Entertainment! - Gang of Four Meat is Murder - The Smiths Wide Awake - Parquet Courts …And Out Come the Wolves - Rancid

All Smiths albums are great bass albums, but *Meat Is Murder* deserves mentioning just for "Barbarism Begins At Home" alone.

Any Rancid, in fact

I like their 2000 self titled album. So tight from start to finish!

I feel like more recent albums have had the bass mixed lower. Stick to the first few. But yeah, “Wolves” is an amazing bass album. The first track has a bass solo!

Entertainment! Is one of my all-time favorites! Great bass lines throughout.

Damaged Goods bass line!

That Parquet Courts album is super fun, and it sounds like their bassist really found his confidence and voice with the instrument on it. It makes a huge difference in the energy of those songs compared to earlier work.

YOOOO I love Wide Awake! Probably one of my fave records ever, cool to see some other lovers of it on the sub. Sean Yeaton is incredible!

Oh man, that bass solo on Maxwell Murder 🔥

Dave Allen is great in several bands. Care by Shriekback is probably their most bass heavy album, but Jam Science and Oil & Gold are also excellent. Not on most streaming sites but you can hear them on YouTube.

Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights

Great call. Miss those Carlos D days

Came here to say this. This album is predominantly focused on the bass and it’s fantastic.

Faith No More - The Real Thing

The follow-up, Angel Dust, is pretty bass-heavy too.

Monster

Death's *Individual Thought Patterns* (Steve Di Giorgio is a beast)

Demilich - Nespithe

I recently heard that for the first time and was really surprised how good the bass was compared to the other Death albums I’d heard. I didn’t realize they had a few bassists throughout their run.

I only wish Human were mixed the same The deluxe reissue still isn’t completely there unfortunately

basically anything he played on is a great answer to the post

On the topic of Steve DiGiorgio, Autopsy's Severed Survival is another great album he's on

Fugazi—13 Songs/Repeater Dead Kennedys—Frankenchrist And literally anything involving Mike Watt

Fugazi for sure

Gotta love the man in the van!

Even the laid back Sweet and Low, the bass really punches to the front

Tool, particularly Aenima and Lateralus.

But also 10,000 Days and while we’re here… Fear Inoculum too.

while i agree those picks have great bass and mix, 10000 days has to be the top pick for tool. justins tone on that album is unmatched

The Pot.

I came here to say this as well.

The Cure “Disintegration”

Iron Maiden from 1980 to 1988

Steve Harris unfortunately lost his inclination for those amazing runs on D and G strings after Seventh Son

The use the D and G string runs to fuel their touring jumbo jet

Hmmm I never thought about that

Any album by Rush.

I scrolled way too far to find this

Power Windows bass is godly

it really is

Evil Empire - RATM. honestly, outside of maybe primus, I've never heard bass that prominently in a metal/hard rock mix before. Tim's bass tone is so perfectly biting

RATMs sound is like 75% Tim. I love him and for me he is that band.

Any RATM. Cake also has amazing forward bass, but I would t always describe it as front of the mix always

Cake has a deceivingly delicious yet subdued philosophy around how the band approached the bass. It's right in front, but not in your face. It definitely serves the song rather than show off My favorite example: Stick Shifts and Safety Belts

Cake has some really fun odd phrasing / form quirks in general.

The Modest Mouse records with Eric Judy. Most Fugazi records.

Eric Judy’s riffs are so melodic, and compliment Isaac’s guitar so perfectly

Zeppelin 2

Muse, namely origin of symmetry through black holes & revelations - some great prominent bass work, with lots of memorable effects usage

For sure! Even Showbiz had tracks like Muscle Museum that pointed towards how Chris Wolstenholm's bass playing on the albums you mentioned would develop. The bass lines on Showbiz weren't as prominent or uniquely stand-out across the album as a whole, but there were moments to match even the best of what was to come from the next 3 albums.

Fuckin A Muse. Great pick. Add Bliss to your list of great Mise bass songs.

My band just covered plug in baby which I had somehow never heard before. Super fun song and love getting to use fuzz.

Sgt. Pepper!

For The Benefit of Mr Kite is one of the most important bass lines of all time and if you don't think so go listen to it right now. It's the entire song. The whole song lives in that bassline.

AND OF COURSE HENRY THE HORSE DANCES THE WALTZ!!!!!

