Paul McCartney was most certainly a virtuoso bassist in the later years of the Beatles. In the context of popular music in the 1960’s, McCartney did stuff with bass no-one had done before, with impeccable musicality and skill. Some of his bass lines are technically tricky, too, after 40 years of the numbers of bass players and the demands on them growing exponentially, in large part due to McCartney’s early influence.
Claims as to no serious bass aficionados considering McCartneys instrumental skills as “beyond serviceable” are preposterous. Go to the talkbass.com forum for serious discussions on the issue and see for yourself how things really are: McCartney is widely regarded as a master bassist. He’s number two on the list of Bass Innovators in the Bass Player Book by Karl Coryat (1999), just for a quick example off my bookshelf. (number one is a Motown session man James Jamerson, who had a big impact on McCartney but remained unknown).
McCartney was never a bass player foremost, but a songwriter and a singer instead who first took to bass only because “no-one else did”. The fact that he still changed the face of the instrument by setting a high-profile example of bold, complex, innovative pop bass instrumentation speaks for the talent the man has. As he is no bass instrumentalist per se like Stanley Clarke or Victor Wooten, I wouldn’t put too much stock to his recent live performances or the use of session players: why should he care? Had he committed himself to the bass throughout the '70’s and beyond, he’d be a monster player today.
Regarding the OP, I’d nominate Gentle Giant. Ray Shulman, John Weathers and Gary Green were virtuosos on bass, drums and guitar, respectively. (The fact that each played a dozen or so other instruments with great skill and style adds to my appreciation, even if not to their virtuoso status).
*Maybe *the John Frusciante-era Chili Peppers. One might call him and Chad Smith virtuosos on the lead guitar and drums; Flea is definitely one on the bass.
You’ll have to go a long way to beat The Benny Goodman Quartet with Benny Goodman on clarinet, Gene Krupa on drums, Lionet Hampton on vibraphone, and Teddy Wilson on piano. Seventy years after it was recorded, their music is still selling. Do you think that will be true of most of the bands mentioned so far?
Considering that the bands mentioned so far include the Beatles, Led Zep, and the Miles Davis ensembles…yeah, possibly.
And to piggyback on the McCartney theme: if Paul counts as top 1%, then so does John Paul Jones. I’m no longer a Zeppelin fan (it got old), but Bonham and Page were clearly at or near the top of any continuum on drums and guitar; Jones would make three.
I was a huge Kansas fan. I always though Phil Ehart was an excellent drummer who never got credit, and Livgren was very, very good. Walsh, however, was neither a great keyboardist nor vocalist. And over the years, his voice has gotten more and more shrill. I cannot watch them live anymore nor listen to their live work (Live at the Whisky is the last work I can stomach, and even there you can tell the voice is going) because his singing voice has gotten so bad.
On the metal side of things I think Rust in Peace era Megadeth fits the bill:
Dave Mustaine: Certainly in the top 1% of guitarists
Marty Friedman: Ditto
Nick Menza: I’d assume top 1% here, if not then my pick rests on
Dave Ellifson: who may be in the top 1% of bassists, but I really have no clue.
You could also make a case for the Kind Of Blue band: Miles, Coltrane, Chambers, Cannonball Adderley (alto sax), Bill Evans (piano), Jimmy Cobb (drums).
I have been debating with myself about suggesting the Bill Evans trios (all of them) which have included some exceptional bassists and drummers along with one of the most influential jazz pianists ever.
If you are not familiar with Evans, I heartily recommend listening to Bill Evans: ‘Piano Impressionism’ which gives some fine examples of the various groupings he had, along with a good overview of Evans’s career. Very nice show.