Many of you have probably heard some form or another of electronic/techno/dance music. Many of you have probably thought to yourself “Damn, this is repetitive and boring.” Some of you have probably been inebriated enough to even dance to it, because lets face it, you’re going to dance to anything while your drunk. If all you think of when you hear of this genre is “repetitive crap that only people tweaked out on ecstasy can enjoy.” You may be in for quite the surprise!

Good Techno music isn’t repetitive and boring. Good techno music can run the full gamut of emotions; it can draw you in, put you in a trance, and spit you on some kind of strange musically induced high. The problem is that finding a Good artist can become quite the chore, since as previously mentioned, anybody with a hint of alcohol in them will dance to anything with a beat, making it pretty easy for an artist to enter the genre. This can make the act of finding a truly great artist comparable to that of searching for rubies in the dump. This guide will cover what is in my opinion, the best in the business.

Before you delve into this world, there is something about yourself you may need to identify, to discover if you are truly capable of being moved by this music. The important question here is this: What about music moves you? I have noticed two major types here. Those who are moved by words, and those who are moved by sound. If you treat your music like poetry, and what truly moves you are the artists choice of words. This Genre might not be for you. While some techno music can have some great lyrics, its pretty rare in general.

Do you find yourself moved by sound? A good example would be hearing a song, loving it, and not even remembering anything about the lyrics. Can you listen to a track that’s not even in English and be moved? In Techno, many artists use the human voice more as an instrument of sound, rather than a means to transport lyrics. You wont always find the smartest lyrics in this genre (many of these artists don’t even speak English as their first language!), but what you will find, is a richer soundscape then anything you’ve ever been exposed to. If you are truly moved by sound, then prepare for a wild ride. Without further adieu, the artists!

Robert Miles

Robert Miles deserves some credit on this list for being who I refer to, as the father of electronic music, at least in my world. Robert Miles introduced me to the genre, his hit “Children” was the first of its kind to hit mainstream radio stations across the county. Before I heard this track on the radio, I had no idea music like this even existed. I purchased his first CD, and my taste in music has never been the same since.

His first album “Dreamland” is purely melodic, with few words. I would say his specialty is creating compelling melodies that, for some reason, move you in ways that are hard to understand. His second album “23am” also had some excellent melodies, and started to take a turn towards “pop music.” It was at this point that Robert Miles had a falling out with the record label he was associated with, which seemed to ultimately turn him off the genre. He still creates music today, but had turned more towards the Jazz genre. Check out “Organic” for some pretty unique, albeit, strange stuff! He is currently working on a new album, I honestly have no idea what it is going to sound like. Will Robert Miles return to the Genre? Time will Tell..

For now, Enjoy the Song that started it all:

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Albums I recommend: “dreamland” and “23 AM”

Songs you need to hear: “Children”, “Princess of Light” , “Everyday Life”, “Freedom”, “Maresias”

Paul Van Dyk

Paul Van Dyk’s early work can be related to that of Robert Miles in style, although at times, it was a bit more repetitive. His music was catchy to say the least, and very easy to lose yourself in. Over time he started to migrate more and more towards the “pop” side of the genere. Some of his more lyric intensive work can be pretty enjoyable to listen to. Paul Van Dyk is an artist that’s only been getting better with time. And I consider his greatest work to be his latest album “In Between.” This album covers pop, dance, and trance all very nicely, It flows together better then most albums I’ve heard in the entire genre. Paul Van Dyk also happens be one of the only artists who’s made some pretty interesting and unique music videos.

Here’s a great video his 1999 hit, “Another Way”

Click here to watch it! (embedding disabled)

If pop/dance music is more your thing, check out one of the tracks off his latest album “white lies” (my wife can’t get enough of this song), the music video.. not nearly as good as the previous one I linked.

Click here to watch it (embedding disabled)

Albums I’d recommend: “Out There and Back” and “In Between”

Songs you need to hear: “Tell me why”, “Alive”, “Time of our Lives”, “Haunted”, “Fall with Me”

Hybrid

Hybrid is a strange one. I can honestly say I don’t care for a lot of his music. He is popular for a few dance tracks and what’s known as “breakbeats”. The majority of his music doesn’t really move me in the way that a lot of these other artists do. Though, what is interesting is that occasionally this artist creates a complete and utter work of genius. On these few tracks, he has a way of melding the old with the new, and by that I mean taking a symphony, blending it with some electronic music, and completely blowing out your eardrums in a most awesome fashion. You’ll have to hear some of these tracks to believe it.

