The Ultimate EDM Beginner’s Playlist: One Track for Every Genre

Table of Contents

Our guide to EDM genres tells the story of where each style came from. This playlist does something different: it trains your ears. For every genre and subgenre, we’ve picked the one track that best captures its core sound, the kind of track you’d play to someone and say, “This is what it sounds like.”

The playlist is grouped by musical family, so you can hear how styles within each family are related and how small changes in tempo, rhythm or sound create a whole new genre. For each track, you’ll find a short note on what to listen for.

The roots

1. Hi-NRG – Dead or Alive, “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” (1985)

Origins: born in the gay clubs of San Francisco and New York in the late ’70s and early ’80s, when producers like Patrick Cowley sped up disco and replaced the live band with synthesizers.
Influenced by: disco, Giorgio Moroder’s electronic productions (“I Feel Love”).
Tempo and rhythm: around 120–135 BPM, with a steady four-on-the-floor kick inherited from disco, played faster and harder.
Signature sounds: a galloping synth bassline that jumps between octaves on every eighth note, bright synth stabs and dramatic vocals.
Production techniques: sequenced analog synthesizers replace the live band, so the groove is perfectly tight and relentless.
Listen for: the octave-bouncing bass. It’s the engine of Hi-NRG and a direct ancestor of the driving basslines in house and Italo disco.

2. Italo Disco – Raf, “Self Control” (1984)

Origins: emerged in Italy in the early ’80s, when local producers made cheap, synth-driven disco for European dance floors after disco faded in America.
Influenced by: disco, Giorgio Moroder, synth-pop.
Tempo and rhythm: around 110–125 BPM, with simple, mechanical drum machine patterns.
Signature sounds: bouncing sequenced bass, catchy synth riffs, string-machine pads and vocals often sung in accented English.
Production techniques: cheap drum machines and synths, minimal arrangements and long, repetitive grooves that DJs could mix easily.
Listen for: how raw and stripped back it sounds. Chicago DJs played records like this, and you can hear the blueprint of early house in its simple, hypnotic loop.

3. Electro – Soft Cell, “Tainted Love” (1981)

Origins: born in New York and Detroit in the early ’80s, when hip-hop and funk producers discovered Kraftwerk and the Roland TR-808.
Influenced by: Kraftwerk, funk (Parliament-Funkadelic), early hip-hop.
Tempo and rhythm: around 110–130 BPM. Unlike house, the kick is syncopated and funky rather than on every beat.
Signature sounds: the Roland TR-808’s booming kick, sharp handclaps and cowbell, robotic or vocoded vocals and sci-fi synth stabs.
Production techniques: programmed drum patterns, vocal effects inspired by Kraftwerk and, in many electro tracks, turntable scratching.
Listen for: the 808 kick and claps. This sound became the foundation of hip-hop, Miami bass and, decades later, trap.

4. EBM – Front 242, “Headhunter” (1988)

Origins: developed in Belgium and Germany in the early ’80s. Front 242 coined the term “Electronic Body Music” to describe their danceable, machine-driven sound.
Influenced by: industrial music, punk, Kraftwerk, synth-pop.
Tempo and rhythm: around 115–130 BPM, with a stiff, marching beat and hard, punchy snares.
Signature sounds: a repeating sixteenth-note sequenced bassline, cold synth textures and shouted or spoken vocals.
Production techniques: sequencers locked to the beat, sampled noises and a minimal, almost militaristic arrangement.
Listen for: the driving sequenced bass and stern vocal delivery. EBM (Electronic Body Music) fed directly into industrial music and the harder side of techno.

House

5. Chicago House – Joe Smooth, “Promised Land” (1988)

Origins: born in Chicago in the mid-’80s, when DJs like Frankie Knuckles at the Warehouse inspired local producers to make their own tracks with drum machines.
Influenced by: disco, soul, gospel, Italo disco, electro.
Tempo and rhythm: around 118–125 BPM, with four-on-the-floor kicks, claps or snares on beats 2 and 4, and open hi-hats on the offbeats.
Signature sounds: drum machine beats, piano or synth chords, simple basslines and soulful, often gospel-inspired vocals.
Production techniques: affordable drum machines (Roland TR-707 and TR-909 were popular), sparse arrangements and long intros and outros so DJs can mix.
Listen for: the uplifting message and gospel feel. Early house was about community and freedom, and this track is one of its anthems.

