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10 Best Electronica Albums Ever

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The 10 Electronica Albums That Made Me Fall In Love With Electronic Music

These are my top 10 favorite electronica albums ever, and they are pretty much responsible for solidifying Electronic Dance Music, or EDM, as my favorite genre of music. There are some seminal artists absent, because for me this list is about albums, not individual tracks or an artist/dj/producer in general (that's for anther Squidoo lens!)

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10. The Haclers Movie Soundtrack

c. 1995

Hackers Original Movie SoundtrackThis cd blew my mind. Growing up in the 'burbs in northern Connecticut I did not have much exposure or means to get to a major city to buy this type of music. I was limited to what the local record store carried. I didn't even own a modem yet. So when this cd came out it literally melted my face. Groups like Orbital, Underworld and Prodigy were featured. Orbital's Halcyon became an instant favorite. Open Up by Leftfield and Connected by StereoMC's are 2 other tracks that stood out. And then there was Voo Doo People by Prodigy... that break beat, in your face track was amazing. This album just opened the floodgates for me as far as knowing what is out there.

9. Trainspotting Movie Soundtrack

c. 1996

Trainspotting Movie SoundtrackAs with Hackers soundtrack, finding this at the local record store after seeing the movie exposed me to Bedrock and John Digweed as well as more Underworld. Select tracks from this cd still hold up today, like For What You Dream Of and Born Slippy.

8. Vegas by The Crystal Method

c. 1997

Vegas by The Crystal MethodMainstream media has clung to a few electronica artists and licensed the hell out of some of their tracks to use in tv commercials, movies, tv shows, etc. The Crystal Method's Busy Child was one of those tracks, and Vegas did not leave my car's stereo for months when it came out. Like Prodigy and Underworld, these 2 guys used a breakbeat sound. And they were from America which made it even cooler. Trip Like I Do and Keep Hope Alive were other stand out tracks from Vegas. In late 1997 I drove to Boston to see The Crystal Method perform live. Who opened up for them? A gentleman -- who to that point I had never heard of -- named Brian Transeau, or B.T.

7. Prodigy - Fat Of The Land

c. 1997

Prodigy - Fat Of The LandWow. After hearing VooDoo People from the Hackers soundtrack, I was definitely hungry for more Prodigy. I could not find Music For A Jilted Generation where I was, but then Fat Of The Land came out. With tracks like Firestarter, Breathe and Smack My Bitch Up this album made my head explode with how awesome it was. Prodigy also quickly became poster children for electronic music and this album shot them into the super-elite of the EDM world. A litmus test -- for me -- for how great an album is, does the music still hold up today? Fat Of The Land definitely does. I still crank it today in the car.

6. Underworld - Dubnobasswithmyheadman

c. 1994

Underworld - DubnobasswithmyheadmanAfter hearing Rez on the Hackers soundtrack, it whet my appetite for more. I found this at the local Strawberry's (remember those?) record store in my small town. This album is one of those that you listen to with your eyes closed on a good pair of headphones. It is really the first time that I was taken on The Journey from start to finish. Every track on this cd has its place, and it all just flows so nicely. Underworld solidified their place with me as being one of my favorite all-time EDM groups. I quickly went out and bought everything I could find from them.

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5. Fatboy Slim - Better Living Through Chemistry

c. 1997

Fatboy Slim - Better Living Through ChemistryNorman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, was another poster child for the EDM scene as it was breaking into the mainstream in 1997. It was as if he wrote some of the tracks knowing they would be licensed for commercial use. Fatboy Slim was everywhere. Personally while no 1 track stood out to me from the album, as a whole it was truly seminal. Again the breakbeat sound was huge, mixed with dirty acid lines, samples and big build ups.... this album was another to listen to from start to finish with every track having its place.

4. Tranceport, mixed by Paul Oakenfold

c. 1998

Tranceport, mixed by Paul OakenfoldUntil I heard this cd, I had no idea what trance music was. I thought EDM was all about Prodigy, Crystal Method etc. and didn't realize that this trance genre was building steam and would soon explode in America in the mainstream. Paul Oakenfold is considered by many to be 'the godfather' of trance music. This cd has so many trance classics on it: Greece 2000, El Nino, 1998, Cafe Del Mar, Gamemaster... it reads like a greatest hits list, yet these songs were all brand new when this came out. Oakenfold had the foresight and intuition that these tracks would be huge. People still remix them today and they go over huge with crowds because they are so well known and popular.

3. Underworld - Everything Everything

c. 2000

Underworld - Everything EverythingThere are many great Underworld albums, but this live cd (and the DVD) encompass all of their best tracks, in a recorded live format. What attracts me so much to this is that it is live, so the msuic itself is a bit different than from the original studio productions which make it more interesting. Also, it is like a greatest hits cd, with all their best tracks present. If you are to buy only 1 Underworld cd, let this be it. Absolutely outstanding from start to finish. I also highly recommend the live performance DVD.

2. Northern Exposure : Expeditions, mixed by Sasha & Digweed

c. 1999

Northern Exposure : ExpeditionsThis double cd album excited me to no end. It came on the heels of their success with Northern Exposure series, after the popularity East Coast and West Coast editions. This double cd was packed with only the best progressive house tunes of the time. This exposed me to artists like Breeder, Pako & Frederick, Humate, Mike Koglin and more.

1. Northern Exposure 1, mixed by Sasha & Digweed

c. 1997

Northern Exposure 1While Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Crystal Method and Fatboy Slim had made it to the mainstream and the radio, a dj/producer duo was making waves of their own within the EDM world. Sasha & Digweed's Northern Exposure 1 cd is hailed by many as being one of the all-time best EDM albums ever produced and defined an entire genre. It set the duo into super dj stardom and are hailed today as one of the best and top performing dj acts in the world. Their early days at Limelight and Twilo are legendary. This album was serious. It did not have the mainstream friendly format that other artist were using. This seemed like music for love of music... like they were trying to speak to me through it, take me somewhere else. It all flowed so seamlessly and perfectly. It was magical to say the least and again opened my eyes to this ever expanding universe of electronic dance music. It still holds up today.

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