No AVH? No Cozy Powell? No Ian Paice? No Lars Ulrich? OK maybe not the last one, although in fairness he has probably influenced more young drummers than Stewart Copeland!

Ringo flippin Starr?? Even John lennon when asked if he thought Starr was the best drummer in the world said “he’s not even the best drummer in the Beatles”.

Having said that these lists are always a matter of opinion anyway.

Never mind Alex Van Halen. What is Ringo doing there? Influential drummers or bands were considered when his name cropped up? And where the F*** is Neil Peart?

Pip Pip

Mr M(O)(O)N

Alex is a great player and so is Copeland. But when you say the most influential of all time, they don’t make the Top-10. I’d probably take out Copeland and put in Peart at #10.

Other than that, I’d have to say it’s a solid list that understands that great drummers arrived on the scene before the 70s.

Ringo?! Seriously?

I have to say this list is w@nk!!! I have to agree 100% with Mr. Moon;

WHERE THE FUKK IS NEIL PEART!!!

One of the greatest drummers of all time! Hes not even in the top 10 and ringo starr and adam copeland are! bollokks if you ask me.

Charlie Watts something of a glaring omission from this list, a very good case could also be made for Ginger Baker – a double bass drum innovator.

[...] It’s worth a look! [...]

Paice,McBrain,Ward,Powell?
Another stupid list…

I’d flip the order of the top two, but both Bonham and Rich are the obvious untouchable iconic drum gods. Bonham is certainly the most influential and greatest ROCK drummer that ever lived. Also, it’s a little silly that Peart is not in the top ten.

Where are:
- Neil Peart
- Jon Hiseman
- Ian Paice
- Ginger Baker
- Vinnie Colaiuta
To name but a few!

What!!! Where’s Les Binks?

Never mind Alex Van Halen !!! Where the hell is Ian Paice !!!!!!

no peart , portnoy WHAT THE F*!!

In terms of influence surely Dave Lombardo should be there or thereabouts too…

no charlie benante , will calhoun either

JOEY JORDISON

Yeah, where is Neil Peart aswell as Lars Ulrich, Nicko Mcrbrain and Roger Taylor

omfg… indeed, why ringo and not Peart or Baker…
In that case: Freddie Mercury could be in top ten of the worlds most influential guitarplayers… (yeah he actually played quite a few times…) Was this poll overseen by the state of florida?

what, no neil peart, no nico mcbrain

At least Billy Cobham is in there – if you’ve never heard it check out Spectrum – the lp that got Jeff Beck into jazz rock – features a certain mr Thomas Bolin ! Unbelievable LP. Gene Krupa – a star in every sense of the word. Buddy Rich – showman extraordinaire. Its not all bad ! I do think Ian Paice is conspicuous by his absence – “Burn” is Paice’s calling card !

Do you guys know when the controversy over lists started? The milisecond after they published the first one!!! They’ll always be unfair to someone other than the people who compiled the list…

That being said, where’s Neil Peart, the bestestest drummer on Earth? And I’m not mentioning him because of his strtospherical supreme super-mega-flabbergasting drumming skills, but because of the massive influence he had on other drummers.

Here’s the correct list:

- Art Blakey
- Tony Williams
- Elvin Jones
- Billy Cobham
- Keith Moon
- Simon Phillips
- Cozy Powell
- Dave Lombardo

Where’s alex van halen? hell with that, where is Neil Peart???????

Well, they say NO ONE had a left hand like Buddy Rich and certainly NO ONE had a right foot like John Bonham. Top two are spot on but I’d have to agree that Peart missing is a glaring mistake.

You can’t rate a musician against another.The 50’s influenced the 60’s and so on.You have superstars who seemed ahead of their time,but it all comes down to what made you say …Dam that guy really had an impact on my own style and I can see his influence in todays sound.The list is infinite……

were the hell did Neil Peart, Ian Paice, Nick Mason, Ginger Baker, Frank Beard, Virgil Donatti, Scptt Rockenfeild, Nikko McBrain, Bill Ward etc. how could none of these guys be up there but Ringo and Stewart Copeland could? i could name a better list leaving out the people on that one. I love buddy rich as a drummer, but as an influence i would definately say that bonnham has influenced way more than rich.

