Dance music has always been more about the 12” single than the full-length album. Some dance stars who’ve been making records for years and years never even consider getting into the studio to work on a long-player. Still, some of the best albums of all-time come from the electronic music sphere. Since DJ Magazine began, fifteen years ago, they've been privileged enough to hear most of the albums dance music has generated. Some got just heard once, then binned. Others made it onto the stereo more than a few times and got a review. Then there are some that made them jump out of their seats and prance around the room like loonies before sitting back down at their computers, putting fingers to keys and setting about the task of telling us how good they are.
Below is a selection of the best ones they’ve had their mitts on since the very first DJ Magazine hit the shelves in 1991. And they didn’t just discuss this amongst themselves. They canvassed a string of DJs, artists, producers and music experts to find out their thoughts too. Then they collected a mammoth pile of these albums, sat down and listened. It’s a tough job, but someone had to do it.

Here's the list. It was selected by DJs, artists, producers and music experts.


1. Leftfield – Leftism
2. Daft Punk – Homework
3. Massive Attack – Blue Lines
4. The Chemical Brothers – Exit Planet Dust
5. Mylo – Destroy Rock And Roll
6. Portishead – Dummy
7. Primal Scream – Screamadelica
8. Orbital – Orbital 2/The Brown album
9. Underworld – Dubnobasswithmyheadman
10. The Streets – Original Pirate Material
11. Prodigy – Fat Of The Land
12. Goldie - Timeless
13. Basement Jaxx – Remedy
14. Ronie Size/Reprazent – New Forms
15. Robert Hood – Minimal Nation
16. Various – Renaissance – The Mix Collection Vol 1 (Sasha & John Digweed)
17. Fatboy Slim – You’ve Come A Long Way Baby
18. Eminem – The Slim Shady LP
19. Various – Artificial Intelligence ( Warp Records)
20. Plastikman - Sheet One
21. Various – Mixed Up In The Hague Vol 1
22. Global Communication – 76:14
23. Dr Dre – The Chronic
24. The KLF – The White Room
25. The Orb – The Orb’s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld
26. Air – Moon Safari
27. Tricky – Maxinquaye
28. The Ragga Twins – Reggae Owes Me Money
29. Nightmares On Wax – Smokers Delight
30. DJ Shadow – Entroducing
31. David Holmes – Lets Get Killed
32. Coldcut – Journeys By DJ – 70 Minutes OF Madness
33. Mr Scruff – Keep It Unreal
34. Autechre – Incunabula
35. Various - Sunday Best
36. Moby – Play
37. Royksopp – Melody AM
38. Wu-Tang Clan – Enter The Wu-Tang; 36 Chambers
39. Propellerheads – Decksanddrumsandrockandroll
40. So Solid Crew – They Don’t Know
41. Future Sound Of London - Accelerator
42. LTJ Bukem – Logical Progression Vol 1
43. Felix Da Housecat – Kittens & The Glitz
44. Pendulum – Hold Your Colour
45. Ms Dynamite – A Little Deeper
46. Faithless – Reverence
47. Dizzee Rascal Boy – Boy in Da Corner
48. Nuyorican Soul – Nuyorican Soul
49. The Avalanches – Since I Left You
50. Various – Bonkers Vol 1: Mixed by Hixxy & Sharkey

Nice list. Wu-Tang Clan's '36 Chambers' is surely too low at 38 - should be top 20, i think.

How can anybody in his right mind dance to "Dummy"? This album should be moved to a "50 albums to cut your veins to" list.

The term dance encomposes trip-hop, chill our etc.

that is about "influential" and doesn't include the Madonna album. Well, that says a lot right there!

The number of wanna-bes in the dance/pop genre to look at that album, and try to mimmick it- well, there were too many to keep track of. That album definitely was influential, probably more than any other Madge recording.

Some of the entries on here are quite interesting, since one would never think of "dance" when they hear that music or read the titles/acts.

this list only covers 1991-present. Scratch my above comment.

Thanks Mitchell!