Best Rock Drummers

@bdp24 

Agreed. Bonham style is definitely "lumbering" - it feels as if the wheels are always about to come off! He seems to lurch and time seems suspended and then he has the ability to catch up on the fill or the One beat. I find such a deep pocket and loose feel to be fantastic for the Blues style music that Led Zeppelin mostly played. 

The most accomplished drummmer I have ever come across is Steve Ferrone...although not well known he can play anything as good as if not better than the best (very rare as most drummers are not able to cross over from one genre to another). Steve is absolutely amazing. I have seen him live at least twice. Once with Average White Band in the early 80's and again with Tom Petty in 1999. He has always remained in very high demand as a session drummer. He also played for Duran Duran in the late 80's....unquestionably a versatile drummer who can blues, funk, jazz, pop and rock as good as, if not better than, anyone....something to do with innate timing I guess...he can swing like no other...the timing must be programmed in.

BTW: Swing requires changing the length on notes depending on the BPM of music...faster requires more swing....but getting just the right amount and being able to change this on the fly is very tricky.

Check this out this out

Although everyone tends to focus on fills and athletic solos the reality is that the main job of a drummer is to groove. It is much harder to achieve a groove instantly and consistently than it sounds - few can do it as well as the guy above.

Here is another great drummer but he often relies on a click track Dennis

Anyway these are both examples of groove masters and that is really, IMHO, what a drummer is paid for and hat defines a great drummer - and NOT the antics you see in drum solo.

Polyrhythmic demonstration by the Hulk!

Be wary it starts slow (demonstrating great groove and feel) and builds. After 6 minutes of drum solo, he jumps up, bows, wipes off the sweat, and he immediately launches into a cool groove. I have seen this solo personally five feet from Dennis.

The drummer in Marty's video is Steve Moore.

Thanks for the laugh Marty.

Here is again Wipeout