1)Mitch Mitchell (awsome fills, mega creative)
2)John Bonham (powerful and complex but also subtle sometimes)
3)Neil Peart (precise)
4)Stewart Copeland (killer high hats)
5)Nick Mason (just right for the songs)
There are plenty great drummers nominated here, so I’d like to mention two who probably can’t even aspire to mediocrity, but nonetheless are perfect for the band they’re in:
Maureen Tucker - Velvet Underground (saw them live twice in Edinburgh - and there has never been a cooler sight than middle-aged granny Mo standing there battering her floor toms. And she got to sing Afterhours!)
Meg White - White Stripes (can’t seem to keep time or do anything too complex, but sex on sticks!)
It may simply be that, due to it being a two-person group, he stands out a hell of a lot more than most other drummers, but I’m really impressed by Brian Viglione of the Dresden Dolls. He’s always doing something interesting, and it’s cool to watch him switch from mallets to brushes to regular sticks during the course of a song.
- John Marshall (Soft Machine, Jack Bruce)
- B.J. Wilson (Procol Harum) - somewhere in Heaven B.J. and Moonie are having a good old larf together
- Vinnie Colaiuta (Frank Zappa)
- Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson) - the most exciting use of electronic drums to date
- Bill Bruford - up to 1974; I haven’t been so enamored of his playing since then
not forgetting:
Ginger Baker
Andy Ward (Camel)
Michael Giles (King Crimson)
John “Drumbo” French (Captain Beefheart)
Keith Moon
John Weathers (Gentle Giant)
Jon Hiseman (Colosseum)
Barrie Barlow (Jethro Tull)
Mitch Mitchell
Copeland is a great one. I don’t know if I’d rank him above Peart, but he is incredible. I’m a Rush fan from the other thread chiming in to give props to Peart, but I’d put a few in front of him on a best drummers list. Here are some, in no particular order.
Roy Wooten aka Futureman. The stuff he manages with the Flecktones is quite simply amazing. I don’t know if it’s fair to call him a ‘rock’ drummer though, even though the Flecktones rock.
Mark Zonder. Played with the metal band Fates Warning. Fates Warning’s sound got less heavy and more proggy over time, and Zonder was really incredible with the things he was able to do, both aggressively and subtly.
Carter Bruford. From the Dave Matthews band. I’m sorry, but if you have Ringo on your list and not Carter Bruford, I don’t know if you’re qualified to list great drummers. 
Even if you hate DMB, just tune out the rest of the song and focus on the drums. His playing is downright magical. I’d take a Rush concert over a DMB concert any day, but I’ve got to tip my hat to Carter.
Phil Collins. I love love love early Genesis, and part of the reason why is how ridiculous Phil’s drum playing was. He can still bring it to, when he’s not too busy writing songs for Disney cartoons.
Matt Sorum, John Tempesta, Ringo Starr
Another vote for Ian Paice. Usually overlooked in these lists, and the only original member still in Deep Purple: either the man has the patience of a saint, or no writing credits.
And whoever did the drumming on Them’s “Gloria”: sounds like a hormone-crazed teenage kid bashing on a paint tin, but…so right.
Yes, Ian Paice is one one the most under-rated drummers out there. One of my favorites.
Of all the Drummers I teched for 77-2006 Ritchie Heyward (Little feat) was a Standout as was Dennis Conway (Elton John China tour & Paul Collins Beat)
As a drummer myself, I’m always more impressed by drummers who manage to play something I never would have thought of for a particular song than drummers who just show off their chops. My choices:
Ringo Starr
Bill Berry (R.E.M.) - listen to his work on the song “Harborcoat” from Reckoning for a good example.
Morris Windsor (The Soft Boys; Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians) - very subtle and nuanced, but he could also rock out.
Martin Chambers (The Pretenders) - Extremely tasteful and steady, and, hence, almost always overlooked.
Topper Headon (The Clash) - From London Calling onwards, he displayed knowledge of a staggering range of styles.
Grant Hart (Husker Du) - He’s got a sloppiness I like, and also a very distinct style that fills up all the possible space in a song.
Rick Buckler (The Jam) - like bass player Bruce Foxton, often not given the credit he deserved, since they were basically seen as Paul Weller’s backup band.
George Hurley (Minutemen) - Added elements of jazz to post-punk.
Pete Thomas (The Attractions/The Imposters) - Probably the best rock/pop (as opposed to prog rock) drummer around today.
Stephen Morris (Joy Division/New Order) - A lot of people, on hearing him, thought it was a drum machine. I mean that as a compliment.
