Once again, the EDM world publicly aired out its grievances against DJMag.com and its annual Top 100 DJs list, after reading it over thoroughly of course. You can disagree with its findings all you want but it's tough to deny the chart is the most referenced list when trying to figure out who's-who in the world of electronic music.
Just to further up the controversy, Music Times asks not who was the best DJ in the last year, but who was was the best DJ of the last five years? Our formula wasn't too complicated...we just averaged the rankings of everyone featured on the list in the last five years. That does cause some major issues for some contestants however. Hardwell has been no. 1 for the last two years but he didn't place during 2010, suggesting a rank of at leads 101, and thereby making his mean ranking skyrocket. The name of our game is consistency.
Counting down:
10) Markus Schulz...Avg. Rank: 19
German DJ Markus Schulz is a prime example of how quickly the big names in the game can change. He stayed in the Top 10 during 2010-'11 (getting as high as no. 8) but has since started gradually sliding backward. His place on this year's chart was no. 44.
09) Axwell...Avg. Rank: 16.6
Axwell is an interesting case thanks to his involvement with Swedish House Mafia as well. Had that supergroup not folded last year, it may have had a chance at a Top 10 place, giving him two spots in the Top 10. However he is the best overall ranked member of the Mafia, with partners Ingrosso and Steve Angello averaging 26.6 and 31.6 respectively.
08) Above & Beyond...Avg. Rank: 12
British electronic group Above & Beyond are experiencing a similar slide as Schulz but pacing themselves rather well through it. It helps that they took the no. 5 spot in both 2010-'11 before falling to no. 8. The group currently sits at no. 25. We'll have to see if they can stymy the fall next year.
07) Avicii...Avg. Rank: 11.4
This entry might surprise noobs who think Avicii just broke onto the charts in the last two years, a la The Chainsmokers or similar. He actually cracked into the Top 100 at no. 39 during 2010 and has mostly gone up, holding the no. 3 spot for 2012-'13. Another year in the Top 10 and his mean ranking will increase dramatically for a five-year period.
06) Afrojack...Avg. Rank: 11.2
Afrojack is one of the more interesting names to track across the five year span: He's always been near the top but he's never come into a position to challenge for the top spot. His weapon has been consistency, as is the case with many of the Dutch representatives on this list. His lowest ranking in the last five years was no. 19 during 2010 but he's only gotten as high as no. 7 since then (during 2011, oddly enough).
05) Dash Berlin...Avg. Rank: 10.8
Berlin has the lowest range of scores from any performer that's fallen out of the Top 10 during the five year stretch we looked at. His lowest scores bookend the stretch, no. 14 this year and no. 15 during 2010. Sandwiched between those scores are Top 10 places of now. 10, 7 and 8, respectively.
04) Deadmau5...Avg. Rank: 8.2
Deadmau5 is always an interesting performer to track when looking at the DJMag rankings. On one hand, he's the most recognizable figure in electronic dance music. On the other hand he's the biggest critic of the rankings and their relevance. The publication may have started taking note of this as his ranking has progressively dropped post his placing no. 2 for 2010 and 2011, although the man himself hasn't become any less relevant. We imagine he doesn't care too much.
03) David Guetta...Avg. Rank: 3.8
David Guetta is one of three performers who hasn't fallen from the Top 10 during the last five years. It's odd to think that a performer who ranked in at no. 7 during 2014 has actually lost ground for the last three yearly rankings. It always helps to have a no. 1 ranking on your side, and Guetta is one of only three performers to hold the spot in the last half-decade, taking the no. 1 ranking during 2011.
02) Tiësto...Avg. Rank: 3.4
Tiësto is another prime example of the Dutch ruling via consistency. The trance icon is not one of the aforementioned three to hold down the top spot during the past five years—one is our chart topper and the other is Hardwell, unranked in this Top 10—so it helps that Tiësto is one of only two performers who hasn't fallen out of the Top 5 during the past five years. This has actually been his "worst" year, coming in at no. 5.
01) Armin van Buuren...Avg. Rank: 1.8
Armin van Buuren follows a similar pattern to Tiësto...except he has taken the no. 1 spot in the last five years. He's done it twice in fact, for both 2010 and 2012. This year was the first in the last five where he failed to place within the Top 2...and he took no. 3. If you've been counting, he's the fourth representative from the Netherlands in the Top 10, doubling that of the next best country (Sweden). That national domination is only going to increase in the years to come, as Hardwell will have been on the list for five years during 2015...with his (at least) two no. 1 rankings to boot. Martin Garrix will need at leads three years to have five Top 100 places but he'll near the top when he does, coming in at no. 4 in only his second time on the list.
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