6. Deep House – Mr. Fingers, “Mystery of Love” (1985)

Origins: created in Chicago in the mid-’80s, largely thanks to Larry Heard, who brought jazz harmony and warmth into house music.
Influenced by: Chicago house, jazz, soul, gospel.
Tempo and rhythm: around 115–124 BPM, slightly slower and more relaxed than classic house.
Signature sounds: warm analog pads, jazzy extended chords (sevenths and ninths) and smooth, rolling basslines.
Production techniques: analog synthesizers played with feeling, soft drums and plenty of space in the mix.
Listen for: the chords. Deep house takes harmony from jazz and soul, which gives it its moody, late-night warmth.

7. Acid House – Phuture, “Acid Tracks” (1987)

Origins: born in Chicago around 1987, when producers like Phuture started twisting the knobs of the Roland TB-303. In 1988, it sparked the UK rave explosion.
Influenced by: Chicago house, electronic experimentation with cheap gear.
Tempo and rhythm: around 120–125 BPM, four-on-the-floor.
Signature sounds: the squelching, “talking” Roland TB-303 bassline over raw drum machine beats.
Production techniques: the 303’s sequencer uses accents (louder notes) and slides (notes gliding into each other), while producers turn the cutoff, resonance and envelope knobs live as the pattern plays.
Listen for: how the bassline changes shape without changing notes. That movement, created only by turning knobs, is the whole idea of acid.

8. Garage House – Harddrive, “Deep Inside” (1993)

Origins: grew in New York and New Jersey in the ’80s around the Paradise Garage club and its DJ Larry Levan, and in Chicago with acts like Ten City.
Influenced by: disco, soul, gospel, Chicago house.
Tempo and rhythm: around 115–125 BPM, with a looser, more soulful groove than Chicago house.
Signature sounds: live-sounding bass, organs and electric pianos, and powerful gospel vocals. Ten City’s Byron Stingily is famous for his falsetto.
Production techniques: a mix of drum machines and real musicianship, with long extended mixes made for DJs at clubs like New York’s Paradise Garage, which gave the style its name.
Listen for: the soul. Garage house sits between disco and house, closer to a song than a DJ tool.

9. Piano House – Marshall Jefferson, “Move Your Body” (1986)

Origins: took off in Italy in the late ’80s, when producers combined house beats with rhythmic piano chords and sampled diva vocals.
Influenced by: Chicago house, garage house, Italo disco.
Tempo and rhythm: around 118–125 BPM, bouncy four-on-the-floor.
Signature sounds: bright, rhythmic piano chord stabs and a huge diva vocal.
Production techniques: samplers made it easy to borrow vocals from older records. The vocal here was sampled from Loleatta Holloway’s disco track “Love Sensation,” which led to a famous dispute when she wasn’t credited at first.
Listen for: the piano stabs. This Italian sound, often called Italo house, dominated European dance charts around 1990.

10. Diva House – Robin S, “Show Me Love” (1993)

Origins: grew in the US and UK in the early ’90s, as house producers built tracks around powerful soul and gospel singers.
Influenced by: garage house, gospel, R&B.
Tempo and rhythm: around 120–128 BPM, four-on-the-floor.
Signature sounds: a bubbling organ bassline and a powerful, soaring female vocal.
Production techniques: StoneBridge’s remix built the bass from an organ preset on the Korg M1 synthesizer, one of the most copied sounds in house history.
Listen for: the organ bass. You’ll recognize it in countless house tracks since, and even in Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul.”

11. French House – Stardust, “Music Sounds Better with You” (1998)

Tempo and rhythm: around 120–126 BPM, with a funky, disco-style groove.
Signature sounds: a looped disco sample (here, from Chaka Khan’s “Fate”), a simple vocal hook and a warm, “pumping” feel.
Production techniques: filter sweeps, where a filter slowly opens and closes over the loop, and heavy compression that makes the whole track breathe with the kick.
Listen for: the loop getting muffled and then bright again. That filter movement is the signature of French touch.

