The Best Punk Bassists Of All Time Ranked

Punk music is, quite frankly, not known for its musicianship. Despite this reputation amongst the greater music crowd, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of amazing musicians and writers associated with the various punk subgenres and culture. If you broaden your definition of punk a bit, you will quickly realize how many mainstream popular acts got their start in punk circles. Despite most of their music not reflecting these roots, giant bands like U2, The Police, REM were born from this primordial soup of punk and post-punk. Neither those bassists nor the amazing proto-punk musicians from The Stooges, The Who, The New York Dolls, and dozens of others will be considered here, however. We’re going to keep this list true to form, and no, Sid Vicious will NOT be on this list as he was an atrocious bass player and essentially a boy band-addition to market the Sex Pistols image. Here are all of The Best Punk Bassists Of All Time ranked.

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20. Chuck Dukowski (Black Flag)

“For all of their precision and machine-like tightness, hardcore progenitors Black Flag seemed more chaotic than any band before or since. There was seething violence and instability driving them at all times. And though the bassist’s traditional job has always been to hold things down, founding Flag-bearer Chuck Dukowski seemingly saw his task as unmooring the band and pushing the recklessness even harder. “

19. Bruce Moreland (The Weirdos)

“Bruce became known as “Bruce Barf” and would MC the club’s punk nights, introducing early shows of the Germs, The Go-Go’s, The Dickies, The Skulls, The Weirdos (who Bruce joined on bass in 1977), and many other influential Los Angeles punk bands.”

18. Karl Alvarez (Descendents, All)

“Karl Alvarez of the legendary Descendents could arguably be the best bassist from the ’80s American Hardcore scene. His bass riffs were often prominent in their recorded and live works, sometimes being mixed above the guitar on final records. Listen to the pulse of his bass line in Parents and the aggressiveness of the intro to Myage, his bass playing is often what kicked started early Descendents songs.”

17. Darryl Jenifer (Bad Brains)

“The bassist for D.C. Rastacore pioneers Bad Brains, Darryl Jenifer’s contributions were subtle. He seemed to prefer a more supportive role, leaving the instrumental pyrotechnics to guitarist Dr. Know, almost acting like a rhythm guitarist as Doc let his fingers fly like hyperactive spiders up and down the fretboard.”

16. Grant Matthews (Rudimentary Peni)

“Rudimentary Peni are a British anarcho-punk band formed in 1980, emerging from the London anarcho-punk scene. Lead singer/guitarist Nick Blinko is notorious for his witty, macabre lyrics and dark pen-and-ink artwork, prominently featured on all of Rudimentary Peni’s albums. Bassist Grant Matthews has also written several songs for the band, though his lyrics primarily focus on sociopolitical themes.”

15. Mark Hoppus (Blink 182)

“Blink-182 may be “pop” punk, but Mark is a excellent bassist. He is one of the only people on this list that was the lead vocalist, bassist, and songwriter, and he did it all very well. He doesn’t really have any basslines that stand out from the mix, but he did his job by holding down the low end.”

14. Paul Gray (The Damned & Eddie & The Hot Rods)

“Paul Gray, had just left pub-rock/punk crossover outfit Eddie And The Hot Rods’ rhythm section when Sensible and drummer Rat Scabies recruited him for the Damned. Gray brought a John Entwistle-esque style of lead bass playing to their psychedelia/prog-inspired LPs, The Black Album and Strawberries, before he left in 1983 for UFO. He rejoined the Damned in 2017 and remains to this day.”

13. Jerry Only (Misfits)

“This guy is awesome! His bass is epic, and his image is cemented in punk. Misfits are the face of horror punk. He wasn’t the most proficient bassist, but he did more than what was asked for him. He’s very talented and has a great voice.”

12. Zander Schloss (Circle Jerks, the Weirdos)

“Zander Schloss (born August 7, 1961) is an American musician, actor and composer. He is known as bass player for the Circle Jerks, the Weirdos, his many collaborations with Joe Strummer musically and in film and for his contributions to independent feature films.”

11. Klaus Flouride (Dead Kennedys)

“Another seminal punk band from the American movement, Dead Kennedys packed quite a bit of musicianship into their band and songs, unlike a lot of the hardcore bands that would shortly follow. Geoff Lyall, aka Klaus Flouride, did sometimes settle into more traditional bass duties, but for many of their most popular songs, his bass lines are at the forefront.”

10. Dave Alexander (The Stooges)

“Dave Alexander was one of the founding members of the Stooges. He was full of contradictions: shy and mysterious, with a fast car and an unquenchable thirst for cheap beer and liquor. Ron Asheton described him as “way ahead of his time.”

9. Steve Soto (Adolescents)

“Soto was a multi-talented instrumentalist, a founding member of California punk rock band Agent Orange in 1979, and a founding member of Adolescents in 1980 performing on bass guitar in both bands. Soto was also a member of Legal Weapon, Joyride, Manic Hispanic and the punk supergroup 22 Jacks.”

8. Matthew Freeman (Rancid)

“His bass playing just lock the whole band together. Easily the best punk bassist ever. The best and most difficult to play bass lines, he is the best that Rancid has. Basically he nails every Rancid song by himself…not to mention Op Ivy.”

7. Glen Matlock (The Sex Pistols)

“He was a better bassist than people realize, and much better the Sid Vicious. He may not be the most technical bassist, but he held down the low end exceptionally well. Underrated team player. Heavily contributed to the band only to be fired.”

6. JJ Burnel (The Stranglers)

“The greatest bassist of the original punk era. His melodic, lead style of playing is the driving force behind so many great songs. His growling bass sound, along with Hugh Cornwell’s jagged guitar riffs and Dave Greenfield’s Doors-esque keyboards, gave The Stranglers an melodic aggressiveness unmatched by any other band. And he is also the toughest guy in rock.”

5. Paul Simonon (The Clash)

“He is way better than many people think. In my opinion, he is the most underrated bassist ever, in all genres of music. Guns of Brixton, London Calling, Magnificent Seven, Rock the Casbah, Jimmy Jazz, Rudie Can’t Fail, Lost in the Supermarket, This Is Radio Clash, and Straight to Hell all have epic basslines.”

4. Mike Watt (Minutemen)

“An American punk-funk pioneer, Mike Watt is the bass virtuoso everyone thinks Flea is. Every member of Minutemen could play their asses off. But Watt’s hyperactive note bursts were mixed front and center, the framework the one-minute haikus they called “songs” were built upon.”

3. Sid Vicious (Sex Pistols)

“He’s a terrible bass player, but he is truly iconic and deserves to be on this list nonetheless. He wasn’t a musician before the Sex Pistols, and he was so drugged out it was a miracle he could even see the frets. He was a true punk.”

2. Mike Dirnt (Green Day)

“He gets a lot of hate for Green Day not being “real” punk, but Mike Dirnt is an outstanding bassist, you cannot deny that. Longview, Welcome to Paradise, She, and Basketcase, are really awesome baselines that drive the whole song.”

1. Dee Dee Ramone (The Ramones)

“Dee Dee is better than Mike. Because his bass riff/lines is a good match with aggressive fast paced riffs. While Mike usually played some bass riffs without other instruments in the back and became popular. Lots of people think Mike is amazing because they could hear his bass riffs. While some good bassist’s bass sounds get mixed with drums beats and guitar riffs. People sometimes miss that.”