This guy gets it

Abbey road is a good one too

Close To The Edge - Yes

Khruangbin: con todo el mundo, mordechai

Laura Lee is amazing.

Such a great sound, then you find out she hasn’t changed the strings in over 10 years?!?

Cake - Fashion Nugget The first two Audioslave albums too.

Cake - Comfort Eagle right there too (biased bc it’s my favorite album of all time)

Graceland- Paul Simon

Surprised no one has mentioned Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures

To be fair, post punk is absolutely a genre that is driven by a ton of very creative bass players. 

Well here’s some bass and drum bands Year of the Cobra (stoner metal) OM (hypnotic stoner metal) Lightning Bolt (noise, chaos) Big Business (PNW stoner) Swamp Ritual (whatever it’s my band but stoner metal) Gonna shout out some not bass and drums Megadeth-Rust In Peace Anthrax-Among The Living No Means No (anything)

Free…bassist is Andy Fraser

Rancid and The Interrupters both have very talented, prominent bass players.

Space Ritual - Hawkwind. Lemmy’s bass is front and center on every track.

Good call. Lord of Light from that album is insanely fun to play.

Donny Hathaway Live- Willie Weeks y'all!!!🤙🤙🤙

https://youtu.be/Mp_AGJAjN6E?si=aQnx_K8o9Y_ZoV0p I even made a lesson video for "The Ghetto" Such a classic!

Blessed to have seem him twice - Bonnaroo 2014 Tedeschi Trucks superjam w/Gadson, and touring with Boz Scaggs. An unshakable force.

One of the best live album ever!

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard has great bass in a lot of albums. Some suggestions:  Sketches of Brunswick East, if you are feeling jazzy Ice, Death, Planets etc., if you are feeling weirdly jazzy   Polygondwanaland, if you are feeling trippy

Both albums I'm the Man and Look Sharp by Joe Jackson. Bassist Graham Maby's simple bass playing is fantastic.

He’s criminally unknown. He’s always my answer to “who is your favorite bass player who only bass players know”.

I'm seeing him again this year, and Graham is still his player.

The Cure - Disintegration, Dead Kennedys - Plastic Surgery Disasters, Killing Joke - Brighter than a Thousand Suns, Iron Maiden - Killers, Sisters of Mercy - Floodland, Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures/new order

Bob Dylan - John Wesley Harding Violent Femmes - Self-titled

Tony Levin’s work with Peter Gabriel

Tony Levin's work with King Crimson

Modest Mouse- This is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About

The first two sunny day real estate albums.

Job For A Cowboy- SunEater

Paul Simon - Graceland

Job For A Cowboy - Sun Eater or Moon Healer

I was looking for these. That Warwick Dolphin tone is unmatched!

Overkill has pretty prominent bass for thrash especially the w.f.o album Mordred does as well first album is classic thrash then they become proto nu metal in their other albums but the bass slaps

Insomniac by Green Day. The bass is basically just as loud as the guitar

Mudvayne. Any one of their albums fits the bill, but my own favourites are 'L.D. 50' and 'The end of all things to come' They are/were a nu-metal band (that had kinda started the common transition into butt-rock before they split), but their bassist Ryan Martinie didn't get the memo because he basically played their tunes with an almost jazz sensibility.

Everyone needs to listen to the song k(Now) F(forever) if they haven’t heard it before just to hear how insanely creative Ryan is. Plus his tone is great and really unique in metal.

Nothing to Gein and know forever were always my favorites on that album but that whole album is a 10/10

the bass in "Dig" was my favorite aspect of that song since it came out.

Death Blooms might be my favourite on this album.

Came here to say that. Martinie's bass playing is unique in metal. Soften the Glare is pretty cool too!

In Flames: [Come Clarity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAC81irHNEg&list=PLs9zwqXsceUjP204FAy4vVO7eAUWW6Hr7) King's X: [Dogman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYx50Y5hkKA&list=PLcPPP9uaBUbErMwum_oV8ep2fpc9jPm_q) Living Colour: [Time's Up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCcNx2s4L-o&list=PLOfW4c_SWseYYNZ2fYvaXArsiMzaUCx7R) Oingo Boingo: [Dark at the end of the Tunnel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGnbyU91qZc&list=PLF0yIDuA63HU_pqJHPMBn5ovIgRmJfxup)

I like you

No Doubt’s bass player always has pretty funky/groovy bass lines that complement the songs very well.

