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Best Female Bassists: An Essential Top 25 Countdown

Our list of the best female bassists includes key players in punk, funk, and lyrical rock.

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Bass Guitarist Guitar in shadows
Photo: Thomas Northcut / Getty Images

Looking over this list of best female bassists, the first thing that comes to mind is that it includes some of the best musicians we can name – not just the best bassists or best females. The other is what an impressive number of them also excel at other things: playing guitar, writing songs, and being frontwomen. Maybe it’s because in the bass-playing world, as in so many other places, women have to excel that much more before the guys start admitting it.

Keeping that in mind, our list of the best female bassists of all-time includes some of the key players in punk, funk, and lyrical rock, and it’s headed by one of the most versatile musicians ever to pick up an instrument.

Here are our Top 25 best female bassists of all time.

25: Joan Armatrading

Another gifted singer-songwriter who’s less recognized as a multi-instrumentalist, Armatrading played a bit of bass on her classic-era albums (along with her usual guitar and keyboards). Her 2018 album, Not Too Far Away, is filled with the kind of lyrical basslines that she used to hire top-flight session guys to play. And since her latest run of albums have included jazz, blues, and electric rock sets, she’s a remarkably versatile player as well, earning her place among the best female bassists.

Joan Armatrading - Not Too Far Away (Official Audio)

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24: Kendra Smith (The Dream Syndicate, Opal)

One of the most striking musicians to emerge from LA’s Paisley Underground, Kendra Smith got nearly as much attention as the group’s frontman, Steve Wynn, did. She left after the band’s classic debut album, The Days Of Wine And Roses, and their sound was never the same. Smith continued as a beloved cult figure, making a hauntingly beautiful album with Opal and then a solo album, Nine Ways Of Disappearing – after which she did just that, reportedly living in the desert. But she reappeared, like a lovely hallucination, on The Dream Syndicate’s 2017 reunion album, How Did I Find Myself Here?

23: Suzi Quatro

The usual US response to Suzi Quatro’s name is: “Who?” But she was a rock goddess in the UK during the glam rock era, when her singles “Can The Can” and “Devil Gate Drive” were the sexiest of struts. As more mid-60s garage singles got reissued, it later came to light that Quatro had been in the Detroit band The Pleasure Seekers, whose single “Never Thought You’d Leave Me” is one of the few great female-fronted nuggets in the garage genre – and it opens with a bass solo. It’s also fair to say that Quatro is the only entrant in this list of the best female bassists to have a recurring role on Happy Days.

22: Melissa Auf Der Maur (Smashing Pumpkins, Hole)

A rock-solid bassist, Melissa Auf Der Maur specialized in patching together bands who were in volatile situations, first joining Hole in the dark days after Kristen Pfaff’s death, then Smashing Pumpkins after their fall out with D’arcy Wretzky. She showed her versatility by joining the former band at its most pop (Celebrity Skin) and the latter at its most metallic (Machina). Her two solo albums put both approaches together, with some prog and punk thrown in.

Auf Der Maur - Followed The Waves

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21: Sean Yseult (White Zombie)

The New Orleans-based Sean Yseult is an artist who’s worked in various media; she’s authored a book, exhibited her photography, and has a parallel fashion career. As one the best female bassists, she’s got a dirty tone and a lowdown sensibility; she’s even played with The Cramps. But Yseult is best known for her long stint in White Zombie, a band that managed to combine doomy drones with rock’n’roll fun.

White Zombie - Black Sunshine ft. Iggy Pop

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20: Aimee Mann (’Til Tuesday)

Some might be tempted to disqualify Aimee Mann here, simply because she’s played so little bass since her days with ’Til Tuesday. While her singing and songwriting has become more impressive on every level since, she’s had a regular bassist (Paul Bryan) in her solo band and mostly plays rhythm guitar onstage. But with Both, her occasional collaboration with Ted Leo, we’re reminded how dazzling Mann is as a bassist, turning out fast punk basslines with a songwriter’s sense of melody.

