Asking who the best drummer alive today is will always be a complicated question. Art and music are subjective, so everyone has a different opinion on who they think is the greatest drummer out there.
With that being said, there are several drummers that always come up when thinking of the most skilled players around. These names include Benny Greb, Larnell Lewis, Thomas Pridgen, Sarah Thawer, Steve Smith, Nate Smith, Dennis Chambers, Tony Royster Jr, Jojo Mayer, and Chris Coleman.
These are certainly some of the best drummers alive, and here are a few bits of information on all of them.
Benny Greb is a groove master. He has such an amazing sense of groove and timing that everything he plays sounds like magic.
He’s an amazing educator as well, as he regularly does drum clinics. He’s also created a few highly successful books and DVDs that help you become a much better drummer.
One of the standout features of Benny’s drumming is his creativity. He does things on the kit that make you wonder how he came up with them. His ideas are always fresh, making him one of the best drummers alive today.
Larnell Lewis is a jazz and gospel drummer who has become a favorite of many over the last decade. He made his mark on the music industry when he tracked some of the best drum parts ever for a Snarky Puppy album after learning the songs from scratch on the plane ride to the recording.
He has an incredible sense of musicality. Everything he plays on the drums seems to fit perfectly with whatever song he’s playing to. He also has the ability to shred around the kit with lightning speed. You won’t see him doing that too much, though, which further proves his musicality when playing with a band.
Thomas Pridgen is one of the fastest drummers on this list. He has incredible technical skill behind the drum set. You’ll constantly see him playing very quick pattern combinations and somehow stringing them together to create musical ideas.
He also has blazing speed with his bass drum foot. It’s a sight to see, and it’s a big reason why many people consider Thomas Pridgen to be one of the best drummers in the world.
He has gospel roots, but he became most well-known when playing drums for The Mars Volta.
Sarah Thawer is a young female drummer. Her showmanship antics have gotten her a lot of attention, but her skill behind the kit is what has put her on this list.
She’s primarily a jazz drummer, but she’s played with dozens of artists and various styles of music. Her playing is unique as she brings in Indian influences. She often plays Indian rhythms and applies them to the drum kit.
Steve Smith is one of the most famous drummers in the world, even among non-drummers. His claim to fame was when he played drums for Journey, which was a widely popular classic rock band from the 20th century.
However, Steve Smith was first a jazz drummer. So, his drumming style is a combination between jazz and rock, and he demonstrates amazing things when playing the drum kit. He has an excellent sense of technique, and that’s what shows the most in his playing.
Steve Smith is one of the most famous drummers in the world, even among non-drummers. His claim to fame was when he played drums for Journey, which was a widely popular classic rock band from the 20th century.
However, Steve Smith was first a jazz drummer. So, his drumming style is a combination between jazz and rock, and he demonstrates amazing things when playing the drum kit. He has an excellent sense of technique, and that’s what shows the most in his playing.
Dennis Chambers is a living legend in the drumming world. He’s played with so many famous artists throughout his career, and he was heavily considered to be the leading drummer in the world at a stage.
Dennis Chambers has it all. He can groove better than most, but he can also rip it up on the drums whenever he needs to. He mostly plays funk and jazz fusion.
Tony Royster Jr. was a famous child-prodigy drummer. He won the Guitar Center Drum Off when he was only a child, and he’s grown up to become one of the most established drummers in the business.
The most impressive part of his playing is the sheer speed he has when moving around the kit. He plays drums for huge stars like Jay-Z and Katy Perry.
Jojo Mayer is an incredibly unique drummer. He specializes in playing electronic music, playing in a band called Nerve.
Jojo Mayer is a great example of how far good technique can take you. He’s a master of the push-pull technique, making him very quick with his drumming patterns. He’s very innovative as well, playing things that not many other drummers play on the kit.
Chris Coleman has been a through-and-through gospel drummer for his whole life, with his time with Israel and The New Breed where he got the most recognition.
He’s an incredible drummer, balancing power, musicality, feel, and timing on the drums. He’s a brilliant bass player as well, and that comes through in his drumming.
If you want to see something truly impressive, just watch a few Chris Coleman videos to have your mind blown.
Sadly, many famous drummers don’t get to live full lives. However, there are dozens of them that made such an impact on the music industry that their drumming skills have lived on forever. These drummers are still massive inspirations, and many of them have skills that haven’t been fully matched yet.
Here are a few of the greatest drummers of all time that aren’t with us on earth anymore.
There aren’t any rock drummers more iconic than John Bonham. He was the first drummer to play so many things on the kit, and he left a lasting legacy that still has people regard him as one of the best drummers to ever live.
