Each year, Modern Drummer invites readers to participate in a poll rating drummers in different styles of music, as well as other categories. Neil Peart has consistently placed at the top of these polls for the past 20 years. This is one of the reasons Neil is so well regarded in the drumming community. Perhaps his greatest achievement is that he won Best Recorded Performance for every album from Moving Pictures to Different Stages (basically, whenever Rush released a new album). To give you some perspective, the only other drummers to be awarded Best Recorded Performance more than once are Mike Portnoy (5 times) and Dave Weckl (2 times).

Best Recorded Performance:

1981: Moving Pictures
1982: Exit... Stage Left
1983: Signals
1985: Grace Under Pressure
1986: Power Windows
1988: Hold Your Fire
1989: A Show of Hands
1990: Presto
1992: Roll The Bones
1993: Counterparts
1997: Test for Echo
1999: Different Stages

Drumming Categories:

Modern Drummer Hall of Fame: 1983
Best Rock Drummer: 1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985 (see Honor Roll below)
Best Multi-Percussionist: 1983,1984,1985,1986
Best Percussion Instrumentalist: 1982
Most Promising New Drummer: 1980
Best All Around: 1986

1986 Honor Roll:

Rock Drummer, Multi-Percussion

Starting in 1986, Modern Drummer started the Honor Roll category. To make the honor roll, an artist must be selected by the Modern Drummer readership as "winners in any one category of the MD Readers Poll for a total of five years."

In October 1994, Neil wrote a letter to Modern Drummer thanking readers for voting his performance the best of 1993 for Counterparts:

THANKS FROM NEIL

When I finally arrived home at the end of our Counterparts tour—in the usual wrung-out state of exhaustion—and began to sift through the pile of mail on my desk, I was pleasantly surprised to open a package from Modern Drummer and find that I had been awarded the "Best Recorded Performance" in the Readers Poll. A weary smile raised this sagging face, and a spark of gratitude lit up these tired old bones!

If anybody thinks I would ever get jaded about such things, let me assure you: no way! As I have said before (and I hope I will say again), it is the ultimate reward to have your work appreciated by other drummers. As I continue my own musical odyssey, working on technique and structure and applying them to each other, it thrills me no end that I continue to find an audience out there that is discriminating and appreciative—and especially an audience of drummers.

So my sincere gratitude to all of you for this honor. And indeed, rather than making me feel complacent or even satisfied about my past work, it serves to inspire me toward the challenges of the future—like those lines from Robert Frost, which have always moved me: "For I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep." Thank you all very much.

Neil Peart

Toronto, Ontario, Canada