Modern Drummer's 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time (2014) by AAL2014

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Here's a fun chart idea I came up with.. Modern Drummer Magazine, the same mag I've been subscribed to and thumbing through for almost 5 years, published a list of the 50 Greatest Drummers of all time voted by the readers back in 2014. I love lists and this was a very poignant list at the time for me. Of course with any list, there will be omissions. Everyone on this list is a very special and influential player so it's tough to say who should be on instead.

This chart is ordered the exact way the drummers were voted. The albums chosen are ones I think of as being the best (or one of the best) works by the artist, and the comments on each are my own. Drums have been an enormous part of my life for almost 10 years. I wouldn't be apart of this website without the drums choosing me to be apart of a spectacular rhythmic journey.

Here is my tribute to the drums, the greatest drummers, and the greatest drum magazine on the planet.

There are 3 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Modern Drummer's 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time (2014) has an average rating of 87 out of 100 (from 2 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from Dream Theater. (Remove this filter)

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Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence 
United States Dream Theater
Buy album United States
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MIKE PORTNOY

The Legend: Dream Theater is just not the same without him. A modern day drum hero, Michael Stephen Portnoy, was in Dream Theater for almost 30 years before leaving his baby and brainchild. During his tenure in one of prog rock's most popular bands, listeners heard his drumming, writing, arranging, and vocals grow consistently. His personality became as big as his drum kit. Mike's use of odd time and what he can do in and around it is astounding...or perhaps Astonishing?... and it served Dream Theater and their rabid nerd fanbase incredibly well. Outside of Dream Theater, Mike has blazed trails with countless projects, prog or not. Flying Colors, Avenged Sevenfold, LTE, PSMS, The Neal Morse Band, the Winery Dogs, and Transatlantic have all put out incredible work with Mike on the skins. One of the hardest working musicians in the world, Mike was the youngest drummer to ever be voted into Modern Drummer's Hall of Fame.

The Album: Six Degrees may not be my favorite Dream Theater record, albeit it's really great, but I think it shows Portnoy at his absolute peak of musicianship. The drum tracks to The Glass Prison, The Great Debate, Misunderstood, and of course the different parts of the 45 minute title track are all over the place but in a perfectly arranged way. The album sandwiched between my favorite DT album SFAM, and their heaviest work Train of Thought, provided an excellent musical bridge with some of their finest ensemble playing. This is in the midst of the era where Portnoy and Petrucci took hold creatively as well as from a business stand point too. Mike proved his worth in that regard quite well being the voice and face of one of prog's modern day legends. [First added to this chart: 08/24/2016]
Year of Release:
2002
Appears in:
100 charts
Rank Score:
648
Rank in 2002:
38
Rank in 2000s:
408
Overall Rank:
2,448
Average Rating:
 76 (181 votes)
Comments:
4
28. (=)
A Dramatic Turn Of Events 
United States Dream Theater
Buy album United States
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MIKE MANGINI

The Legend: For me, I've always viewed 3 drummers as the peak of pure technical ability in modern drumming. Thomas Lang, Virgil Donati, and Mike Mangini. Whether or not, any 3 of those drummers interest you with their playing, there is absolutely no denial when it comes to their ability. Their independence, creative control, rhythmic knowledge, and speed never fail to impress me. Out of the 3, Mike Mangini has made the biggest impact for the instrument so far. Mangini holds a number of World's Fastest Drummer competition titles, taught at Berklee School of Music in Boston, has a number of well received DVD's and books, and is Mike Portnoy's replacement in one of prog rock's biggest bands, Dream Theater. He's as hardworking as he is good.

The Album: ADToE is actually my favorite offering of the now 3 Mike Mangini era Dream Theater albums. On some days it can slip its way into my top 5 favorite Dream Theater albums. For some reason, the DT guys still can't figure out how to make Mangini's drumming sound human on a recording or live, but the songs on ADToE are too consistently good for it to matter for me. It's the most cohesive album Dream Theater has put out since Mike Portnoy left the band. Mangini's rhythmic brilliance mixed with the immediate jovial chemistry of his band mates shines bright on this album. Songs like Bridges in the Sky, Breaking All Illusions, and Outcry feature some of the best drumming I've ever heard from him. He was on fire this tour as well. Cheers, Mr. Mangini. I hope JP can figure out your drum sound soon. [First added to this chart: 08/24/2016]
Year of Release:
2011
Appears in:
50 charts
Rank Score:
219
Rank in 2011:
135
Rank in 2010s:
1,142
Overall Rank:
5,942
Average Rating:
 71 (90 votes)
Comments:
4
Total albums: 2. Page 1 of 1
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Modern Drummer's 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time (2014) composition

Decade Albums %


1930s 0 0%
1940s 0 0%
1950s 4 8%
1960s 8 16%
1970s 14 28%
1980s 12 24%
1990s 3 6%
2000s 8 16%
2010s 1 2%
2020s 0 0%
Country Albums %


United States 32 64%
United Kingdom 10 20%
Mixed Nationality 4 8%
Canada 1 2%
Jamaica 1 2%
Nigeria 1 2%
Sweden 1 2%
Compilation? Albums %
No 46 92%
Yes 4 8%
Live? Albums %
No 48 96%
Yes 2 4%

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Modern Drummer's 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time (2014) ratings

Average Rating: 
87/100 (from 2 votes)
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90/100
 Report rating		06/15/2017 01:45 bobbyb5  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 72890/100
  
100/100
 Report rating		10/01/2016 12:41 mostlymor  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 4689/100

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From 06/15/2017 06:54
Thank you Bobby. I appreciate that, I still have some work to go on this chart with comments and I still have a couple of these drummers to listen to so I can provide an honest comment on why they were voted onto this list. So hopefully you'll revisit later haha.


Karen Carpenter was indeed a great drummer. Unique player who had a lot of personality and made it come through in her playing. I haven't listened to a ton of the Carpenters' music however I've seen a number of awesome solo videos from her on YouTube. Pretty great snare chops.
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Rating:  
90/100
From 06/15/2017 01:49
That was very informative to someone like me who really doent shit about music. Heh heh. I like it. Ive heard people i know who play drums say that Karen Carpenter was actually a good drummer. Is that true? I thought they were joking but they weren't. Lol
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From 10/01/2016 12:42
Excellent chart, enjoyed your comments particularly.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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