19: Johnette Napolitano (Concrete Blonde)

Frontwomen who play bass seem to have a love/hate relationship with the instrument; like Juliana Hatfield and Aimee Mann, Johnette Napolitano has switched to guitar on a few albums and tours, but her status as one of the world’s best female bassists is assured. The early-90s line-up of Concrete Blonde (the one with her on bass, ex-Roxy Music member Paul Thompson on drums, and Jim Mankey on guitar) was one hell of a power trio, pulling off ominous goth-tinged grooves and celebratory rockers.

Concrete Blonde - Joey (Official Video)

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18: Kim Deal (Pixies, The Breeders)

So far as many fans were concerned, Kim Deal was Pixies. And while that’s overlooking the band’s other key members, there’s no denying that her sound and presence were key to their original chemistry. As for Deal’s musical abilities, consider that two of the best-loved Pixies tracks (“Debaser” and “Gigantic”) both opened with bass solos and that she did a fine job of being the entire band on her pseudonymous solo album, Pacer By The Amps.

Pixies - Gigantic

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17: Gaye Advert (The Adverts)

One of the best female bassists to emerge from the punk scene, Gaye Advert might have gotten her proper due if only her band hadn’t imploded after one classic single, “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes,” and a couple of alright follow-ups, none of which were even released in the US. Punk bass was all about speed and accuracy, and the likes of Dee Dee Ramone and Glen Matlock had nothing on Gaye Advert.

The Adverts Gary Gilmore's Eyes Live @ Top Of The Pops 1977

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16: Cait O’Riordan (The Pogues)

Think it’s easy holding together a gang of acoustic musicians in various stages of inebriation? As The Pogues’ original bassist, O’Riordan had the thankless job of keeping everybody in line, which she managed surprisingly well. If the band sounded impossibly tight, she’s the one to thank. She was perhaps the most diehard punk rocker in the line-up, and it helped that she was the only one who could plug in.

Wild Cats of Kilkenny

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15: Michele Temple (Pere Ubu)

As the longest-serving bassist in Pere Ubu – in fact, the longest-serving member in the “avant-garage” band’s history, aside from frontman David Thomas – Michele Temple has one of the toughest jobs in the band. It falls on her to make their trickiest moments sound immediate, and vice versa.

Pere Ubu, "Come Home"

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14: Sara Lee (Gang Of Four, The B-52s, The League Of Gentlemen)

One of the first great punk-funk bassists, Sara Lee was the unheralded star of Robert Fripp’s short-lived dance band The League Of Gentlemen, where her basslines were mostly what you danced to. She then replaced Dave Allen in Gang Of Four, a band that lived or died by their fearsome rhythm section, and added the necessary bottom to The B-52s. As her one solo album, Make It Beautiful, demonstrated, Lee’s no slouch as a singer-songwriter either.

Gang of Four - "I Love a Man in a Uniform" (Live on Rockpalast, 1983) [8/21]

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13: Gail Greenwood (Belly, L7)

You might call Gail Greenwood the anti-John Entwistle. As a stage bassist she’s anything but the quiet one. Plucked from the Providence punk world to join Belly on their second album, she added an exuberant live presence (and ever-changing hair color) to their shows, coaxing frontwoman Tanya Donelly out of her shell. Greenwood later joined L7, becoming a hair-shaker among hair-shakers, and rejoined Belly when they released their first album in 23 years, 2018’s Dove.

Belly - Gepetto (Video)

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12: Enid Williams/Gil Weston (Girlschool)

You can’t be in Girlschool and not be hailed as one of the best female bassists that ever lived. Girlschool broke important ground as the first all-female heavy metal band, though they were more recognized in the UK than anywhere else. Williams and Weston have to share the title as they both played in the band’s classic era (roughly 1980-85); original member Williams is back in the line-up now. Girlschool are probably best-known in the US for collaborating with Motörhead – and you’d better believe that any band endorsed by Lemmy has a good bassist.

