[ilamont]

In some interview I read, Donald Fagen or one of his session leaders mentioned that he liked working with LA drummers better because they almost all had trailers to carry their larger sets and were pros about coming on time and setting up quickly, whereas their NYC counterparts tended to have major issues getting their gear out of storage and transporting it to the studio in a timely manner.

As for faves not mentioned: Alex Van Halen, Britt Walford of Slint and the Breeders, Bill Stevenson of Black Flag, Earl Hudson from Bad Brains, and Dave Lombardo and Paul Bostaph from Slayer.