My favorite:
Billie Jean
Iconic, best bass on a pop song ever
The Stones: Miss You
Phil Lesh played some truly interesting lines.
Beginning of Devo - Mongoloid:
Just listened to this song for the first time in a long while and remembered this thread. This is a great but largely unnoticed performance on bass by Bob Babbit. Give it a listen, focus on the bass player, and tell me what you think. (video is lame, but it's the best I could find for the studio version.)
Anything by Primus
anyone mention groove is in the heart?
ok, let's cut the crapsz, turn your speaker loud, this is some classy bass playing
Metallica - For Whom The Bell Tolls (live, 1985):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZUw2RusJQc
Cliff Burton was a bit of a freak. RIP.
Low Down - Boz Scaggs
Anything from Early Jamiroquai with Stu Zender. Unreal.
One word. Funk
all your bass are belong to us wrote:
For example, Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams":
http://www.youtube.com/v/INhAvzCa7NwOthers? Any genre. Any era. Links appreciated. Thanks...
Not a great song, but historically one of the earliest of the funk style and I can listen to it all day...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wro3bqi4Eb8
Archie Bell and the Drells
I'm not even sure who the dude is, but Joe Jackson's bass player is fantastic. Check out 'Friday' for a sample.
I always loved the bass in Waiting Room by Fugazi.
Until near the end, the bass is the main instrument in "Sympathy for the Devil."
Anything with Tal Wilkenfeld.