Girlschool - C'mon Lets Go (Official Music Video)

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11: Abby Travis

The Ultimate Versatility Award goes to the Los Angeles wunderkind Abby Travis, who we chanced upon in 2011 at an obscure prog-rock reunion show, featuring the Anglo-German band Nektar and the freaky Euro/krautrock band Brainticket. The latter got a new lease of life courtesy of a young, goth-looking singer-bassist who gave them a stage presence they never had before. Despite being a good 30 years younger than the rest of the group, Travis was fully on the band’s acid-drenched wavelength. A year later she replaced Kathy Valentine in Go-Go’s. She’s also toured with Butthole Surfers and Cher (now there’s a sentence you don’t get to write every day) and can apparently play anything with anybody.

"I Put A Spell On You" live Abby Travis

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10: Juliana Hatfield (Blake Babies, Lemonheads, Solo)

Juliana Hatfield is one of those artists who’s so well established as a singer-songwriter that her instrumental gifts tend to get overlooked, yet she was probably the best musician in the first two bands she was in, Blake Babies and The Lemonheads. In both cases, her playing is supple and melodic, and the producers wisely pushed it up front. Listen to The Lemonheads’ It’s A Shame About Ray album, and the way she makes the whole thing zoom along.

It's A Shame About Ray (Remastered)

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9: Laura Kennedy (Bush Tetras)

Any band whose anthem includes the line “You can’t be funky if you haven’t got a soul” better have a great bassist. And the late Laura Kennedy was one: a key player in the New York “no wave” movement. The closest US equivalent to Gang Of Four, Bush Tetras wanted to be edgy and confrontational, but they also wanted to be a dance band, and succeeded on both counts.

Bush Tetras Live at Hurrah - 1-30-81

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8: Gail Ann Dorsey

Gail Ann Dorsey is one of a precious handful of bassists whose formidable technique is matched with a nonchalant stylistic flexibility – and she scrupulously monitors the dosage of these enviable strengths so that the song, as it should, always comes first. A subtle hallmark of her playing, as a bassist of choice for notables including David Bowie and Tears For Fears (and as a solo artist in her own right), is her seamless musicality: a combination of impeccable note choice and intuitively-weighted groove, so in the pocket that the details only emerge when you listen through an ear microscope. At which point the discreet rightness knocks you on your arse.

Gail Ann Dorsey - Stop on By - the Tube

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7: Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth)

Kim Gordon has always been more than a “girl in a band,” she’s a genuinely innovative player whose voice was essential to the mix of Sonic Youth. Her bass tone was always recognizable, at times providing the reassuring voice when Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo went off on dissonant jams. But she could enter the fray as well. Listen to Sonic Youth’s 20-minute “The Diamond Sea” to hear how threatening a bass can sound.

Sonic Youth - The Diamond Sea (Live Germany 1996) FULL Song

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6: Rhonda Smith (Prince, Jeff Beck)

If you’ve seen Jeff Beck’s current tour, you’ve got the evidence that this Canadian bassist improves any band she’s in. She entered Prince’s orbit for the Jam Of The Year tour – the one where he put the sequencers away and got down to some serious funk, working James Brown covers in among the classics. She’s largely been in the funk world since then, touring with Chaka Khan and Beyoncé. With Beck, she gets to be flashy and funky at once.

Jeff Beck - "Rhonda Smith" Bass Solo & People Get Ready" - Live Tokyo 2010 [Full HD]

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5: Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club)

With her husband and rhythm twin Chris Frantz (the two have never worked separately), Tina Weymouth was instrumental in bringing a sense of groove to the emerging new wave movement. There’s a reason why Talking Heads were the only CBGB-era band who could make a signature tune out of an Al Green number. In particular, the version of “Genius Of Love” in the movie Stop Making Sense is some of the most joyful funk ever played by a rock band.

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4: Tal Wilkenfeld

It would be enough if this Australian prodigy was simply a monster fusion bassist. Wilkenfeld proved that during her touring stints with Chick Corea, Jeff Beck, and when opening for The Who, when she dazzled older audiences who hadn’t seen that kind of spirit since 1969. But in her club shows, she’s less about fusion and more about sophisticated songwriting, even covering The Smiths and Tom Petty.