Hugo Burnham (Gang of Four) - For his unexpected, twitchy rhythms on their early output.
Everett Morton (The [English] Beat) - Best skanking rhythms around.
Mike Joyce (The Smiths) - Started out kind of weak, but improved dramatically. Listen to “The Queen Is Dead” or “London” for some great rock drumming.
And the obvious picks:
Stewart Copeland
Neil Peart
Never been that impressed with Moon or Bonham, though.
I just dropped in to mention B. J. Wilson. Not surprised to see that Biffy loves him as much as I do.
But as long as I’m here, I’ll add my favorite underappreciated drummer: Speedy Keen of Thunderclap Newman.
I have a 7-piece drum kit in my basement that I can’t play worth a damn. I bought it because Neil Peart appeared to me in a vision and told me to.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is: Don’t do drugs on payday, kids.
Oh, and Malcolm Green from Split Enz: whatever bewildering prog/jazz/new wave/punk/rock hybrid with diseased time signatures they could dash though in four minutes - check out their astonishing 1979 album Frenzy - he could anchor it with aplomb. Never flashy, but by God he was talented.
What?
No Levon Helms?
I’m old…
How aboutKenny Aranoff? Drummer for John Mellencamp for 17 years and on ten albums, his percussion was a particular standout on Scarecrow. Besides Mellencamp, he’s drummed with such artists as John Fogerty, Bob Seger, and Meat Loaf. He’s played on literally hundreds of studio recordings. His discography is absolutely mind-boggling.
For me, this boils down to which are the best rock drummers I’ve ever actually heard, and there are many from the above lists that I haven’t.
That said:
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Keith Moon. Hands down, as well as flailing all about, this guy had an instinct for rhythm that simply never existed in any other drummer. And he enjoyed himself so. It was the only endeavor in which he showed any competence at all, in his case inspiration.
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Neal Peart. At his best, approaching and occasionally surpassing Moon for sheer rhythmic creativity. To bad he was, and remains, so fucking pretentious.
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John Bonham. Yes, he had the groove. Yes, he could sneak in beats that most mortals cannot even perceive. But he wasn’t as fast as Moon, and never completely took over a song as Moon did. Close, but no cigar.
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Mitch Mitchell. Trained as an actor, he turned out some of the more expressive, frenetic licks as an apparent paeon to the greatest guitarist ever. Hendrix died, Mitchell almost completely stopped performing, and that was that.
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Bun E. Carlos. We forget him. What a weird little guy. Did you know the accountant in the next cubicle was a psychotically good drummer. No, I’ll bet you did not.
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Prairie Prince. The Tubes, baby. Could play “White Punks on Dope” like it really mattered.
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Alan White. Yes, of Yes.
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Carl Palmer. Blues Variation from Pictures at an Exhibition. Enough said.
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Dave Grohl.
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Floyd Sneed. Joy to the World…
…and Happy Thanksgiving.
Now that I’ve heard a little, I wanted to expound about my selections:
- John Bonham - In my opinion, the best blues-based rock drummer ever. Master of the groove, and master of technique. His rhythms have a soulful, bluesy swagger, and he’s very creative and unexpected. The quintessential “back of the beat” drummer. Just listen to the drums-only track of “Fool in the Rain” and listen to the rock-steady, powerful shuffle. Few rock drummer can swing like that and hold the groove. It’s not wonder he’s been one of the most sampled drummers in hip-hop. The boy has soul. His drumming oozes it. How many drummers can hold a boring beat like “Kashmir” and make it work, make it shake? Bonham can.
That, and I’m impressed by his use of unexpected accents, ghost notes, and perhaps the fasted right foot in the business. Guy did things with one foot many drummers with two couldn’t do. Listen to the triplet stutters in “Good Times Bad Times” (“Now that I’ve reached that age…”) How many drummers have the imagination or technique to pull that off, much less in their opening track on their band’s first album? What a way to say “Hello world!”
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Stewart Copeland. If Bonham is the quintessential “back of the beat” drummer, than Copeland is your “front of the beat drummer.” Master of the high hat and infusing Carribean rhythms with rock music. Great energy–his tendency to drum on the front of the beat propels songs with a manic energy. Like Bonham, he’s got great dynamics and subtlety, even when he’s beating the crap out of his drum set.