Where’s

Mikkey Dee
Joey Kramer
Matt Sorum
Nicko McBrain

No Peart, Smith, Weckl, Vinnie C, Phil Collins even??? Man, they are off on this one???

im not a huge ringo fan,but u have to admit the list is about influence,and its fair to say the beatles may have influenced 1 or 2 ppl,and like it or not he was the drummer

No Dave Lombardo? The fastest 2 feet ever? Lame list.

Would have thought Ian Paice should have made the the top ten.

There’s no point in getting annoyed at the list, it’s a list of who has influenced the most people, not of who is the most talented.
My favourite drummers are Danny Carey and Neil Pert but I’m not disappointed that Ringo Star is here and they aren’t, because the Beatles influenced more people.

where the hell is John Bonham’s name in this list

Where’s Fyfe Ewing, the original Therapy? sticksman or Kenneth Schalk of Candiria??

What about Neil Peart from RUSH?

Stuff Ringo, wheres Neil Peart?

KCP makes a good point, only someone’s opinion and we’ve all proved we have our own, my favourite drummer is Simon Kirke from Free/Bad Co, he’s a great player still and very under rated.

Just to agree with a few above

Mike portney

Neil peart

Ian Paice

Andy Parker (oh thats the greatest ever band catagory)

“Ringo flippin Starr?? Even John lennon when asked if he thought Starr was the best drummer in the world said “he’s not even the best drummer in the Beatles”.”

Urban Myth. Lennon never said that.

Read interviews with drummers, from Max Weinberg to Phil Collins, and Ringo’s name comes up.

Because he’s part of the “Beatles Monster”, his actual playing gets over looked. The guy could flat out play. And he was very creative. A Day In The Life, anyone?

Ringo’s had a massive influence on drummers and drumming. Even on something like Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful”. One of the things that makes the song so “Beatlesque” are the mid-tempo, steady, Ringoish drums

I thought the list was fair. Influence beyond a narrow community of chops obsessed drummers makes Ringo Starr a reasonable addition. Remember, not EVERYONE loves 20 minute drum solos. Peart too. Who cares? His drumming wasn’t worth a damn until the last few years. LESS IS MORE people!

Andy Galeon from Death Angel? AVH is deservedly not on the list- I detest the sound of his electronic drums and his Krusty the Klown hairdoo. Imagine what VH would have sounded like with Cozy Powell or another hard hitter?

“where the hell is John Bonham’s name in this list?”

Hey John K, put down that bowl you are smoking, clear the crusty sleep from your eyes at look at postition #2 — the mighty John Bonham resides there. And deservedly so!

I cant believe NEIL PEART never made the top 10 (never mind the top slot) If anybody out there knows anyfink about drumming,they must know NEIL is a GOD amongst drummers ! ! ! ! And where was MIKE PORTNOY ? ? ? m.

nick mason should definitely be up there,his performances on meddle and live @ pompeii r world class and he was in one of the biggest bands of all time

What??

- Neal Peart
- Jeff Porcaro
- Simon Philips
- Dave Weckl
- and so on…

At least Lars Ulrich isn’t on the list. He really sucks! I swear some rock fans wouldn’t know a good drummer even if they lived next door to one…

Noone’s mentioned Tommy Aldridge either!

Jarzombek/Travis

A list of top 10 drummers without Neil Peart is farcical. And to include Starr and Copeland just makes it look like the names were drawn out of a hat or something.

Where’s PEART???? Nuff Said!!

What about Carl Palmer, Bill Bruford, Ginger Baker and Neil Peart ?

I think Copeland deserves his place on the list, he’s an amazing drummer, check out anything from No Time This Time to Seven days, lot of hi-hat work goes on with him, (i think he was influence by an eastern country’s drumming style during his up-bringing) and stuff with the Police. But yeah, a lot of people missing, and i agree with whoever mentioned Simon Kirk. Really think Nicko and Ian Paice should be on there.

No Peart, Collins or McBrain. Oh I seeee, the list must be a piss-take. Or maybe a dream.

you have got to be joking ringo starr dont make me laugh he is totally crap

RIP bonzo, thanks for saving jimmy’s life with yours.. still loud, loud!

Where is Ginger Baker? :O
Or Charlie Watts?
Or Cozy Powell?

they are partly right….alex van halen should hv been there but how come they missied ian paice?

