Ranking

Greatest Drummer of All Time

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#PreviewCandidateWin rateMatch win rate
—Gene KrupaBenny Goodman Orchestra · inducted 1979 · the swing showman who made the drum kit a solo instrument— win— match wins
—Buddy RichBuddy Rich Big Band · inducted 1980 · bandleader whose speed and single stroke roll became the benchmark— win— match wins
—John BonhamLed Zeppelin · inducted 1981 · the heaviest right foot in rock, and the sound most drummers still chase— win— match wins
—Keith MoonThe Who · inducted 1982 · played fills where the beat was supposed to be and somehow held it together— win— match wins
—Neil PeartRush · inducted 1983 · progressive rock's architect, lyricist and owner of an absurd kit— win— match wins
—Steve Gaddsession · inducted 1984 · the groove on Steely Dan's Aja and Paul Simon's 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover— win— match wins
—Louie BellsonDuke Ellington Orchestra · inducted 1985 · big band veteran who popularised the double bass drum kit— win— match wins
—Tony WilliamsMiles Davis Quintet · inducted 1986 · joined Miles at seventeen and rewrote what a jazz drummer could do— win— match wins
—Billy CobhamMahavishnu Orchestra · inducted 1987 · fusion's powerhouse, ambidextrous and impossibly fast— win— match wins
—Joe MorelloDave Brubeck Quartet · inducted 1988 · the drummer on Take Five, playing in five without breaking a sweat— win— match wins
—Carl PalmerEmerson, Lake & Palmer · inducted 1989 · prog rock spectacle, later a founding member of Asia— win— match wins
—Bill BrufordYes, King Crimson · inducted 1990 · left the biggest prog band in the world to play harder music— win— match wins
—Art BlakeyJazz Messengers · inducted 1991 · hard bop bandleader whose group was a finishing school for jazz— win— match wins
—Max Roachbebop · inducted 1992 · played with Charlie Parker and Clifford Brown, and made drums a composer's voice— win— match wins
—Elvin JonesJohn Coltrane Quartet · inducted 1995 · the churning polyrhythmic tide under A Love Supreme— win— match wins
—Vinnie ColaiutaFrank Zappa, session · inducted 1996 · read Zappa's impossible charts, then played on everything else— win— match wins
—Terry BozzioFrank Zappa, Missing Persons · inducted 1997 · built a kit the size of a room and learned to use all of it— win— match wins
—Ringo StarrThe Beatles · inducted 1998 · the feel nobody can copy, and the reason the songs breathe— win— match wins
—Roy Haynesbebop onward · inducted 1999 · played with Parker, Monk and Coltrane, then kept going for decades— win— match wins
—Dave WecklChick Corea Elektric Band · inducted 2000 · fusion precision that defined the sound of 80s chops— win— match wins
—Dennis ChambersParliament-Funkadelic, John Scofield · inducted 2001 · funk power with jazz vocabulary on top— win— match wins
—Steve SmithJourney, Vital Information · inducted 2002 · arena rock by night, serious jazz the rest of the time— win— match wins
—Simon PhillipsToto, Jeff Beck · inducted 2003 · the British session heavyweight who could play anything asked of him— win— match wins
—Mike PortnoyDream Theater · inducted 2004 · progressive metal's engine, and the odd time signature made mainstream— win— match wins
—Stewart CopelandThe Police · inducted 2005 · reggae and punk collided in his hi hat and became a new kind of pop drumming— win— match wins
—Charlie WattsThe Rolling Stones · inducted 2006 · a jazz drummer playing rock, holding back where everyone else pushed— win— match wins
—Jack DeJohnetteMiles Davis, Keith Jarrett Trio · inducted 2007 · played on Bitches Brew and never stopped moving forward— win— match wins
—Ginger BakerCream · inducted 2008 · jazz and African rhythm dragged into a rock trio, loudly— win— match wins
—Mitch MitchellThe Jimi Hendrix Experience · inducted 2009 · answered Hendrix's guitar instead of just keeping time— win— match wins
—Hal Blainethe Wrecking Crew · inducted 2010 · played on more hit records than almost anyone, and you never saw his name— win— match wins
—Phil CollinsGenesis · inducted 2012 · prog chops, then the most recognisable drum fill ever recorded— win— match wins
—Bernard Purdiesession · inducted 2013 · the Purdie shuffle, plus Aretha Franklin and Steely Dan records— win— match wins
—Carmine AppiceVanilla Fudge, Rod Stewart · inducted 2014 · heavy rock drumming before there was a name for it— win— match wins
—Ian PaiceDeep Purple · inducted 2015 · left handed, swinging, and the only member on every Purple record— win— match wins
—Vic FirthBoston Symphony timpanist · inducted 2016 · turned a search for better sticks into the sticks everyone uses— win— match wins
—Peter ErskineWeather Report · inducted 2017 · fusion's most musical drummer, later a prolific bandleader and author— win— match wins
—Clyde StubblefieldJames Brown · inducted 2018 · played the Funky Drummer break that hip hop was built on top of— win— match wins
—Dave GrohlNirvana, Foo Fighters · inducted 2019 · hit harder than the songs needed and changed how rock sounded— win— match wins
—Nicko McBrainIron Maiden · inducted 2020 · the gallop behind the band for more than forty years— win— match wins
—Sheila E.Prince, solo · inducted 2021 · percussionist, drummer and bandleader who fronted her own records— win— match wins
—Taylor HawkinsFoo Fighters · inducted 2022 · huge, joyful rock drumming and the band's second voice— win— match wins
—Alex Van HalenVan Halen · inducted 2023 · the swing and the enormous drum sound under his brother's guitar— win— match wins
—Bill WardBlack Sabbath · inducted 2024 · jazz feel underneath the riffs that invented heavy metal— win— match wins

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