Tal Wilkenfeld - Bass Solo (from Jeff Beck Live at Ronnie Scott's)

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3: Meshell Ndegeocello

Easily holding her own among the best female bassists of all time, Ndegeocello is the only bassist on this list who’s played in The Rolling Stones… and that may be the least of her accomplishments. Her early 90s work set a soul revival in motion and established her as one of those mavericks who could build something original and modern out of the soul tradition, incorporating pop, rap, and reggae into the mix – and of course, many tasty basslines.

2: Esperanza Spalding

It makes perfect sense that one of the most progressive musicians currently working would come out of the jazz world, where she’d already established herself as a world-class singer and one of the best female bassists in the genre. But her 2016 concept album, Emily’s D+Evolution, took things to a whole new level. With its complex rock leanings, R&B touchstones, and jazz underpinnings, it’s the kind of headphones album you can travel along with, and the brilliant bass playing is just one of the attractions.

Esperanza Spalding - "I Know You Know / Smile Like That" (Live in San Sebastian july 23, 2009 - 3/9)

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1: Carol Kaye (The Wrecking Crew)

The presence of this virtuoso in Los Angeles’ legendary Wrecking Crew should have once and for all dismissed any notions that female musicians were a novelty. Kaye is one of the most-recorded bassists in history, but the real story is in the scope of her recordings. She did funk, acoustic, the lushest of orchestrated pop (the entirety of Pet Sounds, for starters) and played indelible licks such as the intro to the Grass Roots’ “Midnight Confessions” and even the salsa groove on Joe Cocker’s “Feelin’ Alright.” Easily topping this list of the best female bassists of all time, Kaye’s status as a legend is assured for decades to come.

Bored of phallic fretwork and cock-rock grandstanding? Find out more about the best female guitarists of all time.

66 Comments

66 Comments

  1. Louis

    January 1, 2019 at 12:39 pm

    You missed an amazing female bass player / songwriter / singer and bandleader in Divinity Roxx. I have seen her live in NYC and got her albums. An amazing talented young lady…. check her out

    • uDiscover

      January 30, 2019 at 6:32 pm

      You’re right, Gail Ann Dorsey was something of an oversight. If she’s good enough for Bowie, she’s good enough for the rest of the world, and has been rightfully added to the list.

      • Danilo ritualo

        July 28, 2019 at 6:47 am

        How about hagar ben-ari

  2. Araldia

    January 1, 2019 at 2:31 pm

    I was really surprised to not find Gail Ann Dorsey on the list too!

    • Jep Thornton

      January 1, 2019 at 5:40 pm

      Second this comment. Gail Ann is superb.

    • Don Adkins

      January 1, 2019 at 6:01 pm

      Agree, the list was really complete, but Gail Ann came to mind as well.

    • Richard Trebus

      January 7, 2019 at 12:24 am

      I agree! What about Gail Ann Dorsey? Better then a lot of female bass players on this list!!

    • Jmix

      January 7, 2019 at 5:10 pm

      I love Kim Deal, Kim Gordon & Juliana Hatfield and all my respect goes to Carol Kaye, but Gail-Ann Dorsey rules!

  3. Dawson

    January 1, 2019 at 3:38 pm

    Not a bad list, but the omission of Paz Lenchantin is a horrible horrible mistake. Especially given that more than one bassist on this list were simple 3-chord players, whereas Lenchantin is a virtuoso.

  4. Jim R

    January 1, 2019 at 3:50 pm

    Lyrical rock, wtf is that? This seems like a list of hard rock music groups, with Joan A thrown in. I think shes great btw, but why no love for the upright bass and Bridgette Kearney of LSD? Yes they play more “pop” music but if you’re going to include a pop song like Joey, you need to check Bridgette’s work and rethink this list.