I agree with Danielle, What about Ginger Baker, Charlie Watts, Cozy Powell, Max Weinberg ?

Carmine Appice is missing

Ginger Baker.
Mitch Mitchell.
Dave Grohl.
Tito Puente.
Frank Beard.

well, those are some of my favorites at least. this list sucks.

Ugh, f*** these lists and the need to sum up people’s achievements so superfluously. At least I know Peart is awesome, and that’s all I need ;D

Good Lord. Someone actually wants Alex Van Halen to be included?!?!?! I take it this is promarily a British site. Well let me tell you, in the US everyone thinks HE SUCKS!!!! He must have had his roadies posting on here for him. Suck me Alex you and your electric drums!

ringo!!! realy.
my list John bonham
Ginger baker
mitch mitchell
Keith moon
Buddy Rich
billy cohbam

Carmine Appice was John Bonham’s influence, and countless other drummers. Carmine along with Ginger baker and Mitch Mitchell created heavy rock drumming, and wrote the instructional book ‘realistic rock’ which is in the homes of over 1/2 million drummers worldwide at last count. Its ill informed to leave him off the list.

What? No Rick Allen on this list?

Considering that he is the ONLY professional one-armed drummer on the face of the earth, I think he should at least have earned a spot on this.

Come on guys ” Seasick Steves ” left foot has gotta be in there somewhere.

Derek Longmuir – where is Derek Longmuir? Look, the Bay City Rollers invented Classic Rock, right? Right.

Ringo drum beats are stolen all the time. His raga rock rhythm style that’s on “Ticket To Ride” and “Tomorrow Never Know”. The latter is one of first examples of drum & bass sound. His drumming on “With the Beatles” and “A Hard Day’s Night” really set the standard for Modern Rock drumming.

He was also one of the first rock drummers to use mixed meter, polyrhythm and record his cymbals backwards. His drumming on “A Day in the Life” helped launched Progressive Rock. Ringo not Bonham was rocks first drummer to close mike his drum sound. He is severely underrated and his drum solo on “Long Tall Sally” basically invents Keith Moon. People get a clue it’s all not technique and his work between 1963-1967 is what people are talking about. I admit after 1967 he tailed off maybe because the Beatles stopped touring.

WTF! Why isn’t bonzo #1 he is by far the best! and are you kidding me NO ALEX VAN HALEN OR NEIL PEART! UGH!!! unbelievable…

I was glad to see Billy Cobham there. He certainly belongs. If you haven’t heard the Spectrum album or his work with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, you are missing some of the greatest stick work ever recorded.

What! No Peter Criss or Neil Peart… OMG

Certainly a tremendous amount of talent on the list and the suggestions made by readers. In terms of influential drummers, what about Max Roach? credited with “revolutionizing” jazz drumming with the technique of carrying the main beat on the ride cymbal. Not to take anything away from Bonham, but he played in one band. Roach played with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dizzie Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and more.

Listen closely to the Beatles records. Ringo was a great drummer. Not a riduclous over the top drummer. A great drummer.

You’re all too young to appreciate him in his time.

Mitch Mitchell was God and is not in this list!

Ringo flippin Starr?? Even John lennon when asked if he thought Starr was the best drummer in the world said “he’s not even the best drummer in the Beatles”.

Having said that these lists are always a matter of opinion anyway.
============
OMG…I find it annoying how haters like to use John Lennon’s JOKE as an argument against Ringo. Speaking of John Lennon, here’s what he said about Ringo in Playboy 1980:

Ringo is a damn good drummer. He is not technically good, but I think Ringo’s drumming is underrated the same way Paul’s bass playing is underrated. I think Paul and Ringo stand up with any of the rock musicians. Not technically great — none of us are technical musicians. None of us could read music. None of us can write it. But as pure musicians, as inspired humans to make the noise, they are as good as anybody.

Quotes About Ringo From The Beatles:

“We loved him. And we just thought he was the very best drummer we’d ever seen. And we wanted him in the group. We were big fans of his.” – Paul McCartney, Larry King Interview

“He was quite simply the heart of the Beatles.” – John Lennon on Ringo

“Ringo’s got the best back beat I’ve ever heard and he can play great 24-hours a day.” -George Harrison

“Playing without Ringo is like driving a car on three wheels.” – George Harrison

Ringo was a master of subtlety. Ignorant people think that a great drummer is someone who always plays solos, is loud, technical and flashy. Ringo understood the nuance of music. His drumming perfectly complements The Beatles music. Name ONE Beatles song where the drums are out place. You can’t. Some notable Ringo drumming include: Tommorow Never Knows, A Day In The Life, She Said She Said, Taxman, Rain, Strawberry Fields Forever, Ticket To Ride, Paperback Writer, Hey Jude, Come Together, Something, etc.

