Ringo Starr or Charlie Watts???

Lokie, Keith Moon was the greatest rock drummer ever. Look at the video for "Who are you". We all know that.
Dr joe, I find Charlie to be somewhat predictable, almost robotic where as Ringo was never afraid to take chances.
Babyjdrums, cut from the same cloth indeed but different as night and day.

Dreadhead...I think that you answered your own question. Charlie Watts is a drumming timepiece...spot, dead on and correct me if I am wrong on this, but his background is / was in keeping time in big band jazz. I also thought I read once where Mick and keith went to him on the new songs arrangements and what tiempo the song would take. Ringo Starr is a whole different type of drummer and as important, type of band and music played. Ringo was the right drummer for that band...any other drummer, well who knows what path the Beatles would have taken and ended up on.....yes, he had flair and was a pretty good drummer as well in keeping time.

Baker, Bonham & Moon....again totally different drummers and music played. But, the thread is about Watts and Starr ....not about those guys.

Charlie has more cowbell!

Listen to "Slave" from 'Tattoo You' - great beat, never overwhelming. All the instruments dance in and out and can be heard - Charlie never takes the spotlight. Love some of the sax riffs on that one.

If you haven't heard Charlie as a band leader with his jazz orchestra you haven't heard his true range as a musician. His recording from 2001, "Watts at Scotts" really put a new light on him for me. Like Keith, I think he's often under appreciated because he's not an overt, showy virtuoso. No one is going to put him on the same technical plane as Ginger Baker (truly great,) but he has his own unique strengths.

Charlie Watts by a mile! He's a subtle drummer but he's rock solid. I figured out how good he was when I was in a band in college. We were covering Honkey Tonk Women and our drummer kept on slipping the downbeat into the wrong part of the melody. He could hear where it was supposed to be on the record, but he kept on winding up about a beat off. Of course there was a lot of beer involved....