12. Progressive House (’90s) – Sasha, “Xpander” (1999)

Tempo and rhythm: around 125–130 BPM, steady and hypnotic.
Signature sounds: layered arpeggiated synths, deep basslines, rolling percussion and very few vocals.
Production techniques: long tracks (often 8–10 minutes) built from slow, gradual changes: layers fading in, filters opening a little at a time.
Listen for: how the track evolves rather than repeats. The “progressive” in the name means the music progresses like a journey.

13. Nu-Disco – Todd Terje, “Inspector Norse” (2012)

Tempo and rhythm: around 110–124 BPM, with a relaxed disco groove.
Signature sounds: shiny analog synth melodies, funky basslines and a playful, retro feel.
Production techniques: vintage synthesizers or their software emulations, live-played parts and melodies that sound like ’70s and ’80s disco reimagined.
Listen for: the joyful, bouncing synth melody. Nu-disco is less about drops and more about pure groove and melody.

14. Lo-Fi House – DJ Boring, “Winona” (2016)

Tempo and rhythm: around 115–125 BPM, house rhythms with a laid-back swing.
Signature sounds: dusty, muffled drums, warm chords, nostalgic vocal samples and tape hiss.
Production techniques: deliberate “imperfection”: saturation, bit-crushing, low-pass filtering and heavy sidechain compression to make tracks sound like old recordings.
Listen for: the texture. Lo-fi house sounds like a house track playing on a worn-out cassette, which gives it a wistful mood.

15. Melodic House – RÜFÜS DU SOL, “Innerbloom” (2015)

Tempo and rhythm: around 115–122 BPM, slow and steady.
Signature sounds: warm synth plucks, emotional chord progressions and dreamy, reverb-heavy vocals.
Production techniques: a long, patient structure (the original runs over nine minutes) where layers build gradually toward an emotional peak.
Listen for: how much time it takes to build, and how that makes the climax feel earned.

16. Tech House – Fisher, “You Little Beauty” (2018)

Tempo and rhythm: around 124–128 BPM, with crisp, tight drums and lots of percussion.
Signature sounds: a rolling, often sixteenth-note bassline, short vocal hooks and very few melodic elements.
Production techniques: stripped-back arrangements where the groove does everything, plus long builds and tension created with filters and drum rolls.
Listen for: the bassline. In tech house, the bass is the hook, and the whole track is designed to keep the crowd moving.

17. Afro House – Black Coffee feat. Bucie, “Superman” (2009)

Tempo and rhythm: around 118–124 BPM, with four-on-the-floor kicks and complex, layered percussion.
Signature sounds: congas, shakers and hand drums, deep basslines, minor-key chords and soulful vocals.
Production techniques: polyrhythms, several percussion patterns playing against each other, creating a hypnotic, rolling groove.
Listen for: the percussion layers. Afro house gets its energy from rhythm rather than drops.

18. Amapiano – Tyler ICU & Tumela_za, “Mnike” (2023)

Tempo and rhythm: around 108–115 BPM, slower and more relaxed than most house, with a swinging feel and often a sparser kick pattern.
Signature sounds: the log drum, a deep, plucky, pitched bass with a percussive click, plus shakers, jazzy keys and chanted vocals.
Production techniques: the log drum plays melodic, syncopated patterns that act as both bass and percussion, leaving lots of space around them.
Listen for: the log drum’s bouncing notes. Once you recognize it, you’ll hear amapiano everywhere.

Techno

19. Detroit Techno – Rhythim Is Rhythim, “Nude Photo” (1987)

Tempo and rhythm: around 125–135 BPM, with machine-driven beats and busy, syncopated percussion.
Signature sounds: futuristic synth stabs, string-like chords and a soulful, emotional edge.
Production techniques: drum machines and synthesizers programmed with funk and jazz influences, often with little or no vocals.
Listen for: the mix of cold machines and warm feeling. Detroit techno always sounds like the future seen through a human lens.

