I listen to so many types of music it's very hard to break it down to one!
There are lots of bass players that I admire for different reasons, but the guy who inspired me the most and made pick up the bass in the first place was Stuart Zender (Jamiroquai - Emergency on Planet Earth, Space Cowboy, Travelling Without Moving). Very over looked and under rated musician, IMHO. That guy really understood the concept of 'Groove' and has a style all of his own. Techncially brilliant, excellent performer and had an awesome bass tone! Very expressional and sensitive player. Never took his abilities to the point where he over played or over shadowed his band. For me, the true meaning of why a bass player should always be turned up in the mix! If you haven't already, I would really recommend listening to the 'Emergency on Planet Earth' and 'Travelling Without Moving' albums especially. Staurt was only 18-19yrs old when he appeared on the 'Emergency on Planet Earth' record!! When you listen to it I think you will agree his lines are truly inspiring!
He left the band several years ago for personal reasons and my heart was broken!
Jamiroquai have had great session players since then, but now they sound like a post disco / pop act. You can really notice the difference between the albums he performed on and the preceeding albums recorded without him.
Stuart Zender was the guy that inspired me to pick up bass as my main instrument. Not necessarily my favorite bass player, but definately the most important for that reason.