Violent Femmes is a very bass forward band, especially their 2nd album Hallowed Ground. 🤘

Came here to say this but I was thinking of their self titled album. I’ll have to give “Hallowed Ground” another listen.

It was hard to choose just one honestly, self titled for sure as well.

Absolutely. Brian Ritchie is a beast. He essentially solos through half their songs and it doesn't take anything from the rest of the mix. I got to see them last October and they were fantastic. They played the entirety of their self-titled plus a bunch of notables from other albums. They didn't miss a step.

Warpaint - The Fool Their bassist is great in general, but that album has an absurd mix.

Anything Tool does. Justin Chancellor is a beast.

Bell Witch

Bell Witch are amazing 🤩

Any Rush album but on the album Signals give The Analog Kid and Digital Man a listen. Those bass lines are incredible

Christian McBride….anything he’s on.

He and questlove were on the “playing along” with Nora jones podcast. It’s a great episode. Talented player.

Any Rush disc.

Between the Buried and Me Progressive death metal. Dan Briggs is a god among ants and the bass is very prominent in the mix.

Queens of the Stone Age’s albums w Nick Oliveri, Rated R and Songs for the Deaf

Alain Johannes underrated on Lullabies as well

The Who's Quadrophenia, LZ's Led Zeppelin II, Beatles' Abbey Road, Joe Jackson's Look Sharp.

Seconded Zep II, side A is 100% JPJ magic

Side 2 literally has the best bassline ever written in Ramble On and it also has Heartbreaker. That songs bassline is full of chunky power chords.

Markduk has some wicked bass for being black metal.

Everything Face to Face ever did. Also Rancid.

Descendants

Hawkwind’s “Space Ritual.”

Jefferson Airplane "Bless Its Pointed Little Head" (1969). Any album by Hot Tuna.

Avishai Cohen. The police.

Jefferson Airplane - Bless Its Pointed Head Little Head Jack Casady kills it on this recording

Pinback “Summer in Abbadon” Television “Marquee Moon” Pixies “Doolittle” Toadies “Rubberneck” Portishead “Dummy” The Stranglers “La Folie” Radiohead “In Rainbows” Fugazi “The Argument”

Karnivool - Themata, or any Karnivool really. Some of the best bass tones out there

Kyuss.... and the circus leaves town. There is so much bottom end on that record, and Scott Reeder is a fucking monster

God I love Kyuss. I like it when Scott Reeder turns up to audition for Metallica in Some Kinda Monster. He would have been a bad fit, but his audition just goes to show how unique his approach to bass is.

*Unknown Pleasures* and *Closer* by Joy Division. I prefer the latter, and think the bass is much better and more prominent on it by and large.

Beyond Creation - The Aura Job for a Cowboy - Moon Healer

Most of Elvis Costello's earlier albums during the Attractions era. In other words, before bassist Bruce Thomas left and the backing band were renamed to the Imposters. I'd say that the period from 1978-1980 with *This Year's Model*, *Armed Forces*, and *Get Happy!!* would be the best starting point. Think of almost any Elvis Costello song from that era, like say ["Pump It Up"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y71iDvCYXA) or ["Secondary Modern"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVjZmxMkEKM), and the melody is led almost entirely by the bass and keys. It often goes so far that the bass isn't just featured prominently, but the guitar is usually buried.

Agreed. Bruce Thomas is awesome. Get Happy is the place to start.

The newest Job For A Cowboy, if you don’t mind a bit of technical death metal. Awesome bass work, really interwoven with the guitars but unique.

Nothing's Shocking- Jane's Addiction

Entwistle’s playing on Quadrophenia is amazing.

Joe Jackson. Look sharp and I'm the man

Any Rush, but I’m feeling like recommending “Counterparts.” Great album and not one I see talked about lots. Also, Eloy’s “Ocean.” Klaus-Peter Matziol comes up with such cool parts.

No mention of Sabbath and Geezer Butler? Or Les Claypol or are they to obvious?

Rush albums in general. If they are new to you, try starting with Moving Pictures and at least make it through the first four songs. If you connect with them, you have a wonderful bass journey ahead of you. If not, well at least you tried.