20. Acid Techno – Hardfloor, “Acperience 1” (1992)

Tempo and rhythm: around 130–145 BPM, harder and faster than acid house.
Signature sounds: endlessly twisting TB-303 lines over a pounding techno beat.
Production techniques: Hardfloor were known for layering several 303s and building tracks into long, hypnotic journeys through constant knob movement.
Listen for: how the acid lines keep mutating over many minutes without ever getting boring.

21. Minimal Techno – Plastikman, “Spastik” (1993)

Tempo and rhythm: around 125–130 BPM.
Signature sounds: almost nothing but drums. “Spastik” is built from drum machine percussion, rolls and fills.
Production techniques: reduction: remove everything unnecessary, then build tension from tiny changes in rhythm, volume and filtering.
Listen for: how a track with no melody can still be exciting. Minimal techno is about focus and hypnosis.

22. Peak-Time Techno – Adam Beyer & Bart Skils, “Your Mind” (2018)

Tempo and rhythm: around 128–135 BPM, with a heavy, punchy kick.
Signature sounds: a rumbling bass under the kick, a menacing synth riff and big, dramatic breakdowns.
Production techniques: built for the biggest moment of a DJ set, with long builds, tension from filters and noise sweeps, and a powerful return of the kick.
Listen for: the moment the kick drops back in. Peak-time techno is designed for maximum crowd reaction.

23. Melodic Techno – Stephan Bodzin, “Singularity” (2015)

Tempo and rhythm: around 120–125 BPM, steady and driving.
Signature sounds: cycling arpeggios, deep analog-style basses and dark, emotional synths.
Production techniques: slow filter and modulation changes that make the arpeggios grow and evolve, creating tension like a film score.
Listen for: the arpeggio slowly opening up. Melodic techno combines techno’s drive with trance-like emotion.

Trance

24. Goa Trance – Hallucinogen, “LSD” (1995)

Tempo and rhythm: around 135–150 BPM, fast and rolling.
Signature sounds: squelching acid lines, layered, twisting synth leads and melodies using Eastern-sounding scales.
Production techniques: constantly moving modulation, filter sweeps and spoken-word samples that create a psychedelic, trippy atmosphere.
Listen for: how the melodies seem to spiral and transform. Goa trance was made for open-air parties lasting until sunrise.

25. Dream Trance – Robert Miles, “Children” (1995)

Tempo and rhythm: around 130–140 BPM, with a soft, gentle beat.
Signature sounds: a simple, emotional piano melody, airy pads and a calm atmosphere.
Production techniques: minimal layers and lots of space, letting one melody carry the whole track.
Listen for: the piano. Dream trance trades energy for emotion, and it became a huge European hit.

26. Euro-Trance – ATB, “9 PM (Till I Come)” (1998)

Tempo and rhythm: around 130–140 BPM, with a pumping, radio-friendly beat.
Signature sounds: a catchy, guitar-like synth lead and short vocal phrases.
Production techniques: pop song structure applied to trance: short intros, a clear hook and a memorable lead sound.
Listen for: the “guitar” lead, which is actually a synthesizer sound. It made the track instantly recognizable.

27. Uplifting Trance – System F, “Out of the Blue” (1999)

Tempo and rhythm: around 136–140 BPM, energetic and driving.
Signature sounds: huge, layered synth leads (the “supersaw” sound became popular around this time), rolling basslines and soaring chord progressions.
Production techniques: the classic trance structure: a long breakdown that strips the beat away, emotional chords, then snare rolls and rising effects building into the full return.
Listen for: the breakdown and build. This structure later became the template for the EDM drop.

28. Psytrance – Infected Mushroom, “Becoming Insane” (2007)

Tempo and rhythm: around 140–150 BPM, with a famous rolling bass that plays between kicks, often in a kick-bass-bass-bass pattern.
Signature sounds: fast, galloping basslines, twisting psychedelic synths and, in Infected Mushroom’s case, guitars and vocals.
Production techniques: detailed sound design, glitchy edits and constant movement in every sound.
Listen for: the rolling bass. It’s what makes psytrance feel relentless and hypnotic.