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Matt Cameron - My favorite current rock drummer. I’m not a huge fan of Soundgarden, I don’t really listen to Pearl Jam, but Matt Cameron is my man. He is a completely musical drummer. His parts rock hard, but have subtelty and groove (can you detect a pattern here?) He never overplays–always gives the song exactly what it needs while keeping rhythmic interest. And he can groove.
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Ringo Starr - Some say he wasn’t even the best drummer in the Beatles. Bah humbug! This is probably my ultimate musical, don’t-overplay drummer. He’s not as flashy as the other guys and doesn’t quite groove in the same way. But he’s original and musical. No drummer sounds like Ringo. His drum parts are fun and charasmatic, and he doesn’t just hit the snare on 2 & 4 like every other drummer these days does. He very rarely, if ever, fell into cliche and his rhythmic parts still sound fresh today.
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Neil Peart - Once upon a time, I would have ranked him much, much lower. I was convinced he was the typical pyrotechnic, all-technique, no soul drummer, like perhaps the Yngwie Malmsteen of percussionists. However, I would be wrong. Neil grooves fine, and he’s done much to bring virtuosity to the instrument without sacrificing the fundamental purpose of drumming (at least for me): to hold all the instruments together and provide the backbone of a song. Sure, he’s fast, but who gives a shit? Speed is not technically impressive to me. Anyone can build up speed. Rhythm is, and Peart’s got rhythm, style, and performs exactly what is needed of him in Rush.
And Keith Moon played the drums as a lead instrument on “Happy Jack”.
Happy Jack is very fine example of Moon’s work, comparable to I Can See for Miles.
Again, his absolute joy at his display of his talent is evident, and it can be unnerving to listen to and watch. To see anyone know exactly what to do with such certainty is a highly unusual experience in any profession.
Moon never lost it, but he did waste it. If he hadn’t had all of those American dollers lodged in his fists at such an early age, who knows what he might’ve accomplished.
Zeppelin played together; The Who played against each other, and were individually great enough to pull it off.
I’m never good with ranking people; my tastes and opinions shift so much, and there’s a point at which people are just great in different ways, not in better ways.
That said, in no particular order:
John Bonham. Fool in the Rain in and of itself is enough to rocket this guy to the top of the class. The feeling and power in that song is unrivaled.
Keith Moon. On occasion I feel like he falls flat, but when he’s on he’s incredible. I Can See for Miles and 5:15 being two great examples of what he can bring to the kit. In the Isle of Wight DVD, I love watching, I Don’t Even Know Myself, where he’s banging across the cymbals and his kit, playing this full and loud stuff, and he’s busy being distracted by the camera men or something. The ease with which he seemed to play is awesome.
Neil Peart. Consistantly a great drummer. He turns a three-man group into an orchestra single-handedly. Rhythms and punctuations that would normally be taken care of by a score of other instruments he seems to handle all at once.
Phil Collins. Probably the guy who sits most often as my #1 rock drummer. He’s technically wonderful, like Peart, and can play very bizarre and unusual rhythms, but has expression and sensitivity that Peart lacks. Listen to the albums The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway or Trick of the Tail, and tell me that that isn’t some of the greatest drumming ever.
Carter Beauford. This is the man who made the Dave Matthews Band. Listen to Ants Marching or Crash. Decent songs, but the drumming absolutely turned those songs into hits much more than the songwriting (particularly for Ants Marching). Accents on odd beats, smooth fills, and he always is in on the downbeat. A great time-keeper who is so much more; like Peart he fills in the parts the other instruments are leaving out.
Levon Helms. I’m glad Charogne mentioned him (though I admit I don’t hold him in the same class as the previously mentioned drummers). A very solid and competant drummer, who deserves recognition as much for the notes he didn’t play as the ones he did. In particular the track It Makes no Difference is what I’m putting him in this list for. The breaks in that song are sublime.
I agree that a lot of the other people listed so far are pretty good; I just don’t know enough about a lot of them to actually discuss their merits beyond “I like their playing.” Stuart Copeland does good work, and I’d like to add Max Weinburg (of the E Street Band, as well as the drummer for Meatloaf’s Bat out of Hell and other tracks), and Manu Katché to the list (all I know of him is what I’ve heard on Peter Gabriel’s Secret World, Live album).
It seems to me that to be truly ‘great’ involves not just the ability to play well, but to innovate, which is something that I think the first five in this list clearly have proven their aptitude in.
I’m always surprised at how many people think you’ve got to be amazing to play like the greats, on any instrument. There are thousands of people who can play like John Bonham, for example, and play his stuff just as well as he did, if not better. There was only one guy who came up with it in the first place though, and that’s really what’s key.