Dancing Astronaut’s #BIG100, a definitive snapshot of the year in EDM

Since our inception, we’ve rounded out each year with a list of the ‘Top 50 Biggest Artists’ to reflect the culture of the given time period and to acknowledge artists for their feats. As each year has passed, the electronic dance music landscape has evolved more drastically… and in more directions.

It has done so to the point that one master list of artists couldn’t possibly reflect the year in review, nor would it properly credit the artists as individuals. For example, placing Tiësto in the same lane as Richie Hawtin would not only weaken the category’s meaning or entirely negate its purpose, but it would also result in an artist taking a backseat where unnecessary. The same goes for examples such as Martin Garrix and Pete Tong, or Steve Aoki and Seth Troxler. The list goes on.

No longer can all artists be weighed on the same scale. A monkey has no business in a fish tank, and a dolphin has no business in a bird cage. Every DJ is a different animal, with a different fan base, a different appeal, but each playing a necessary part in the dance music ecosystem.

In effort to properly recognize artists for their past year’s most effectively, we’re abandoning the ‘Top 50 Biggest Artists’ model. Instead, we’re dividing artists deserving of recognition into their proper, unique categories.

In review of 2014, we see four important sectors:

EDM Superstars, our kings of festivals, touring, and main stream appeal fall beneath the umbrella of EDM — a classification that mirrors the rise of its popularization as an acronym.

Impactful Artists, this list contains the artists who may or may not be main stage contenders, but who’s careers have set precedent, trends, and impacts upon dance and/or electronic music. When you talk about 2014, it’s hard not to talk about these artists.

Underground is a funny term. It’s likely the most criticized yet most used term in the dance music world. While it may not be so reflective of its etymology or even the genres we associate with it, the term “underground” does represent a sound that exists outside of the main stream culture — and that’s where we evaluate such artists.

Artists to Watch, the budding stars, the future talents of dance music, some unknown while other’s are on paths about to go stratospheric. When concluding the year, the future can’t be neglected. Consider these to be artists we think you’ll soon love, a freshman class of sorts.

25 EDM Superstars. 25 Impactful Artists. 25 Underground Acts. 25 To Watch. Together, Dancing Astronaut’s authoritative year-end collection of acknowledging the artists who defined the year in electronic dance music.

Introducing, The Big 100.

Disclaimer: Although a handful are worthy of ranking on both lists, we count each artist only once, so that none overlap. In these cases, we choose the stronger category for that given artist.

Categories: Features, News