29. Vocal Trance – Above & Beyond feat. Richard Bedford, “Sun & Moon” (2011)

Tempo and rhythm: around 128–138 BPM.
Signature sounds: a full vocal with verses and choruses, emotional chord progressions and piano-led breakdowns.
Production techniques: songwriting comes first, then trance’s builds and breakdowns frame the vocal’s emotional peaks.
Listen for: how the chorus and the drop hit together. Vocal trance is trance as a complete song.

Rave pop and hard dance

30. Eurodance – Haddaway, “What Is Love” (1993)

Tempo and rhythm: around 120–140 BPM, with a pumping, energetic beat.
Signature sounds: big synth riffs, punchy basslines and a huge pop chorus. Many Eurodance tracks also mix rap verses with sung hooks.
Production techniques: dance production combined with pop songwriting, made for both clubs and radio.
Listen for: the chorus. Eurodance was built around hooks everyone could sing.

31. Gabber – Rotterdam Termination Source, “Poing” (1992)

Tempo and rhythm: around 160–200 BPM, extremely fast.
Signature sounds: a heavily distorted kick drum, so overdriven it almost becomes a note, plus “hoover” synth sounds and playful or aggressive samples.
Production techniques: pushing a drum machine kick through distortion until it clips, with minimal other elements.
Listen for: the kick. In gabber, the distorted kick is the main instrument. (“Poing” adds a famous bouncing “boing” sound on top.)

32. Happy Hardcore – Paul Elstak, “Rainbow in the Sky” (1995)

Tempo and rhythm: around 160–180 BPM.
Signature sounds: cheerful piano riffs, bright synth melodies and high-pitched vocals.
Production techniques: hardcore’s speed and kicks combined with pop melodies and uplifting chord progressions.
Listen for: the contrast between the fast, hard beat and the happy melodies.

33. Hardstyle – Headhunterz, “Dragonborn” (2012)

Tempo and rhythm: around 140–150 BPM.
Signature sounds: the hardstyle kick, punchy with a distorted, pitched tail, plus screeching synths and euphoric, epic melodies.
Production techniques: the kick is carefully designed (layered, distorted and tuned to the track’s key), with dramatic breakdowns between kick sections. “Dragonborn” is built around the theme from the game Skyrim.
Listen for: the kick’s distorted “tail” and how the melody takes over in the breakdown.

Breakbeat and drum & bass

34. Breakbeat Hardcore – The Prodigy, “Out of Space” (1992)

Tempo and rhythm: around 130–150 BPM, built on sped-up breakbeats instead of four-on-the-floor kicks.
Signature sounds: chopped drum breaks, rave synth stabs, piano riffs and pitched-up vocal samples.
Production techniques: heavy sampling. “Out of Space” borrows from Max Romeo’s reggae classic “Chase the Devil” and from Ultramagnetic MCs.
Listen for: the mix of rave, hip-hop and reggae. This sound led directly to jungle.

35. Jungle – M-Beat feat. General Levy, “Incredible” (1994)

Tempo and rhythm: around 160–175 BPM, with rapid, chopped breakbeats, often from the famous “Amen break.”
Signature sounds: deep reggae basslines, ragga MC vocals and sound system energy.
Production techniques: samplers used to slice drum breaks into small pieces and rearrange them into new, complex patterns.
Listen for: the contrast between the frantic drums and the slow, heavy bass underneath, which is jungle’s signature.

36. Atmospheric Drum & Bass – LTJ Bukem, “Horizons” (1995)

Tempo and rhythm: around 165–175 BPM, but smooth and flowing.
Signature sounds: soft breakbeats, lush pads, jazz influences and a calm atmosphere.
Production techniques: spacious arrangements with lots of reverb and long, evolving sounds. LTJ Bukem’s label Good Looking Records defined this style.
Listen for: how fast drums can still feel relaxing. This style later evolved into “liquid” drum & bass.

37. Techstep – Bad Company, “The Nine” (1998)

Tempo and rhythm: around 170–175 BPM, with tight, mechanical drums.
Signature sounds: dark, distorted basslines, especially the Reese bass (named after a Kevin Saunderson track released under the alias Reese), and a cold, industrial mood.
Production techniques: detuned, layered bass synths and hard-edged drum processing.
Listen for: the growling, menacing bass. Techstep led to neurofunk, drum & bass’s darkest and most technical style.