He was the drummer with Led Zeppelin, and he shocked the world with his skills when he was just a teenager. He played the drums so hard, yet he somehow had the energy to keep it up show after show.
Buddy Rich is most people’s pick for the best drummer of all time. He was an all-out showman, and he became the star of the show in every gig he ever played in. He was so good at the drums that people would attend gigs just to see him play drum solos.
He was technically brilliant, and he was one of the fastest drummers in the 20th century. Watching him play single stroke rolls at crazy speeds is something that every drummer loves experiencing.
Neil Peart is another legend of the drumming world. He was a key member of the rock band Rush. The band became massive over the years, and so did Neil Peart’s drumming.
Neil Peart had an amazing sense of musicality behind the kit, and he was so accurate whenever playing complicated drum parts for Rush songs.
He died in 2020, and it left a huge gap in the music industry.
Keith Moon wasn’t the most technically proficient drummer of the Classic Rock Era. However, he left a lasting impact on drumming with the way he played the kit, and that firmly places him on this list.
He created some incredible drum parts with The Who, and his delinquent stage antics are what made him even more popular. He was a crazy guy, a crazy drummer, and he’s still a big inspiration for many.
Ginger Baker was one of the first drummers to combine jazz and rock drumming to create incredible drum parts. He was a highly proficient drummer, and his most notable role was when he played drums in Cream.
When you play drums alongside one of the best guitarists ever in the form of Eric Clapton, you just know that you’re one of the best drummers out there.
Ginger Baker played some amazing drum solos, and those are what made people regard him so highly.
Metal drumming has its own place on this list, as metal drumming is so vastly different from other styles. Metal drummers tend to specialize in the style, so it’s hard to compare metal drummers with drummers that play funk, rock, and jazz.
So, here is a list of a few of the best metal drummers around.
His work with Dream Theater made Mike Portnoy one of the most loved drummers of the 80s and 90s. When watching Mike Portnoy play, you’ll be amazed by his speed, endurance, and precision behind the kit.
He’s also technically brilliant, as most of Dream Theater’s songs are very complicated. He no longer plays with the band, but he still has several ongoing projects with other musicians.
Eloy Casagrande is a modern metal drummer who’s shown up on thousands of people’s radars in recent years. He’s the drummer for Sepultura, which is one of the biggest metal bands in the world at the moment.
He has a mastery over speed, agility, precision, and creativity. All those things make him regarded as one of the best metal drummers in the world.
Dave Lombardo was the original drummer for Slayer, which is one of the most well-known thrash metal bands out there. When it comes to speed metal, there aren’t many better than Dave Lombardo.
He’s been a huge influence on thousands of metal drummers over the years, as Dave Lombardo has recorded dozens of metal albums with popular groups.
Chris Adler is another legend in the metal music industry. The two biggest bands that he was a part of were Lamb of God and Megadeth. He was one of the original members of Lamb of God, and he did a short stint with Megadeth.
He’s also played drums with several other metal bands and killed it with every single one of them. Many people look up to Chris Adler as their biggest drumming inspiration.
It’s no secret that drums are a mostly male-dominated instrument. However, there are a few women that have such amazing skill behind the kit that they’ve broken through an ocean of male drummers to become just as regarded as some of the greats.
Here are a few of the best female drummers of all time.
Cindy Blackman is arguably the most famous female drummer of the 20th century. She’s still playing everywhere today, but she rose to fame in the 80s and 90s as a jazz and funk drummer.
She was the drummer for Lenny Kravitz and Santana, the latter of which she married somewhere down the line.
Cindy Blackman is a very creative drummer. She uses her jazz chops to influence her grooves, and she’s a fantastic soloist.
Anika Nilles is a modern female drummer who caught the attention of the drumming world when she posted YouTube videos of her playing to her own compositions.
She has a mastery over complex subdivisions, and she’s also a brilliant educator. She’s another drummer on this list that regularly does drum clinics.
We mentioned Sarah Thawer earlier, but we just need to mention her again in this list of female drummers. Again, she’s one of the best there is.
With so many amazing drummers on this list, it’s easy to see how you can’t single out just one of them as the best. Everyone has varying opinions and tastes, so it’s better to collectively regard all of them as the best drummers.
You’ll most likely have a personal favorite drummer, and there’s nothing wrong with saying that they’re the best drummer for you and your tastes.
Founder of TheDrumNinja
I’m crazy about drums, it’s been my passion since I was 12 years old. I played in numerous bands going through different styles like Rock, Progressive, Pop & Jazz-Rock. After being featured in major music publications (Drumeo, Guitar Guitar, AudioIssues, MusicThinkTank) I started this website to share my knowledge and create a resource for drummers of all levels.
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