N.I.B. from Black Sabbath (or just about anything by Sabbath really)

Green Day – Longview

Cream – Sunshine of Your Love

Nirvana – Blew

Most anything by the Red Hot Chili Peppers (Higher Ground might be the best).

Got some more for ya:

Primus – My Name is Mud (or just about anything by Primus, Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver would be a good one too).

The Stray Cats – Stray Cat Strut

Led Zeppelin – Dazed and Confused

The Beatles – Come Together

Megadeth – Peace Sells…But Who’s Buyin’

Metallica – One (thought that may be played on guitar)

Queen – Another One Bites the Dust

Rick James – Superfreak

A lot of Fishbone’s music would work.

Rush – Stick It Out

A fair amount of Tool’s music would work as well.

Pink Floyd – Money

Aerosmith – Sweet Emotion

That’s all I can do off the top o me head, maybe more will occur later…

Enter Andy Rourk’s site to hear the bass line from This Charming Man. I always thought it was Johnny Marr’s guitar that made Smiths songs Smiths songs. But This Charming Man is all about Andy’s bass.

I’m not sure about the selling point of the song, or even if all these meet your criteria, but these stood out as I was skimming though my iTunes:

Louie Louie – Kingsmen
Lose Yourself – Eminem
Estimated Prophet – Grateful Dead
Devil’s Haircut – Beck
Proudest Monkey – Dave Mathews Band
I Got You – James Brown
Use the Force – Jamiroquai
Come on Get up – Janet Jackson
You Never met a Motherfucker like me – Kid Rock
Pretty Piece of Flesh – One Inch Punch
Jeremy – Pearl Jam
Smack my Bitch up – Prodigy
Give it Away – Red Hot Chili Peppers
Ecstasy – Rusted Root
Diggin on You – TLC
Low Rider – War
Places to Go – 50 Cent

Our Swords- Band Of Horses
Drive My Car- The Beatles
Think I’m In Love- Beck
I Will Survive- Cake
Hem Of Your Garment- Cake
Relief- Cold War Kids
Pickin’ It Up- Hot Hot Heat
Disorder- Joy Division
Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine- The Killers
Dramamine- Modest Mouse
Hysteria- Muse
The Bends- Radiohead
Take The Power Back- Rage Against The Machine
Throw Away Your Television- Red Hot Chili Peppers
21st Century- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Don’t You Evah- Spoon
A-Punk- Vampire Weekend
Rich Girls- The Virgins
My Generation- The Who

If I had to be a bass line, I would have to be the bass line from ‘As The Days Go By’ by Talking Heads.

So crisp. So simple. So good.

i’m liking the dverhey list a lot

i was also thinking of asking about sweet techno or R&B songs that have awesome basslines, but a very many of them aim to have awesome basslines for the purpose of dancing.

Oh yes, and don’t forget the theme song to Barney Miller (assuming anyone here but me is old enough to get that reference).

Beginning To See The Light by The Velvet Underground (Doug Yule)
Taxman by The Beatles (Sir Paul). (and the homage Start! by The Jam – Bruce Foxton)
One Nation Under a Groove by Funkadelic (Bootsy?)
Debaser – The Pixies (Kim Deal)

@dalepetrie – just barely old enough, but i got it.

the Night Court theme too.

@fireside – of course, how could I forget that?

Great question.

The Who – Boris the Spider
Tapes n Tapes – 10 Gallon Ascots
McLusky – Fuck This Band
The Black Angels – 18 Years
The Breeders – Cannonball
Stone Roses – Fools Gold
Yo La Tengo – Everyday
A Place to Bury Strangers – Another Step Away
Black Mountain – Druganaut
Jane’s Addiction – Summertime Rolls

wow, those theme songs ARE amazing, but I haven’t been able to find an mp3 of them yet.

and yes, they are both FAR before my time

Might have to find a torrent of an episode of each show and use software to cut out the show so all that’s left is the theme song, then convert the file to an MP3. I’m pretty sure you can find freeware to do all this.

I think there is a way to download videos directly off You tube if you can’t find a torrent. The program is somewhere in the Fluther archives, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it before.

But here’s another good one that just came up on my shuffle:
Damn right I’m Somebody by If Four was One

I forgot about Soul Coughing! How could I forget them? Mr. Bitterness. Uh, Zoom Zip. Soundtrack to Mary. Sugar Free Jazz. Disseminated. Sebastian Steinberg is one of the best bassists ever.

And who did the bass line for Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat) from Digable Planets? My Google-fu has failed me.

I think people don’t appreciate what a great bassist Paul McCartney was in The Beatles. Far from just nailing down a rhythm, he did some really intricate stuff which really contributed to the song dynamics.
Some good examples: -
Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite (Sgt. Pepper’s..)
A Day In The Life (Sgt. Peppers..)
Drive My Car (Rubber Soul)
Nowhere Man (Red Greatest Hits)
Come Together (Abbey Road)
Something (Abbey Road)

Interesting someone happened to answer this really old question today, bringing it back onto my activity list. I was in a store today and heard Papa Was A Rolling Stone, perhaps one of the best bass intros ever.

Pop-py Tabs
-lady madonna, the beatles
-all my loving, the beatles
Blues Tabs
-i want you, the beatles
-dazed and confused, led zep.
Funky Tabs
-coffee house, rhcp

also if you want to see a hot chick bassist look up christie nielsen

Listen to this, eh? Fantastic. Then listen to some guys who learned it well (showing the fingering).

I will NEVER, ever play bass as good as any of these fellas, because I started last year and not 25 years ago. I have learned Seven Nation Army, though. Go, me!

I glad I brought up the topic of Barney Miller. Wonder if they’ll ever release it on DVD? Or maybe it already is.

There’s an extended theme, too. I’d love to find the CD or mp3 of it. Barney Miller is out on DVD, BTW, the first three seasons, anyway.