Steve PMHThe bass guitar is the most often overlooked instrument in the context of a band. That is because a lot of the time we’re not really hearing their contribution.
We’d notice if it was removed, though. The bass has a crucial role in the band: they produce the groove which we all dance to.
They create a link between the drums and the rest of the group.
Every once in a while, the bass plays a melody which is a critical and immediately recognizable part of the tune. This is what we call a BASS RIFF.
You have heard many of these and moved your body to them. Perhaps some will be new discoveries.
One thing is for sure, you are about to enter the low-end groove zone. Because we are counting down the 17 best bass riffs of all time.
17. The Who – The Real Me
This song starts with a complex interplay between John Entwistle’s bass, Keith Moon’s drums and Pete Townshend’s guitar.
The bass part in particular is explosive. It’s exploratory, like a jazz bassline, quickly jumping wide intervals in between notes.
The chorus brings us into another classic bassline, a little more grooving but still in the Entwistle style of playing fast and melodic lines.
Fun fact, Entwistle played the intro bass riff of this song as a joke and the very first take ended up being used for the studio album.
16. Rage Against the Machine – Killing in the Name
Rage Against the Machine entered the scene with a bang.
Their self-titled debut album showed a band with very tight grooves so polished it sounded like they had been in the industry for years.
“Killing in the Name”, the lead single of that album, shows what RATM is all about pounding, funky metal, and revolutionary, politically charged lyrics.
Tim Commerford leads the song in with a two-note bassline and no other instruments playing.
A adrenaline-fueled buildup leads to the slinking main bass riff full of attitude, and then yet another funky and heavy riff in the chorus.
15. King Crimson – Elephant Talk
“Elephant Talk” was the first thing King Crimson fans heard after a seven-year hiatus.
What they found was a band that had redefined themselves with a totally different sound.
Instead of cerebral progressive suites, they had caught on to the new wave with danceable but still brainy tunes.
“Elephant Talk’s” bass riff, played by Tony Levin, actually uses a Chapman Stick, a quirky stringed instrument played with both hands on the fretboard.
It has a thick and punchy sound, featured heavily on this tune.
14. Radiohead – The National Anthem
This song has nothing to do with the national anthems of any country.
Appearing as the third song on the bleak and ominous Radiohead album “Kid A”, it presents a haunting and dystopian soundscape.
The bass riff dominates this song. It is very loud in the mix, repetitive and hypnotic.
Even though it is very simple, with only four different notes, it’s also very catchy.
It’s interesting to note that singer Thom Yorke, not bassist Colin Greenwood, wrote and recorded this bass riff.
13. Talking Heads – Cities
“Cities” is the Talking Heads version of disco, with its four on the floor beat and grooving bassline.
Tina Weymouth is a legendary bass player and has several riffs that could make this list, but we decided to go with only one entry per artist for the sake of fairness and variety.
Tina’s bass bounces and hops around the simple drum beat while David Byrne talk-sings about stressing over finding a city to live in.
12. The Stone Roses – I Wanna Be Adored
A dreamy soundscape filled with synthesizers and train sounds leads into a bassline fading in which unforgettable.
The whole song anchors on this light yet pensive bass riff as drums syncopate around it, followed by guitars joining the mix, and finally the yearning vocals mostly just repeating the song’s title.
This tune is all about the feeling it creates. It’s dripping with atmosphere, largely due to bassist Mani.
11. Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc.
The smooth and stylish bass riff which drives this song is just as recognizable as the creepy laugh which kicks it off.
“Feel Good Inc.” is the most successful song by the virtual band Gorillaz, and it is the most demonstrative of their style, blending hip hop, pop and electronic elements.
The bass which drives this song has kind of a secret spy vibe to it, lending an unmistakably cool element to their sound.
No major hit single since has recreated the vibe of this tune.
10. Tool – 46 & 2
A single bass guitar modulated by a chorus effect pedal famously starts off this next song.
Snaking around in an odd time signature, the riff in the verses, played by Justin Chancellor, provides a backdrop for Maynard James Keenan’s beckoning and philosophical lyrics about self-discovery.
The bass, joined by guitars, continues to lead the song through several complex and contemplative sections, culminating in the whole band hammering on a single note.
9. Queen – Another One Bites the Dust
It’s rare to see a song where the bass is the most prominent instrument and serves as the main melody.
“Another One Bites the Dust” is perhaps the best example of this. Not only is the bass riff a recognizable part of the song, it IS the song.
Queen was a very well-rounded band in the sense that every band member composed chart-topping hits.
“Another One Bites the Dust” was written by bass player John Deacon, and was their most danceable song to date, to great success- it hit number 1 on the Billboard chart.
8. Led Zeppelin – What Is and What Should Never Be
John Paul Jones is the most underrated member of Led Zeppelin.
If you listen closely, you can hear his ingenious bass lines weaving through all the hits of this legendary band.
“What Is and What Should Never Be” is a beautiful and seductive jam from their second album.
