Perhaps the biggest publication in the music world, it seems to be a bit odd that Rolling Stone would cover EDM–after all, even despite its growing popularity, it’s still a fringe genre. Regardless, Rolling Stone is still desperate to prove its relevancy in a world where print publication is no longer nearly as profitable as it once was. So, now we have Rolling Stone‘s ranking of the top 30 EDM albums of all time–it includes many heavyweights like deadmau5, The Orb, Orbital, Sasha & John Digweed, Justice, Paul Oakenfold, Aphex Twin, Fatboy Slim, Skrillex, Burial, Kraftwerk, The Prodigy, and The Chemical Brothers.
While I applaud the magazine’s effort to dig through hundreds of thousands of incredible albums to find the top 30, several of their selections are quite a bit off: historically, Rolling Stone‘s focus is on what readers will find most interesting–it’s focused on popularity rather than quality. Random Album Title was a much more sensical choice for a deadmau5 selection than 4×4=12, and it’s hard to really characterize Madonna, LCD Soundsystem, and Moby as ‘EDM’ in the same way many of the other musicians on the list are–they come from directions like pop, indie and rock rather than the disco and funk roots of more pure dance acts. I don’t even think I have to mention the inclusion of Skrillex–his music is an affront to the senses, and simply violates dance music as a whole. Let us know what you think of the list in the comment box below.
The List:
- Daft Punk, ‘Homework’ (Virgin, 1997)
- The Chemical Brothers, ‘Dig Your Own Hole’ (Astralwerks, 1997)
- Juan Atkins, ’20 Years Metroplex: 1985-2005′ (Tresor, 2005)
- Carl Craig, ‘Sessions’ (K7, 2008)
- Moby, ‘Play’ (V2, 1999)
- 2 Many DJs, ‘As Heard on Radio Soulwax Vol. 2′ (PIAS, 2002)
- Various Artists, ‘Trax Records: The 20th Anniversary Collection’ (Casablanca Trax, 2004)
- Daft Punk, ‘Discovery’ (Virgin, 2001)
- The Prodigy, ‘Music for the Jilted Generation’ (XL, 1994)
- Kraftwerk, ‘Computer World’ (Warner Bros., 1981)
- Burial, ‘Untrue’ (Hyperdub, 2007)
- Various Artis, ‘True Spirit, Vol. 1′ (Tressor, 2010)
- Basement Jaxx, ‘Remedy’ (Astralwerks, 1999)
- Skrillex, ‘Bangarang’ EP (Big Beat/Atlantic, 2011)
- Fatboy Slim, ‘You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby’ (Astralwerks, 1998)
- Various Artists, ‘Journey Into Paradise: The Larry Levan Story’ (2006)
- Aphex Twix, ‘The Richard D. James Album’ (Warp, 1996)
- Michael Mayer, ‘Immer’ (Kompakt, 2002)
- Underworld, ‘Anthology, 1992 – 2002′ (JBO/V2, 2003)
- Avalanches, ‘Since I left You’ (Modular, 2001)
- Madonna, ‘Ray of Light’ (Maverick, 1998)
- LCD Soundsystem, ‘Sound of Silver’ (Capitol/EMI, 2007)
- Paul Oakenfold, ‘Tranceport’ (Kinetic, 1998)
- Justice, ‘+’ (Ed Banger, 2007)
- Sasha & John Digweed, ‘Northern Exposure’ (Ultra, 1997)
- 4 Hero & DJ Marky, ‘Kings of Drum + Bass’ (BBE, 2010)
- Orbital, ’20′ (Rhino, 2009)
- The Orb, ‘The BBC Sessions 1991-2001′ (Island, 2008)
- Deadmau5, ’4×4=12′ (Ultra Math, 2011)
- Various Artists, ‘Make ‘Em Mokum Crazy’ (Mokum, 1996)
Click here to read the article on Rolling Stone‘s blog.