“finished Symphony”

Albums I’d recommend: “Wide Angle”

Songs I’d recommend: “Finished Symphony”, “Higher then a Skyscraper”, “Until Tomorrow”

I’d rate some of these songs a solid 10, but overall as an artist

Way Out West

Nick Warren is an artist with his moments, but many of his tracks seem somewhat generic to me, I can’t say I’ve really enjoyed many of his self titled “mixes”. However, for some reason when he dons the “Way out West” helmet he’s managed to produce some truly excellent albums. I would define Way out West as standing in the pop genre with a techno edge. You’ll find a few tracks with many acoustic instruments blended with a lot of electronic elements. His singers are almost always superb, and he gets some personal mad props for his mixture’s of drum tracks and baselines, which sound better and clearer then probably about 95% of the albums out this. The song “Anything but you” totally ravages my speakers like a pissed off badger on cocaine. They have a new CD coming out this year, I cannot wait to see what these guys do next!

“mindcircus”

Albums I recommend: All of them

Songs you have to hear: “intensify”,”stealth”,”melt”,”don’t forget me”,”anything but you”

ATB

ATB is another great artist that got his start around the time of the rest of the great artists. Over the years he’s probably created more albums then any other artist in the same genre (these are original works, I’m not counting mixed albums). ATB’s biggest strength lies in melody. He uses both human voice and general sound in some of the best melodic fashion out there. His earlier work started similar to that of Robert miles, with his own VERY unique feel. Over the years he’s gravitated more and more towards the pop/dance scene, but not once has he lost his edge, or the unique feel that seems to accompany all his albums. There are many, many ATB albums out there, but I can honestly say not one of them has disappointed me in any way. I don’t think there are any songs I can rate a solid 10, but I would rate over half the tracks on many of his albums at 7-9. This is one artist where you’ll find quality in almost every single track. Overall ATB is fantastic in everything he does. His latest Album was released just last week. Sit back and enjoy the Single from his latest album “What about Us.”

Albums I’d recommend: All 8 of them

Songs you have to hear: too many to pick, but try out: “what about us”,”my everything”,”behind,”,”in love with the DJ”,”believe in me”,”love will find you”, and “humanity”

DJ Tiesto

Ok, so if you’ve even heard of the genre, you probably know about DJ Tiesto, the international superstar of Techno. This man has done it all, and probably has put out more “mixed” albums of any artist alive. Tiesto is probably best known for his DJ work and concerts across the globe. However Tiesto has also done many of his own compositions, most of which are quite brilliant to say the least. This man is getting the credit he deserves. His original work is highly creative, and some of his tracks will sound like nothing you’ve ever heard before, not to mention some of the best mixed tracks in the genre. Tiesto is also a bit of a crowd pleaser at his concerts, this man will spend millions on the lighting and pyrotechnics at his concerts. What’s that? pyrotechnics I said?

Hell yes!

Click here to see it (embedding disabled)
(it really kicks in half way through the video)

And here is one of my favorite Tiesto songs “Sweet Misery”

Albums I’d recommend: “Elements of Life”, “Just Be”, “In My Memory” “Summerbreeze”, and the “In Search of Sunrise” series

Songs you have to hear: “sweet misery” and “in the dark”

BT

I’ve saved the best for last. I’ve been listing talent from all around the globe, but here we have Brian Transeau, and he is as American as apple pie. For many years, BT has been flying under the radar compared to some other giants in the industry, and in my opinion, has not yet been given the credit he deserves. Put simply, this man is a genius. BT not only creates great music, but he’s gone as far as actually scripting some of his songs from computer code! He’s actually developed and sold software that other artists have used to make their songs, making BT not only a great musician, but the king of nerds.

When you listen to a BT album, it becomes very difficult to pin a genre onto this artist. He has created songs that span almost every genre out there. From Hip hop, to rock, to acoustic, Pop, techno, and some completely unclassifiable tracks that break the boundaries of genres and music itself. His latest album “This Binary Universe” is a work of true brilliance, and completely unique to anything out there. Not only is his music unique in its form, but he is also a poet of sorts. He is one of the few artists out there in this genre that have also been able to create some deep and meaningful lyrics in some of his songs. Bt truly has it all. His newest album will be released this summer, and i cannot wait to see what he has in store for us.

I cant say enough about this artist, every album is pretty much a 10 in my book. But let’s have a listen as some of his music shall we?

“Simply Being Loved”

“animals”

“remember”

“never gonna come back down”

Some genius from his latest album:

“1.618”

“Antikytherea Mechanism”

Albums I’d recommend: all 5 of them

Songs you have to hear: all of them, seriously