During the verses, the bass riff is enticing, gentle and laid back; it’s not attempting to impress but instead making the most out of the tonality of the instrument to create that chill vibe.
As soon as the song begins and you hear that riff with Robert Plant softly crooning, it leaves an incredibly striking impression.
7. Rush – YYZ
Rush accomplished the impressive feat of taking progressive rock, which is mostly obscure because of its complexity and lack of vocals, and making it catchy.
“YYZ” is one of their most famous songs (other than Tom Sawyer) and gives a big amount of prominence to bassist Geddy Lee.
The main bass riff is extremely difficult to play, yet at the same time memorable and tuneful.
The syncopated bass section which opens the tune actually spells “YYZ” in Morse Code.
The legend goes that Geddy Lee heard the Morse Code being transmitted on an airplane from an air traffic control system, and that he decided to make a song out of it.
6. Tame Impala – The Less I Know the Better
Tame Impala is a band creating genuine, guitar-driven music in an era when that is no longer the main genre of commercially successful music.
They have been critically acclaimed for their albums which are an homage to 70’s rock and dance music while still bringing something new to the table with state-of-the-art studio production techniques.
They are not really a “they” however. Tame Impala is the brainchild of one man, Kevin Parker, who plays every instrument on almost every song.
“The Less I Know the Better”, released in 2015, is his biggest hit.
The bass riff is front and center, as a modern-day disco masterpiece unfolds with dazzling synthesizers and lush production.
5. The Beatles – Come Together
“Here come old flat top, he come grooving’ up slowly, he got ju-ju eyeballs, he’s one holy roller, he got hair down to his knee, got to be a joker he just do what he please!”
Those opening lyrics and the bassline that accompany them are ubiquitous.
Paul McCartney’s singing and songwriting contributions to the band are perpetually praised, but his bass playing is often ignored.
He would often play extraordinarily melodic basslines which were not particularly featured but added another layer of depth to their deceptively simple songs.
In the case of “Come Together”, however, the bass riff was a key part of the song, perhaps the most recognizable bass riff of all time.
4. Joy Division – Disorder
Joy Division’s “Unknown Pleasures”, of which “Disorder” is the album opener, reinvented the entire punk genre (and band t-shirt industry) with a single artistic statement.
It was stark, introverted and brooding.
There was a lot more restraint shown here than previous punk records, allowing the minimalist playing to echo into an empty abyss, producing an atmosphere previously unheard of.
The album was not particularly successful upon release; perhaps it was too ahead of its time. The bass riff which starts off the album is plucky and grooving.
These days “Disorder” is an anthem for darkly dancing goth kids in dimly lit, smoky bars.
3. Primus – Jerry Was a Race Car Driver
This list would not be complete without an entry from Primus, the bizarre three-piece funk-metal group led by bassist and lead vocalist Les Claypool, who is often ranked among the best bassists of all time.
It was hard to pick just one song by them, as virtually any song by them could earn a spot on this list.
Claypool incorporates all manner of bass techniques: slapping, popping, slides and on this particular song, intervals on the high end of the fretboard not typically used in bass playing.
In the chorus he uses a distortion on his bass guitar which is so guttural that it’s indescribable.
A Dadaist fantasy unfolds as the song grooves on- a world of Claypool’s own making.
2. Yes – Roundabout
Before there was Rush, there was the English progressive rock scene of the early 1970’s. “Roundabout” was one of the most iconic songs to come from this scene.
It’s a vivid and baroque exploration of musical territory never before explored in a rock context, borrowing elements from classical music.
The bass is virtuosic throughout, careening through twists and turn of wildly creative musical passages.
The most famous riff is the opening one.
Boldly distorted and upfront, it has that English sense of eclecticism that makes it both charming and rocking.
This riff is famously featured in the end credits of the anime “Jojo’s Bizarre Circus”, accompanied by the phrase “to be continued”.
This has become an internet meme, further cementing “Roundabout’s” place in popular culture.
1. Pink Floyd – Money
Topping our list is “Money” by Pink Floyd, perhaps the most commercially successful song in 7/4. time.
The riff in in a pentatonic blues scale and shuffles around in this weird timing leaving you wondering exactly how to groove to it.
Aside from being just an awesome song, this is one of the best ways to understand odd time signatures.
The song uses cash register sounds which were cut together to the rhythm of the song, after which that classic bass riff played by Roger Waters comes in.
Being a cynical look at how money corrupts us, “Money” was ironically Pink Floyd’s biggest hit at the time, and it was featured on their masterpiece “Dark Side of the Moon”.
Conclusion
If you look over this list, you will realize that these aren’t just great bass riffs, these are some of the best songs ever made.
A good bassline is an indispensable part of any good song. It lays down the rhythm of the song but also provides melodic content.
There is something visceral about low-end frequency. We’ve all felt it when we enter a music venue and feel the bass vibrating our body.
It gets to the core of what music is all about- to feel something, to move around, to share an experience with others.
I hope this list provided the groundwork to explore many more riffs.
It was hard to choose, but there were many important ones we couldn’t list today. Happy grooving!
