I imagine I place some much higher than they deserve to be because of the role they played in my musical life journey, but one that I've always enjoyed, and been amazed by, is Les Claypool.
Incidentally, I never noticed until now that late-90's Claypool had a bit of a Papalardi vibe.
My kids had an SG bass for a while and traded it for something. I think it was a short scale version. We have had up to 5 SGs at one time, including the Robot when it came out. That was a bad gimmick! We got rid of that one fast.
I imagine I place some much higher than they deserve to be because of the role they played in my musical life journey, but one that I've always enjoyed, and been amazed by, is Les Claypool.
Incidentally, I never noticed until now that late-90's Claypool had a bit of a Papalardi vibe.
I have a difficult time with the idea of "greatest" in general. But on a list of innovative and influential bassists, Claypool is easily among the high tier.
It would be Willie Dixon, without a doubt. (Though I recognize he's associated with Blues, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.)
Jaco Pastorius is in this category. I believe he innovated the fretless bass and it would be hard to say anyone influenced more rock and funk bassists that he did.
I don't really vide on trying to name GOATs and prefer to discuss the innovations of individual artists.