In the loudest moments of music history—amid towering solos, synth hooks, and drum fills—there’s always been a heartbeat below. Basslines rarely steal the spotlight, but when they do, they define entire songs. They’re the unsung groove, the low-frequency force that turns melody into movement.
This list isn’t about the flashiest fills or the fastest fingers. It’s about feel. About subtle genius. About the 4-string moments that carry albums, build worlds, and stick in your subconscious long after the final note. Each track below features a bassline that deserves to be heard—not just felt.
“Aeroplane” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
Flea’s bassline is a carnival ride—funky, elastic, and full of swagger. It’s less a groove and more a trampoline for the entire band.
“All Right Now” – Free
Andy Fraser’s line is smooth and unhurried, holding back just enough to make every fill count. It’s rock minimalism with a pulse.
“Another One Bites the Dust” – Queen
John Deacon’s bassline is a masterclass in restraint. Three notes, endless power.
“Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)” – Soul II Soul
This line glides like silk, grounding the entire track in groove and grace. It’s subtle, but unforgettable.
“Benny and the Jets” – Elton John
Dee Murray sneaks a funky, syncopated line beneath Elton’s glam theatrics. The swagger lives in the low end.
“Billie Jean” – Michael Jackson
Clean, cold, and hypnotic—Louis Johnson’s line is the skeleton key to the track’s tension.
“Bullet in the Head” – Rage Against the Machine
Tim Commerford’s riff loops like a warning alarm—relentless and raw. It’s the revolution in bass form.
“Cannonball” – The Breeders
Josephine Wiggs’ off-key intro bass hit became a hook by accident—and a defining alt-rock moment.
“Chameleon” – Herbie Hancock
The groove is eternal. This line drives funk fusion into space.
“Come Together” – The Beatles
Paul McCartney’s slinky, distorted line snakes through the track like a knowing smirk. Iconic and in the pocket.
“Crossroads” – Cream
Jack Bruce plays like a lead guitarist, matching Clapton lick-for-lick with melodic muscle.
“Dazed and Confused” – Led Zeppelin
John Paul Jones turns a blues dirge into a dark crawl with that throbbing, fuzzed-out bass.
“Digital Man” – Rush
Geddy Lee’s line balances mechanical precision with human groove. It’s thinking man’s funk.
“Electric Feel” – MGMT
This bassline grooves hard in 6/4 time without ever sounding weird. It makes the track shimmer and strut.
“Express Yourself” – Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band
Melvin Dunlap’s line is the song’s heartbeat—funky, steady, and endlessly sampled.
“Feel Good Inc.” – Gorillaz
Dark, devious, and unforgettable—this bassline practically smirks while it grooves.
“For Whom the Bell Tolls” – Metallica
Cliff Burton’s distorted intro is pure doom and dread, ringing out like a warning.
“Freewill” – Rush
Geddy Lee again, but he’s earned it. The bassline jumps, pivots, and never rests.
“Get Down on It” – Kool & The Gang
This line might not shout for attention, but it glues the whole track together. It’s the definition of danceable.
“Give It Away” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
Flea attacks the bass with slap-happy fire, making funk sound like punk’s cooler cousin.
“Good Times” – Chic
Bernard Edwards wrote the DNA of modern bass playing with this one. It never stops being perfect.
“Hair” – Graham Central Station
Larry Graham’s slapping is electrifying—funk bass at its most aggressive and playful.
“Hysteria” – Muse
Chris Wolstenholme plays a full-blown lead melody—on bass. It’s as epic as it is exhausting to learn.
“I Just Wanna Be Your Everything” – Andy Gibb
Not flashy, but warm and melodic. The bass dances under disco strings with quiet confidence.
“I Want You Back” – Jackson 5
James Jamerson’s line is the most joyful kind of busy. You can sing it louder than the chorus.
“I Wish” – Stevie Wonder
A groove so tight it practically winks. That walking bassline moves like joy on four strings.
“In a Silent Way” – Miles Davis
Dave Holland’s tone is featherlight and foundational. It breathes rather than booms.
“I Will Possess Your Heart” – Death Cab for Cutie
This looping line hypnotizes over eight minutes, turning repetition into meditation.
“Lessons in Love” – Level 42
Mark King’s slap technique is on full display—bass playing that’s both rhythmic and melodic.
“London Calling” – The Clash
Paul Simonon turns punk into pop-reggae poetry with this endlessly singable bassline.
“Lovely Day” – Bill Withers
Jerry Knight’s descent-and-return line is subtle, funky, and impossible to forget.
“Money” – Pink Floyd
Roger Waters grooves in 7/4 without making it sound like homework. Cha-ching, indeed.
“My Generation” – The Who
John Entwistle delivered the bass solo heard ’round the world. Aggressive, melodic, essential.
“Orion” – Metallica
Cliff Burton again, but this time in epic mode. A bass suite for the metal symphony.
“Peaches” – The Stranglers
Jean-Jacques Burnel uses overdrive and attitude to make the filthiest bassline in punk.
“Phantom of the Opera” – Iron Maiden
Steve Harris races through baroque scales like he’s late to Valhalla.
“Politician” – Cream
Jack Bruce grooves lazily while the world burns. Every note says, “I could outplay you in my sleep.”
“Ramble On” – Led Zeppelin
John Paul Jones isn’t playing behind the band—he’s playing above it, weaving counter-melodies with flair.
“Rio” – Duran Duran
John Taylor makes the bassline strut harder than the saxophone. It’s eyeliner with a groove.
“Roundabout” – Yes
Chris Squire’s tone slices through the track with surgical precision. Prog has never sounded so fun.
“School Days” – Stanley Clarke
The jazz-fusion bible. Clarke’s furious energy changed what bass could be.
“Sex Machine” – James Brown
Bootsy’s bassline isn’t a groove—it’s a command. You will dance.
“So What” – Miles Davis
Paul Chambers asks a question in five notes and lets the band answer. Cool jazz begins here.
“Stand By Me” – Ben E. King
This line is so foundational it might as well be the bassline to human memory.
“Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” – Sly & The Family Stone
Larry Graham’s slap is the sound of a cultural shift. The funk starts here.
“The Chain” – Fleetwood Mac
John McVie’s furious riff emerges halfway through and changes the song forever.
“The Lemon Song” – Led Zeppelin
John Paul Jones gets bluesy, funky, and unchained. A masterclass in improvisational bass.
“Under Pressure” – Queen & David Bowie
That D-A groove is simplicity turned iconic. It loops, it lifts, it lasts.
“Walk on the Wild Side” – Lou Reed
Herbie Flowers double-tracks two basses and creates art deco sleaze. Sublime.
“White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It)” – Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel
Doug Wimbish built a line so good, it got sampled into a whole new genre.
“YYZ” – Rush
Rush again, because Geddy Lee’s bassline is the song. It’s prog in Morse code.
Basslines are often the song’s unsung spine—rarely flashy, rarely foregrounded. But once you isolate them, they reveal a secret world of rhythm, melody, and attitude. These 50 tracks remind us that beneath every great moment in music, there’s a low-end heartbeat you can dance to—or just quietly marvel at.