38. Big Beat – Fatboy Slim, “Praise You” (1999)

Tempo and rhythm: around 100–140 BPM, with chunky, hip-hop-style breakbeats.
Signature sounds: piano loops, soulful vocal samples and a fun, playful attitude. The vocal comes from Camille Yarbrough’s “Take Yo’ Praise.”
Production techniques: sampling from old records, looping them and building them into big, rock-like moments.
Listen for: how the sample builds and repeats. The low-budget video by Spike Jonze is also legendary.

39. Jump-Up – DJ Hazard, “Mr Happy” (2009)

Tempo and rhythm: around 172–176 BPM, with simple, punchy drum patterns.
Signature sounds: bouncy, wobbling, “talking” bass riffs made for jumping.
Production techniques: bass sounds with lots of modulation and movement, and arrangements built for big drops and MC hype.
Listen for: the bass riff. In jump-up, the bass is the melody and the hook.

40. Stadium Drum & Bass – Pendulum, “Watercolour” (2010)

Tempo and rhythm: around 174 BPM.
Signature sounds: big vocals, rock guitars and distorted synths, plus massive drops.
Production techniques: drum & bass combined with rock songwriting and live-band energy, designed for arenas and festivals.
Listen for: how the track feels like a rock anthem at drum & bass speed.

UK garage and bass music

41. Speed Garage – Double 99, “RipGroove” (1997)

Tempo and rhythm: around 130–135 BPM, four-on-the-floor with shuffled hi-hats.
Signature sounds: heavy, wobbling basslines, ragga vocal samples and a dark club feel.
Production techniques: big, distorted bass sounds borrowed from jungle and placed under a garage house groove.
Listen for: the bass. Speed garage brought jungle’s weight to house tempo.

42. 2-Step – MJ Cole, “Sincere” (1998)

Tempo and rhythm: around 130–138 BPM, but the kick skips beats instead of hitting all four, creating a bouncy, syncopated feel.
Signature sounds: swung hi-hats, chopped and pitched vocals, smooth R&B chords and deep basslines.
Production techniques: vocal chopping, cutting singing into small pieces and rearranging them rhythmically, inspired by producer Todd Edwards.
Listen for: the “skipping” kick pattern. That’s where the name 2-step comes from.

43. Grime – Wiley, “Eskimo” (2002)

Tempo and rhythm: around 140 BPM, with sparse, broken beats.
Signature sounds: cold, square-wave synths and minimal, icy textures. Wiley called his early style “eskibeat.”
Production techniques: simple, raw production on basic software, leaving room for MCs to rap over it.
Listen for: how empty and cold it sounds. Grime grew out of UK garage and became the UK’s own rap sound.

44. Bassline – T2 feat. Jodie Aysha, “Heartbroken” (2007)

Tempo and rhythm: around 135–142 BPM, four-on-the-floor with a garage swing.
Signature sounds: bouncy, wobbling organ-like bass riffs and catchy, pitched-up vocals.
Production techniques: heavily modulated bass sounds as the main hook. The style grew around clubs in northern England, like Sheffield’s Niche.
Listen for: the bass riff dancing around the vocal.

45. Dubstep – Benga & Coki, “Night” (2007)

Tempo and rhythm: 140 BPM, but in half-time: the kick hits on beat 1 and the snare on beat 3, so it feels like 70 BPM.
Signature sounds: deep sub-bass, “wobble” basslines and dark, spacious atmospheres.
Production techniques: an LFO (a low-frequency oscillator) modulates the bass filter to create the wobble, while echoes and reverb borrowed from dub music create space.
Listen for: the space between the sounds. Original dubstep is heavy, but never crowded.

46. Brostep – Skrillex feat. Sirah, “Bangarang” (2011)

Tempo and rhythm: 140 BPM half-time, like dubstep, but louder and more aggressive.
Signature sounds: screaming, growling mid-range basses, vocal chops and chaotic, high-energy drops.
Production techniques: complex bass sound design using FM synthesis, distortion and resampling (recording a sound, then processing and recording it again), plus call-and-response patterns between different bass sounds.
Listen for: how the basses seem to talk to each other. “Bangarang” won a Grammy and defined the brostep era.

