pjw, I think I did answer your question. But, let me try it this way:
The short answer is NO, I don’t think that Morello would have gotten “best drummer” had he not been part of Brubeck’s group; a very successful quartet with hit records. But, this doesn’t take anything away from his skill or contribution to Brubeck’s quartet; or, that he could be considered “best” for that particular quartet. Personally, I think that this is the criterion that was used. It is unlikely that he would have been part of some other quartet with as high a profile. What this does for me is to reinforce my feeling that those surveys are far from definitive. Sometimes they are political and subjective at least to a degree. You mention that they are very popular magazines. “Popular” will always have some degree of “pop” in it.
The short answer is NO, I don’t think that Morello would have gotten “best drummer” had he not been part of Brubeck’s group; a very successful quartet with hit records. But, this doesn’t take anything away from his skill or contribution to Brubeck’s quartet; or, that he could be considered “best” for that particular quartet. Personally, I think that this is the criterion that was used. It is unlikely that he would have been part of some other quartet with as high a profile. What this does for me is to reinforce my feeling that those surveys are far from definitive. Sometimes they are political and subjective at least to a degree. You mention that they are very popular magazines. “Popular” will always have some degree of “pop” in it.