For about the past 30 years in alternative rock, new-wave, post-punk, goth rock, grunge, indie, & other similar genres, the following are many of my personal favorite basslines to play along to. I have included songs that helped me learn how to play the bass (in the mid 90s), songs that i personally tabbed out for myself & an online page I had up for many years (RIP, Geocities - message me if you want the tab for the linked tracks &/or with the play icon), & songs i keep coming back to to either play along or just enjoy the bass blasting thru my speakers. Sure, there could be many more, but these are specifically ones that I can play & have listened to constantly... so they are, for the most part, not exceedingly difficult, but many are very fun! I even left some of the easy ones for variety... so hopefully anyone who sees this, particularly those that play bass guitar, will find some that they enjoy as much as i have :) Also, feel free to post any of your personal favorites below that could fit this list. I'll keep adding on to this as i find more old favorites...
1980s - David J, Peter Hook, & Simon Gallup rule my 80s bass world ;-)
Bauhaus - Dancing
Bauhaus - In the Flat Field
Bauhaus -
Hair of the Dog
Bauhaus - Kick in the Eye
Bauhaus -
She's in Parties
Bauhaus - The Sanity Assassin
Boomtown Rats -
Up All Night
David Bowie - Ashes to Ashes
The Call -
The Walls Came Down
The Church -
Under the Milkyway
The Church -
Reptile
Clan of Xymox - 7th Time
Clan of Xymox - Muscoviet Musquito
Close Lobsters - Too Bloody Stupid
The Cult -
Rain
The Cure -
Close To Me
-
Fascination Street
-
A Forest
-
Hot Hot Hot
-
Killing an Arab
-
Lovecats
-
Love Song
-
Other Voices
-
Charlotte Sometimes
The Cure - Torture
The Cure - How Beautiful You Are
Duran Duran - Rio
Fields of the Nephilim -
Celebrate
Haircut 100 -
Love Plus One
Billy Idol -
White Wedding
The Jam - Town Called Malice
Joy Division - Dead Souls
Joy Division - Isolation
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Joy Division - Shadowplay
Joy Division -
She's Lost Control
Joy Division -
The Only Mistake
Joy Division - These Days
Joy Division -
Transmission
Killing Joke - Love Like Blood
Love & Rockets - Haunted When the Minutes Drag
The March Violets - Lights Go Out
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult - A Daisy Chain for Satan
New Order - Ceremony
New Order - Perfect Kiss
The Pixies -
Monkey Gone to Heaven
The Police - When The World Is Running Down...
The Pretenders -
Message of Love
The Pretenders -
Love My Way
Peter Schilling - Major Tom
REM -
Radio Free Europe
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - I Can See Stars
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Beating My Head
Romantics -
Talking In Your Sleep
Siouxsie & the Banshees -
Arabian Nights
Sisters of Mercy -
Lucretia My Reflection
Talk Talk -
It's My Life
U2 -
New Year's Day
Until December - Sequence Line
1990s - since i started playing bass in the 90s, it all started here for me... i consider Flea, Ben Shepherd, P-Nut, & Tim Bob (aka Tim Commerford) to have influenced me the most :)
311 -
All Mixed Up
311 -
Beautiful Disaster
311 -
Come Original
311 -
Down
311 -
Electricity
311 -
Flowing
311 -
Homebrew
311 -
Prisoner
311 -
Transistor
Blur -
Sing
Blur -
Girls & Boys
Blur -
Coffee & TV
The Breeders - Cannonball
Bush - Cold Contagious
CAKE - The Distance
The Cardigans - Lovefool
The Charlatans - The End of Everything
The Charlatans - Can't Even Be Bothered
The Charlatans - Weirdo
Deftones - Shove It (My Own Summer)
Depeche Mode - Useless
Filter - Hey Man Nice Shot
Folk Implosion - Natural One
Garbage - Supervixon
Garbage - Stupid Girl
Godsmack - Whatever
Live - Pain Lies on the Riverside
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult - Sex On Wheelz
MxPx - Chick Magnet
Nine Inch Nails - Piggy
Nirvana - Aneurysm
Nirvana - Breed
Nirvana - In Bloom
The Offspring - I Choose
Radiohead - Karma Police
Rage Against the Machine -
Bombtrack
Rage Against the Machine -
Bullet In The Head
Rage Against the Machine -
Killing in the Name
Rage Against the Machine -
Wake Up
Rage Against the Machine -
Freedom
Rage Against the Machine -
People Of The Sun
Rage Against the Machine -
Down Rodeo
Rage Against the Machine -
Without A Face
Rage Against the Machine - Genocide
Rage Against the Machine -
Revolver
Rage Against the Machine -
Settle For Nothing
Rage Against the Machine -
Tire Me
Rage Against the Machine -
Vietnow
Rage Against the Machine -
Year of the Boomerang
Rancid - Time Bomb
Rancid - Ruby Soho
Rancid - Journey to the End of the East Bay
Rancid - Hyena
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Breaking the Girl
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Funky Monks
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Suck My Kiss
Red Hot Chili Peppers - I Could Have Lied
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give It Away
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge
Red Hot Chili Peppers - My Lovely Man
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Soul to Squeeze
Soundgarden -
Applebite
Soundgarden -
Blow Up The Outside World
Soundgarden -
Outshined
Soundgarden -
Rhinosaur
Soundgarden -
Slaves & Bulldozers
Soundgarden -
Spoonman
Soundgarden -
The Day I Tried To Live
Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored
Stone Temple Pilots - Big Empty
Stone Temple Pilots - Sex Type Thing
Third Eye Blind - How's It Going to Be
Tool - Sober
The Verve Pipe - Photograph
The Wallflowers - The Bleeders
The Wallflowers - The Difference
Weezer - Only In Dreams
Yo La Tengo - Moby Octopad
2000s - i hadn't been drawn to as many bass players this decade (or bands for that matter)... but my favorite by far is Carlos D of Interpol!
Franz Ferdinand - Auf Achse
Franz Ferdinand - Michael
Franz Ferdinand - Tell Her Tonight
Interpol - Untitled
Interpol - Obstacle 1
Interpol - Say Hello to the Angels
Interpol - Slow Hands
Interpol - Not Even Jail
The Bravery - No Brakes
Broken Social Scene - Stars & Sons
Doves - Black & white town
Elefant - Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid
Placebo - Haemoglobin
The Libertines - Vertigo
Supergrass - Brecon Beacons
Metric - Combat baby
Muse - Exo-politics
Radiohead - Where I End & You Begin
Radiohead - National Anthem
VHS or Beta - Night on Fire
VHS or Beta - Alive
The Wrens - Faster Gun