47. Melodic Dubstep – Seven Lions feat. Fiora, “Days to Come” (2012)

Tempo and rhythm: 140 BPM half-time.
Signature sounds: emotional vocals, trance-like chords and melodies, and heavy bass drops.
Production techniques: mixing trance’s emotional builds with dubstep’s half-time drops, so the drop carries a melody instead of pure bass.
Listen for: how the melody survives the drop. That’s what makes it “melodic” dubstep.

The EDM era

48. Electro House – Deadmau5 feat. Rob Swire, “Ghosts ’n’ Stuff” (2008)

Tempo and rhythm: around 126–130 BPM, four-on-the-floor.
Signature sounds: buzzing, distorted sawtooth basslines and punchy, plucky leads.
Production techniques: heavy sidechain compression, where the bass ducks every time the kick hits, creating a pumping effect.
Listen for: the pumping bass. It’s one of the defining sounds of late-2000s EDM.

49. French Electro – Justice, “Waters of Nazareth” (2005)

Tempo and rhythm: around 120–128 BPM.
Signature sounds: distorted, almost broken-sounding synths and rock-like riffs.
Production techniques: extreme compression and distortion that push the sound into the red, making it raw and aggressive.
Listen for: how loud and dirty it feels. Justice made electro house sound like punk rock.

50. Progressive House (EDM) – Eric Prydz, “Pjanoo” (2008)

Tempo and rhythm: around 126–128 BPM.
Signature sounds: a bright, uplifting piano riff over a steady, driving groove.
Production techniques: sidechain pumping, long builds and a single strong melodic hook, with no vocals.
Listen for: the piano riff. Late-2000s progressive house became more melodic and euphoric than its ’90s version.

51. Dutch House – Afrojack feat. Eva Simons, “Take Over Control” (2010)

Tempo and rhythm: around 128 BPM, with bouncy, syncopated percussion.
Signature sounds: high-pitched, squeaky synth leads and big room energy.
Production techniques: short, pitch-bent synth riffs and percussion-heavy grooves.
Listen for: the squeaky lead sound. Dutch house paved the way for big room.

52. Complextro – Porter Robinson, “Spitfire” (2011)

Tempo and rhythm: around 128 BPM.
Signature sounds: glitchy, fast-changing synth bursts.
Production techniques: switching between many different synth sounds every few notes, creating a complex, chopped-up texture. The name mixes “complex” and “electro.”
Listen for: how each note seems to come from a different instrument.

53. Big Room – Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike vs. Martin Garrix, “Tremor” (2014)

Tempo and rhythm: around 128 BPM.
Signature sounds: a huge kick, minimal lead sounds and very simple, hard-hitting drops.
Production techniques: long builds with rising snare rolls and sweeps, a short silence, then a drop built for maximum impact in giant venues. “Tremor” was the Sensation 2014 anthem.
Listen for: how little happens in the drop. Big room is about impact, not complexity.

54. Future House – Tchami feat. Kaleem Taylor, “Promesses” (2014)

Tempo and rhythm: around 124–126 BPM, with a deep house groove.
Signature sounds: a metallic, bouncy bass sound with pitch bends, plus soulful vocals.
Production techniques: bass sounds designed with lots of movement and pitch modulation, placed over deep house drums.
Listen for: the “springy” bass. Tchami is often credited with naming the genre.

55. Bass House – Jauz, “Feel the Volume” (2015)

Tempo and rhythm: around 124–128 BPM, house drums.
Signature sounds: heavy, growling bass sounds borrowed from dubstep and UK bassline.
Production techniques: aggressive bass design combined with house grooves and drops.
Listen for: the grimy bass. Bass house mixes the weight of bass music with house rhythm.

56. Trap – RL Grime, “Core” (2014)

Tempo and rhythm: around 140–150 BPM in half-time.
Signature sounds: deep 808 bass, fast hi-hat rolls, dramatic brass stabs and vocal chants.
Production techniques: 808 bass with long decay and pitch glides, and hi-hats programmed in rapid triplets and rolls.
Listen for: the rolling hi-hats and the booming 808s. They come straight from Atlanta hip-hop.