  5. Paul

    January 1, 2019 at 7:50 pm

    Mystified how you can leave Gail Ann Dorsey off of a list with such a tempting headline.

    • uDiscover

      January 30, 2019 at 6:34 pm

      You’re right, Gail Ann Dorsey was something of an oversight. If she’s good enough for Bowie, she’s good enough for the rest of the world, and has been rightfully added to the list.

  6. Al Bramlett

    January 1, 2019 at 10:33 pm

    You missed Bassis, RobinBramlett. She has played great artists in the Neo soul and smooth jazz genres, such as Miki Howard, Karen Briggs, Candace Springs, Althea Rene. Here is a clip. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10218115196291378&id=1231981177

  7. Jimmy

    January 2, 2019 at 12:14 am

    I was surprised / saddened to hear Jo Bench from Bolt Thrower didn’t make it on to this list. Absolutely savage bassist.

  8. Ladybass71

    January 2, 2019 at 12:58 am

    Great list – personally I’d have put Tina Weymouth way at the top of this list – for actually bringing something new to the bass -also she started in The 70s when there wasn’t a lot of female bass players. In terms of taste, musicality, minimalism and originality she is way ahead of the field – a real trailblazer. Add to that the talking heads songbook and genius of love!!!

    And Suzi Quatro is just a bass goddess. Watching her rock out with her jazz bass well into middle age is just very inspiring to me.

    You can keep all the slappity tappity fret ticklers too!!!!

    Though a great list!!!

  9. Mike Brueske

    January 2, 2019 at 2:31 am

    Then there’s Michael Steele (Bangles), really a rock solid and very melodic player (and singer).

  10. Charles

    January 2, 2019 at 4:44 am

    Mohini Dey is conspicuously absent from this list. Why?

  11. Rick

    January 2, 2019 at 6:36 am

    I would put Gail Ann Dorsey on any list of bass players

  12. Clive

    January 2, 2019 at 7:11 am

    I would have Gail Ann Dorsey top of the list, poor oversite!

    • uDiscover

      January 30, 2019 at 6:33 pm

      You’re right, Gail Ann Dorsey was something of an oversight. If she’s good enough for Bowie, she’s good enough for the rest of the world, and has been rightfully added to the list.

  13. John Jannuzzi

    January 2, 2019 at 2:07 pm

    Misa from Band-Maid , the whole group has mad skills. Worth checking out.

    • Universaldave

      March 21, 2021 at 5:29 am

      Absolutely a crime she wasn’t on this list. I can only surmise they’have never heard Band Maid.

  14. Rob

    January 3, 2019 at 11:44 pm

    I thought that Micki Steele would crack the top 25.

  15. Erika Osterhout

    January 5, 2019 at 1:28 am

    Love the list, but the picture of at the top is of me, Erika Osterhout. My brother, Vance Osterhout took that photo in San Diego at Til-Two club in 2013 during my set in one of my death metal bands, Scolex. Still an honor to be up there with all the greats.

    • Christopher Nowak

      September 30, 2019 at 12:02 pm

      I guess that they would have included you on the list if it were to be a TOP 30 COUNTDOWN.

  16. lee mohn

    January 5, 2019 at 2:54 am

    amazed kate davis didnt make this list….she is amazing….as is brenda martin from eruca sativa….they leave at least half of this list in the dust….

  17. Avinash

    January 5, 2019 at 3:04 am

    This is a wonderful list, but it’s a bit disconcerting that the top image is uncredited and unattributed—it gives the impression that the subject or the photographer didn’t give permission for the photo to be used. That’s a kind of wack thing for a bigger site to pull, right?

    • uDiscover

      February 4, 2019 at 10:25 am

      Hi Avinash, photo credit has now been added ;-

  18. Thinker

    January 5, 2019 at 1:34 pm

    Suzi Quatro is number 1. She is fantastic and she led the way for women rockers.

