Top ten bass players

Probably the least glamorous of the three instruments normally used in metal, but it can be a very interesting tool in the right hands. The main job of a bass player is lay down the rhythm along with the drummer. Then there also players that go beyond that either due to using different tones, offbeat parts, speed or a combination of all of those. Some bass players can't even do the minimum and Bobby Dall comes to mind for this category. Some players do the job, but are quite average and Nikki Sixx and Ian Hill come to mind for this category. Some players do the job very well, but they don't stand a lot and I think Roger Glover and Jimmy Bain fall in this category. Then you get someone like Billy Sheehan who can wail on solos at times yet in a band setting like with David Lee Roth and Mr. Big he didn't stand out that often to me. So the guys that made my list were solid players first, but had some quality that made them stand out. Here they are as I count down my top ten bass players.

10-Duff McKagan-(G-n-R, Velvet Revolver)
A good solid player with some different sounds who gets overlooked to some extent.
9-D.D. Verni (Overkill)-I love that the tone of his bass lines. A real backbone to his band's sound.
8-Dave Ellefson(Megadeth)-Some of his bass lines sound easy until you try and play them.
7-Cliff Burton (Metallica)-Great tone to his parts and he was pretty fast as well.
6-Jason Newsted (Flotsam and Jetsam,Metallica, Voivod)-This is the one choice I will probably get some flack for. I didn't pick him for his work with Metallica or Voivod, but rather for his playing on Flotsam and Jetsam's debut Doomsday for the deceiver. Just some amazing playing there and he wrote a good chunk of the album.
5-Burke Shelley (Budgie)- Solid player who was also the lead singer. They played some offbeat stuff as well and he was always right in the thick of it.
4-John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin)-Maybe the most versatile player on this list. He could play some really interesting parts.
3-Geddy Lee (Rush)- Rush went through many different sounds and his playing always sounded good no matter what the style. He also kept up with Neil Peart which is a huge accomplishment in and of itself.
2-Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath)- He brought the heavy to heavy metal bass playing. He could play some complicated parts as well as any other player going.
1-Steve Harris (Iron Maiden)-Just an extraordinary player who possesses speed and a great mind for sounds. He has his influences, but he revolutionized metal bass playing and yet 25 years later he is still at the top.