
Jackson made his name by being fast, wild, unpredictable, and robotic. Jackson learned from African rhythms and funk musicians while playing in parades, which made his style very unique and recognizable. Jackson started Decoding Society and later formed Last Exit, an Avant-jazz punk quartet that still plays together today.
Glenn Kotche
Glenn Kotche, of Wilco, focused on pushing every boundary, drumming on things like ping pong balls, hubcaps, chains, ball bearings, and air tubes–you name it, he’s hit it. Kotche is also well known for his use of a MIDI pad on stage and was the first to record unusual or “unintentional” polyrhythms and replay them via software during his set for added flair.
JR Robinson
A multi-faceted for-hire percussionist and composer, JR Robinson really pushed the limits of the drum world. Mostly known for making smash pop hits with KILLER percussion tracks (Pointer Sisters “I’m So Excited,” Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love,” a big chunk of Daft Punk’s Random Access Memory), Robinson also famously laid the rhythm for Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall. According to the late Michael Jackson; “I wanted a drum lick that the whole world could sing… and they sang it.”
Steve Jordan
Steve’s resume is extensive. He backed Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and the X-Pensive Winos, John Mayer, Neil Young, and even was hired to play in the Blues Brothers fictional band. This guy has done it all and then some.
Mick Avory
Teen-pop bands in the 1960s were known for cool outfits, trendy haircuts, and soft drummers. That is until the Beatles started contending with Led Zeppelin, and thus, The Kinks had to play catchup. Avory innovated in his own way, creating a style that was one part swing, one part soul, one part rock, and one part his own. He played with The Rolling Stones later on in his career but was later kicked out in 1984 presumably because he and Dave Davies often fought.
Micky Waller
Micky was the jazz-trained legend of the London blues-rock scene and has been described as the “missing link between blues and heavy metal.” Waller recorded on some of Rod Stewart’s original solo albums, notoriously forgetting his cymbals on his way to the session to record “Maggie May,” which he then overdubbed later.
Dave Garibaldi
An adventurous and scholarly drummer, Garibaldi assumed the rhythm section role in Tower of People, one of the most innovative bands in pop music.
Billy Cobham
First heard on Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew, Cobham has been a staple of modern music since. Phil Collins said that Billy Cobham played some of the finest drummings he had heard on a record, ever.
Phil Collins
It’s only fair to include a guy who many people consider the “actual best drummer of all time”…Phil Collins. A multi-instrumentalist, social icon, unstoppable artist, creator of the Tarzan soundtrack, half of Genesis, and genuinely an outstandingly creative percussionist.
Bill Ward
Ward fused bebop and heavy metal before heavy metal was even a thing. He also casually co-founded metal as a genre.
Carter Beauford
DMB should probably be called the Carter Beauford Band because he completely owns pretty much all of their songs. The Dave Matthews Band would be nothing without Beauford.
Jim Keltner
Keltner worked with every Beatle’s solo project, Bob Dylan’s “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” and Steely Dan’s “Josie.” This studio musician deserves more credit for being the pulse of these absolute hits.
Tony Allen
Tony Allen was the co-creator of one of the most prolific yet appropriated genres of music of all time; Afrobeat. Considered one of the “coolest” drummers of all time, he influenced some of the highest critically acclaimed acts in history (Talking Heads, Gorillaz, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, King Crimson, pretty much every Brian Eno piece…).
James Gadson
One of the most important drummers to come out of Los Angeles was James Gadson. He played in the Jackson 5, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye’s band, and many, many more. He was also the mastermind behind “Express Yourself” by the 103rd St. Rhythm Band.
Roger Hawkins
Considered by some to be the best drummer of all time, Hawkins was known for being incredibly quick to learn complex songs, and further innovate on them in the same session.
Matt Grenier
Fast, consistent, heavy, mechanical, and explosive are all attributes of a great drummer, and Grenier basically wrote the book on adapting this to a metalcore group. August Burns Red is as catchy and accessible as they are brutally heavy.
Zach Hill
Zach Hill is terrifying–his twitchy, aggressive, chaotic, and uncontrolled style of drumming matches perfectly with his appearance. Listen to Death Grips’ The Money Store and Hold Your Horse Is by Hella to get a taste of his talent.
Akira Kawasaki
Somewhere between classical, jazz, and punk, Mouse on the Keys is a band held together by super creative and technical yet somehow still pocket drumming. Kawasaki has an ear for what can make a piano-drums song mind-blowing.
Kashikura Takashi
Takashi’s live performance is absolutely chilling. Takashi plays emotively, and sometimes has outbursts on stage, sometimes screaming and throwing sticks, sometimes bursting into tears while playing a particularly beautiful piece.
Yuusuke Yoshida
Tricot (pronounced tree-coo) is a Japanese math rock band that’s exploding onto the American scene. Tricot has struggled to hold a drummer for more than a couple of years because their music requires a specific level of creativity, focus, and consistency. Yoshida has been touring with the band since 2016 and started recording with them in 2017 and he’s basically a drum genius.
Dave Bland
Dave Bland is the expressive powerhouse that fills the drumming position for the Baltimore grindcore group, Full of Hell. These guys aren’t a household name, but if you have any interest in single kick drummers playing 170 BPM, this is for you.
Kevin Kaine
Drummer for the American hardcore band, Knocked Loose, Kaine plays to the strengths of the rest of his bandmates. He’s one of those “perfect fit” drummers–never too much, never too little.
Jami Morgan
Pittsburg metal band, Code Orange, was the first metal band to come out after 2010 to have a billboard top 100 album, and the first modern metal band from the east to have a metal song on the Billboard top 10 and all of that success is thanks, in part, to their incredible drummer/singer, Jami Morgan.
Ryan Leger
Leger is the rhythm behind the southern metalcore band, Every Time I Die. Leger plays blues-inspired extreme metal style drumming, which is a style probably unique to only him.
Michael McClellan
McClellan seemingly came out of nowhere and took on the task of reigning in Josh Scogin, former frontman of Norma Jean, and The Chariot. His playstyle is gritty and noisy but manages to play so simply that the noise-punk is tangible.
James Beveridge
Beveridge holds down the chaotic-skramz band, Portrayal of Guilt. He is another single kick blast beat drummer, and he’s seriously talented.
Greg Errico
A member of one of the most innovative funk bands of all time, Greg Errico drove Family Stone with his unbelievable skillset. He later composed and produced for other folks like Lee Oskar, Betty Davis, and Parliament Funkadelic.