Seven Nation Army. I don’t care that it’s played on guitar with an octaver. It’s a song where the bass line became a folk song in some parts of the world (meaning the people who sing it don’t associate it with an author because it’s spread by word of mouth). Not the main melody or even the whole song. Just the bass line.

A band I used to play in would jam on it for like 20 minutes. You could literally pull randos from the crowd to sing it and the jam sections could go through just about any genre you wanted. We played it as reggae. We played it as punk. We played it straight. We played it as funk. It’s a really versatile line.

Where do I start?

Well, let’s put some metal in here because this thread needs more of that:

1. Dream Theater - Panic Attack - (Isolated Bass Track)

2. Metallica - Orion - (Isolated Bass Track) - Favorite Part: 3:59

3. Metallica - The Call of Ktulu - (Enhanced Bass Track) - For Enhanced Bass Track, The Call of Ktulu Starts @ 37:30, Bassline Starts @ 38:57

4. Black Sabbath - N.I.B. - (Isolated Bass Track)

5. Archspire - Human Murmuration - Favorite Part: 1:54

6. Periphery - Hell Below - (Enhanced Bass Track) - Tuning of C♯₀ - Lowest Bass Tuning I’ve Heard in a Song!!!

7. Mudvayne - Dig - (Isolated Bass Track) - Favorite Part: 0:35

8. Scarified - Racer X - Favorite Part: 0:57

9. Atheist - Mother Man - (Isolated Bass and Drum Track) - Favorite Part: 3:21

10. Last thing is that I have to throw in Rush even though they’re not necessarily considered as metal as these other ones, but Rush is Rush! I’ll go with a more underrated one here. Rush - Circumstances - (Isolated Bass and Drum Track)

Seinfeld

nah but really it’s Mountains Of Mars by Electric Wizard

Hysteria by Muse is always cool

Rush has a ton of good bass

A more niche one I love is Wagon on Fire from The Trail to Oregon by StarKid

Not the Seinfeld theme, because I just found out they don’t use a bass, it’s done on keyboard.

I can’t think of an overall favorite, but here’s a few where the bass line is so good I end up focusing on the bass line instead of the main melody, and I’ll happily just jam out to the isolated bass stem:

Dean Town - Vulfpeck (ok, it’s kind of cheating, but who doesn’t wanna listen to Joe Dart play lead bass?)

Money - Pink Floyd (so simple, so good)

Platina - Maaya Sakamoto (Cardcaptor Sakura OP3) (incredibly lyrical yet groovy fretless bass)

Oh No, Oh Yes - Mariya Takeuchi (quintessential slow jam with the mood set by the synth bass; check out this bass cover for a breakdown (also just a great channel in general if you love bass–here’s another great video))

Innocent Blue - DeviceHigh (admittedly a bit out of left field, but it’s got a soft spot in my heart as the first song I ever transcribed and learned on bass)

For some reason my mind is going blank, but if I think of more I’ll add them later.

Superstition by Stevie Wonder has to be up there, was the first that came to mind.

Some basslines I have been listening to and really enjoy:

Blue Monday and just about anything Peter Hook does

Only In Dreams by Weezer- A droning bassline is perfect for this sad song

Subdivisions by Rush

pitch the baby - cocteau twins

new york city cops - the strokes

don’t give up - peter gabriel & kate bush

disorder - joy division

longview - green day

I don’t know that its my favorite, but the song that made me realize bass was a sick instrument as a kid was Maxwell Murder by Rancid.

I love a good bass line, so I’m lookin forward to seeing some suggestions here

Most of the discography by Men I Trust has a dynamic bass line. For example, Lauren

Most songs by the The Smiths; for example, This Night Has Opened My Eyes

Parquet Courts - Before the Water Gets Too High

Tame Impala - The Less I Know the Better

Thee Sacred Souls - Will I See You Again?

Surprised nobody has posted Thundercat yet. Them Changes is an all time classic baseline.

Removed by mod