  19. Matt P.

    January 6, 2019 at 11:05 am

    I agree about Paz and (to some degree) Michael Steele.
    This appears to be one of those solely “one person’s opinion” articles. A couple of these entries seem to have barely picked up a bass.
    The Go-Go’s Kathy Valentine should be on this list though. I realize she is first and foremost a guitarist and she learned bass to join the Go-Go’s, but her bass-work on the G-Go’s albums speaks for her talent.

  20. Notarydpo

    January 6, 2019 at 12:32 pm

    Outstanding list (damn straight Gail Greenwood), but Catherine Popper is an essential player who deserved mention.

  21. Mike Fowler

    January 6, 2019 at 1:26 pm

    I was looking to find Lisa Umbarger from the Toadies on this list. She was amazing.

  22. OA

    January 7, 2019 at 4:46 am

    Agree with the others shocked to not see Gail Ann Dorsey …and no Tracy Wormworth???? OMG.

  23. Vance Osterhout

    January 7, 2019 at 9:05 pm

    The header picture of Erika Osterhout that you cropped was taken by me at Til Two and I would appreciate being credited for it.

    • uDiscover

      January 11, 2019 at 12:35 pm

      Thanks Vance, credit added!

    • Christopher Nowak

      October 17, 2019 at 11:43 pm

      Your sister already mentioned this.
      You would have been credited for this whether you commented or not.

  24. Keith

    January 10, 2019 at 10:57 am

    Where is Gail Ann Dorsey, Janice Marie Johnson, Ida Nielsen, Mohini Dey, and Alissia Benveniste??? Just like the Bass Player 100, whenever someone tries to limit the amount of amazing talent there is in the world to a list and then rank them, that list is will never be definitive.

  25. Steve Gillette

    January 12, 2019 at 2:27 am

    Let’s not forget Emma Anzai of Sick Puppies!

  26. Mark

    February 6, 2019 at 5:44 pm

    Annnnd…Julie Slick needs to be on this list. Very much so.

  27. Marz Reed

    February 21, 2019 at 4:18 am

    Emma Anzai of Sick Puppies aka. “The female Flea” should top that list.

  28. Craig

    April 20, 2019 at 6:41 pm

    Just curious why Janice Marie Johnson from “A Taste of Honey” is not on this list. Just listen to Boogie Oogie Oogie and you will understandm oh and she was singing as well on that song

  29. Burl

    April 24, 2019 at 7:21 pm

    Michael Steele understood rhythm and melody, but she was really coming into her own as a song writer.

  30. OMM

    July 12, 2019 at 5:49 pm

    I know someone will always be left off these lists, but Jennifer Young of the Travis Larson Band is at another level than anyone on this list, chack her out.

  31. geerhoar

    July 20, 2019 at 2:04 pm

    BassIda!!!!!!

  32. Christopher Nowak

    September 30, 2019 at 12:13 pm

    I do not get it.
    Some of you say GAIL ANN DORSEY is on the list but most say she is off the list.
    GAIL IS #8 ON THE LIST!!! or was this list revised later on?
    BTW, I wonder if Gail is related to the late JIMMY and TOMMY Dorsey?

  33. Christopher Nowak

    September 30, 2019 at 12:49 pm

    I am a jazz fan and appalled that you left out JODI PROZNICK!!

  34. Christopher Nowak

    September 30, 2019 at 12:58 pm

    CAROL KAYE?!

    • Christopher Nowak

      September 30, 2019 at 1:03 pm

      SORRY FOLKS! CAROL IS #1
      I DO NOT KNOW HOW I MISSED HER??

  35. Christopher Nowak

    September 30, 2019 at 1:36 pm

    JEAN MILLINGTON from FANNY!
    Anyone who can sing the way she did and play bass at the same time has to be good.
    She was one hot chick in the 1970s. It is too bad that she let herself go!!

  36. Edwin

    November 5, 2019 at 4:29 pm

    Carol Colman, the incredible bassist for Kid Creole & The Coconuts, deserves a spot on the list. The way she propelled the band, on record and in concert, was a thing of beauty.