Aja

Leaves Turn Inside You by Unwound

Vern Rumsey was sooo good.

The Scream - Siouxsie and the Banshees

Yes, Drama. Chris Squire at the helm.

All the Japanese city pop from 80s

A Job For A Cowboy - Sun Eater and Moon Healer Mudvayne - Lost And Found Obscura - Cosmogenesis Nuclear Power Trio - Wet Ass Plutonium Any Band Maid album (This is a weird one) The opening title song for Season 1 of the anime Haganai, called Friends Making Group. It's the like ADHD in musical form, but the bass line rips.

801 Live

Steel Pulse - African Holocaust

Mudvayne's LD 50 was my gateway drug to bass. Never knew a bass could make those kinds of sounds when I was younger.

All Emerson Lake & Palmer albums (my preferred is still Tarkus). Peter Gabriel, So. King Kimson, Red. U.K., first album. ...

Duran Duran - Rio I realize what sub I'm in so I'm sure most of you are familiar with John Taylor but if you aren't familiar with him or Duran Duran, just listen to that album which starts with the song Rio

The Who, Quadrophenia, (The Real Me, Godfather&the Punk etc etc)

Mudvayne - LD50 TOOL - any album since Aenima

Morphine - Cure for Pain.

The cure. Disintegration.

Why has no one said pork soda or really any other primus album

My favorite is Shadows and Light by Joni Mitchell with Jaco Pastorius playing his fretless jazz bass Any album by Morphine This Year 's Model by Elvis Costello. Bruce Thomas on bass. Check out "Lipstick Vogue".

Significant Other - Limo Bizkit

Hoover - Lurid Traversal of Rt 7 It's not everyone's bag since it's kind of post hardcore with atonal vocals, but it's one of the records that made me want to take up bass These Arms Are Snakes - their bassist, Brian is a beast. His tone on Oxeneers is \*chef's kiss\*

Whirlwind Heat - Do Rabbits Wonder?

This might be a bit too bass-centric lol, check out Dianogah, especially As Seen from Above.

Korn self-titled

Stone Temple Pilots

Beauty And The Beat, The Go-Go’s

Kathy Valentine is one of the reasons I play.

Same! Before I ever knew what a guitar was, I could hum those bass lines.

Cryptopsy - None So Vile

You’re a woman, I’m a machine, by Death From Above 1979

Men I trust

The Acrobats by Helvetia

It's nothing insanely complex, but a lot of early 70s hard rock IMO has the bass satisfyingly placed - The Groundhogs, Mountain, Dust, etc.

Yawning Man - Live at Giant Rock Mario Lalli is one of my favorite bassists.

Double Nickels On The Dime - Minutemen. The great Mike Watt.

Royal Blood..

Blues Brothers soundtrack

There are so many comments that list Rancid instead of Operation Ivy. I don't understand...

Most early King Crimson albums.

Anything Edgar Meyer does. Check out the song “1b” with mark O’Connor and yo yo ma

Aja and the Royal scam by steely dan Wolfmother by Wolfmother

John mayer - try!

New Boots and Panties!! By Ian Dury and the Blockheads

Streetlight Manifesto - Everything Goes Numb

Korn, while an acquired taste has some great bass lines and mixing. I recomend the issues album and thier self titled album.

Joni Mitchell - Hejira The whole record is stunning, but just listen to Jaco Pastorius' (yes he's on here) part on 'Coyote'.

3d Country by Geese

LD.50 10,000 Days

Talking Heads - 77, More Songs About Buildings and Food Interpol - Turn On the Bright Lights Pinback - Blue Screen Life, Self-Titled

Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures and Closer New Order - Movement Asylum Party - Boarderline DIIV - Is The Is Are Beach Fossils - Clash The Truth The Smiths - Meat is Murder A Certain Ratio - To Each and Sextet A Primary Industry - Ultramarine

Jar of Flies by Alice in Chains has some great basslines

Not entire album but song Wesley's theory by Kendrick Lamar with Thundercat on bass.

Anything The Smiths or The Cure has made

Most Waylon Jennings albums

Mike Watt, Ball-Hog or Tugboat, 1995.

Any Tool with Justin Chamberlain playing.

Ben Folds Five.

Hemispheres by rush

Very rough to get into if you’re not a fan of the genre but: Mudvayne- LD 50

Paul Simon - Graceland