57. Moombahton – Major Lazer & DJ Snake feat. MØ, “Lean On” (2015)

Tempo and rhythm: around 100–110 BPM, built on the dembow rhythm from reggaeton and dancehall.
Signature sounds: bouncy, syncopated beats, catchy vocals and chopped vocal hooks.
Production techniques: the genre started when DJ Dave Nada slowed a Dutch house track down to around 108 BPM to fit a reggaeton party.
Listen for: the dembow groove, slower and more swaying than house.

58. Tropical House – Kygo feat. Parson James, “Stole the Show” (2015)

Tempo and rhythm: around 100–115 BPM, relaxed and laid-back.
Signature sounds: marimbas, steel drums, pan flutes and soft, plucked melodies.
Production techniques: gentle sidechain compression, warm vocals and a “drop” built on a melody rather than a bass.
Listen for: how the drop relaxes instead of exploding. Tropical house is EDM for sunsets.

59. Future Bass – San Holo, “Light” (2016)

Tempo and rhythm: around 140–160 BPM, often with a half-time feel.
Signature sounds: wide, swelling supersaw chords, chopped and pitched vocals and bright, emotional melodies.
Production techniques: the “wobbly” chords are made by automating volume or using LFOs and heavy sidechain, so the chords swell and pulse.
Listen for: the chords breathing in and out. That’s the signature future bass sound.

60. Slap House – SAINt JHN, “Roses” (Imanbek remix) (2019)

Tempo and rhythm: around 120–125 BPM, with a deep house beat.
Signature sounds: a punchy, pitch-bending “slap” bassline and a pitched-up vocal.
Production techniques: a short, plucky bass sound with pitch glides, placed in a stripped-back mix. Kazakh producer Imanbek made this remix on a laptop, and it won the Grammy for Best Remixed Recording.
Listen for: the bass “slapping” between notes. The remix launched a whole wave of similar tracks.

Beyond the dance floor

61. Ambient House – The Orb, “Little Fluffy Clouds” (1990)

Tempo and rhythm: slow and relaxed, with a gentle groove rather than a driving beat.
Signature sounds: floating textures, dreamy samples and spoken voices. It famously samples Rickie Lee Jones and Steve Reich’s “Electric Counterpoint.”
Production techniques: layering samples, field recordings and synths into a soundscape, made for chill-out rooms at raves.
Listen for: how the track feels like drifting. Ambient house was where ravers went to come down.

62. IDM – Aphex Twin, “Xtal” (1992)

Tempo and rhythm: a soft, steady beat, more for listening than dancing.
Signature sounds: hazy pads, a gentle wordless vocal and warm, lo-fi textures.
Production techniques: home-studio experimentation with synths and drum machines. “Xtal” opens Selected Ambient Works 85–92, made when Richard D. James was a teenager.
Listen for: the dreamy, slightly blurry sound. IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) treats electronic music as art for headphones.

63. Electro Swing – Caravan Palace, “Lone Digger” (2015)

Tempo and rhythm: around 120–130 BPM, mixing house beats with swing rhythms.
Signature sounds: samples and live playing of 1920s–40s swing and jazz: clarinets, horns and Manouche (gypsy jazz) guitar.
Production techniques: vintage sounds layered over modern basslines and electronic drums.
Listen for: the clash between old jazz and modern bass. It’s playful and full of energy.

64. Phonk – Kordhell, “Murder in My Mind” (2022)

Tempo and rhythm: typically fast and aggressive, often around 130 BPM or more in “drift phonk.”
Signature sounds: melodies played on a distorted cowbell (from the 808 drum machine), heavy, distorted 808 bass and dark vocal samples.
Production techniques: extreme distortion and saturation, with roots in 1990s Memphis rap tapes and their vocal samples.
Listen for: the cowbell melody. Phonk spread through TikTok and car drifting videos.

Keep exploring

Sixty-four tracks is a big journey, but it’s still only a starting point. Every style on this list has its own artists, labels and subgenres waiting to be discovered. When a track grabs you, look up its genre in our guide to EDM genres and their history, and follow the story from there.

Which genre surprised you the most, and which subgenre should we add next? Let us know in the comments.