Mike Portnoy is my all-around favorite.

"Best" when describing a musician is just silly. How about threads about favorites ?

Good point and a much better thread title.

are you guys afraid your musicians will lose out? shame, shame, I thought stickists had more chutzpah

NO that;s not it ... guess you don't get it. Point is music is very subjective and is more TASTE based than technique based. How do you measure the musician, by how fast they can play? By how many tricks they know? By how they MOVE you? To use the word BEST I think you need a measurable criteria BUT who do you LIKE best is easier because you don't need to measure it or PROVE it. That's based on opinion.

I totally agree with you...but then who/what made Mozart so great? There has to be some objective criteria with which to measure artists? If not, then Mozart's "greatness" is all someone's trumped up fashion...we've all been hoodwinked, all these years.

If you look at POPULAR artist and who the majority of people like and support today, and will probably have their small spot in music history, then I think you have to agree the "music business" today has little to do with being technically "the best." I'd argue that Lady Gaga is NOT technically the "best" singer for example, but she's sure a big star and she's a lot of people's "favorite singer!" No argument there. BB King is a honest to god living LEGEND but do you think he has more guitar "chops" than most of the rock, jazz and progressive music guitarist out there today? I don't think so. In Mozarts case it's STILL a popularity contest (When it comes to entertainment, and that's all music really is, it's always a popularity contest.) but at least he has measurable criteria on which he can be judged. As a "musician" he could be judged on his abilty to WRITE & chart music for one. (Does he know how to read and write musical charts?) He wrote music that demanded proficiency from the musicians that play it. He actually gave the world new ideas musically, he didn't just ride the popular wave and rehash what's already been done like TOO many rock stars of today do. He wasn't JUST a fad. But yes ... even with Mozart it still comes down to popularity because if he wasn't popular his music would have been lost in time. So again, my point and honesy "feeling" is that when you use the word BEST as in BEST DRUMMER, BEST SINGER or BEST STICK PLAYER it's not the way most people answer the question, not really. What they really are answering is the question "who do you LIKE the most." Which drummer do you like most, which singer, which Stick player? We're probably debating WORDS but for me BEST needs a measurable criteria to be judged.

Anyway regardless if we agree of disagree this has been an enjoyable discussion!

I totally buy it and agree. This forces us to accept the following conclusion - There is no such thing as good or bad art, only art that you like or dislike.

This means that the painting in the art museum with one solid stripe down the middle is as much "art" as is the paint splattered one next to it or the Van Gogh down the hall.

The like/dislike conclusion, for me, keeps art free for me to make my own conclusions. And for that right, I must afford someone else the same freedom to choose for themselves, even if it means accepting as legitimate something that I don't like.

This thread is an excellent opportunity to turn people on to great drumming, so I'll use it as such.

Whatever you think of the Dave Matthews Band's music, it is undeniable that Carter Beauford is one of the best drummers ever to hit popular music. Check out the album, Before These Crowded Streets, unbelievable groove, tone and punctuation. I've played with Carter several times, and he's so good, it's like you can't go wrong.

And as a composer on drums, Bob Moses is spectacular.

For my TASTE I couldn't agree more!