Some Quotes on Ringo:

Ringo “doesn’t dazzle with flashy technique and pyrotechnics,” says The Cars’ lead guitarist, Elliot Easton. “What he does is so much more elusive and difficult: He plays songs on the drums. Anybody who has sat down behind a drum kit in the last 45 years owes him.”

“Before Ringo, drum stars were measured by their soloing ability and virtuosity. Ringo’s popularity brought forth a new paradigm in how the public saw drummers. We started to see the drummer as an equal participant in the compositional aspect. One of Ringo’s great qualities was that he composed unique, stylistic drum parts for The Beatles songs. His parts are so signature to the songs that you can listen to a Ringo drum part without the rest of the music and still identify the song.” – Drummer Steve Smith

“Starr is vastly underrated. The drum fills on the song “A Day in the Life” are very complex things. You could take a great drummer today and say, ‘I want it like that.’ He wouldn’t know what to do.” – Drummer Phil Collins

“He’s got tremendous feel. He always helped us to hit the right tempo for a song, and gave it that support-that rock-solid back-beat-that made the recording of all The Beatles’ songs that much easier.” – George Martin

Kenny Arnoff — “I consider him one of the greatest innovators of rock drumming and believe that he has been one of the greatest influences on rock drumming today… Ringo has influenced drummers more than they will ever realize or admit. Ringo laid down the fundamental rock beat that drummers are playing today and they probably don’t even realize it. (Modern Drummer,Oct. 1987) . . Ringo always approached the song more like a songwriter than a drummer. He always served the music.” (Modern Drummer, Dec. 1987)

Max Weinberg — “More than any other drummer, Ringo Starr changed my life. The impact and memory of that band on Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 will never leave me. I can still see Ringo in the back moving that beat with his whole body, his right hand swinging off his sock cymbal while his left hand pounds the snare. He was fantastic, but I think what got to me the most was his smile. I knew he was having the time of his life.” (The Big Beat, 1984)

Dave Ballinger — “Technically brilliant drummers do not necessary make good rock drummers. …You don’t have to be a technical Buddy Rich type drummer, you just need to be inventive. He (Ringo) did things I would never have thought of doing.” (interview for Speaking Words of Wisdom)

Police’s Stewart Copeland: “Ringo is the leader in the education for all young drummers of style over flash, always playing the right things rather than a lot of things.”

seriously, shut up about “why is ringo starr there???”
ringo starr is probably one of the most underated drummers of all time!! actually listen to the drumming in his songs!
he is the reason I started drumming!!

Three drummer’s I can’t beleive aren’t mentioned. #1 Carl Palmer – without doubt the Best percussionest I’ve ever seen. Faster & so much more Powerful than any drummer I’ve ever seen or heard. Plus, he’s the only drummer to have a Huge Kit made from Paiste ‘2002′ metal. Ringo Starr bought it and it resides in the so called ‘Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame’. #2 Alan White of YES – in ‘72 Circus Magazine had a showing of two different drummer’s from the era. All they whre doing is comparing was the eqiptment, not the drummer’s. Alan White & John Bonham. It showed & named Alans 186 pc percussion set. Very impressive. For John Bohnam there was a 15 pc. kit, including his Timpany & Gong. Buy the way, I’ve seen Zeppelin maybe 12 times & YES over 20 times. #3 Neil Peart – just because he’s current… I would put Keith Moon in there. But then I’ve seen Anysly Dunbar with Zappa, Starship, & Journey. Best to ALL!!!

Somebody please cite the source of John Lennon’s statement about Ringo not being the best drummer in the Beatles. Where and when did he say it? Fact is, it’s a hoax. Lennon said in his 1980 Playboy interview that Ringo was a “damn good drummer” who can stand up to any of the best drummer of the Beatles era.

That is a fact. That other quote is bullshit. Get a clue haters.