  37. Mark Thompson

    November 27, 2019 at 7:20 pm

    You missed Allison Prestwood from Nashville.
    Some credits:
    Toured extensively with Rodney Crowell, Patty Loveless, Shawn Colvin, Olivia Newton-John, and the Dead Reckoners. In addition, I have played bass in concert with Joe Bonamassa, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Trisha Yearwood, Wynona Judd, Jim Lauderdale, and many others.
    Lots of recording credits too.

  38. Rhiannon

    December 3, 2019 at 8:17 pm

    Doris Yeh of Taiwanese band Cthonic. Their most well known song is “Takao”. She and singer Freddie Lim are the driving force behind the band.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_UkowmQs30

    How can you leave out Patricia Morrison? Sisters of Mercy, The Gun Club, The Damned? Since retirement from playing, she has served as The Damned’s band manager.

  39. fred firth

    January 4, 2020 at 4:05 pm

    I’d throw in Nikki Monninger, as well. Silversun Pickups would not be the same without her bass lines.

    • Nigel Scott

      March 18, 2021 at 9:30 am

      Where is Mohini Dey? She is a modern bass playing phenomenon. She has to be on the list.

  40. LoganX

    November 11, 2020 at 2:38 am

    Alejandra Villareal is only 15 years old and she’s a badass Bass player:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxs0m7GTBh0

  41. Anders Lundquist

    March 20, 2021 at 10:16 am

    Great list (especially since Gail Ann Dorsey was rightfully added).
    Among the ones not on the list, I’d like to name Ida Nielsen (Prince, solo) and Mai Leisz (David Crosby, solo etc).

  42. Michele Cercone

    March 20, 2021 at 4:44 pm

    You must check out METAL MARY BIELICH from Pittsburgh, Pa
    From bands like Wormhole

  43. Gordon

    March 21, 2021 at 9:37 pm

    I agree with other commenters that Suzi Quatro is deeply underrated and should be much higher on this list. Also, I think that Kathy Valentine clearly belongs in the top 25.

  44. mport

    December 1, 2021 at 11:18 am

    Everybody is wrong… Best female bassist of this era is MISA from Band-Maid.
    Just look at her unique way of playing her switch from picking to slapping within an blink of an eye and her ability to play EVERY genre! She is amazing, a once in a lifetime bassist, doesn´t matter male or female she is THE TOP!

  45. Hannes

    April 9, 2022 at 2:58 pm

    That’s a good list! Bassist Or Edry should be added!

  46. Tilman Müller

    August 6, 2023 at 4:33 pm

    Mentioning Melissa auf der Maur as one of the best female bass players, who only played on tour with the Smashing Pumpkins in 2000.
    But not D’arcy Wretzky, who was their member from 1988 to 1999 and which was the better musician with them?
    Doesn’t make sense…

  47. Dave B

    August 9, 2023 at 8:49 pm

    Where is Paz Lenchantin? She’s at least as good a musician as Kim Deal and a more than adequate replacement in the Pixies.

  48. cholatse

    August 29, 2023 at 1:07 pm

    The usual Western navel-gazing. Step out of your box, some of the greatest and most versatile bass player (not only female) are comming out of Japan: Misa – Band-Maid, Misaki Fujiwara – Sokoninaru, F Chopper Koga – Gacharic Spin, Juna Serita – Jazz Avengers, Serina – Trident, Haraguchi-San – Nemophila, Fami – Lovebites … and many, many more. They knock most of the ones mention here out of the park.

  49. Martin Wakefield

    October 25, 2023 at 6:03 pm

    Kira Roessler and Jo Bench…

  50. Ricardo Cardona

    January 11, 2024 at 8:30 am

    Mohini Dey undoubtably should be in the top 10. She is able to play rhythms that some of the best Male Bass players can’t play. I don’t see any other bass player doing Konnokols of Fibonacci.

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Bob Marley - Songs Of Freedom Limited Edition 6LP Box Set
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uDiscover Music - Back To Top
uDiscover Music - Back To Top