LA WeeklySee also: The 20 Greatest EDM DJs: 10-1
Electronic dance music's recent resurgence has made the genre more popular than ever before, but it's still often not taken seriously as an art form. And yeah, many goofily-dressed ravers are so high they'll literally dance to anything. But below we've highlighted 20 top-notch spinners who put real thought into rocking asses on the dance floor. From Los Angeles to all parts of the globe, here are our picks for the best EDM DJs in business. -Ben Westhoff
20. John Tejada
For years John Tejada was L.A.'s best-kept secret, a producer's producer whose records occupied places of honor in every techno DJ's crate, even as his name remained unfamiliar to casual EDM fans. Thanks to a prolific hot streak that's included a killer contribution to the FabricLive DJ mix series and percussive floor-fillers like “Orbiter” and “Torque,” that's finally starting to change. Live, his sets are subtle, sinewy and flawlessly sequenced–especially when he sticks to his own material, which he's been favoring of late. L.A. couldn't ask for a better techno ambassador. -Andy Hermann
See also: John Tejada Is a Techno Traditionalist, Dammit
19. Audion (Matthew Dear)
On solo albums like this year's Beams, Detroit's Matthew Dear layers his own eccentric vocals atop danceable yet fractured art-pop. But behind the decks — especially at Avaland, where he's an on-again, off-again resident — Dear ditches the pop elements in favor of a live-wire mix of minimal techno, acid house and old-school electro-funk, highlighted by the robot-sex grooves of his techno alias, Audion. Among next-gen techno jocks, Dear's ability to transform classic Detroit sounds into 21st century EDM anthems is second to none. -Andy Hermann
18. Araabmuzik
MPC sampling prodigy Araabmuzik, aka Abraham Orellana, began playing drums at age three and has progressed in the nearly two decades since to become one of the fastest-fingered producers in the beat-making game. Live, his sound is dubstep built on eclectically-sourced samples that are chopped, twisted and spit out the other end as a dirty digital shitstorm. Araabmuzik gets everybody within close range moving along, while elevating drum machine button pushing to the level of performance art. -Katie Bain
17. Paul van Dyk
Now 40, veteran Paul Van Dyk has been dubbed the world's greatest DJ two years running by DJ Mag. He's come far since growing up in East Berlin, where he exposed himself to music through illegally-tuned-in West Berlin radio stations and cassette tapes smuggled into the country. Nowadays, he tours the world and remixes for Madonna and U2. He's know for his modern trance and exceptional live mix that's packed venues of all sizes. If there were an award for the largest DJ audience, he just might have it, seeing as he attracted over a million dance music fans to a beach in Rio de Janeiro for his New Year's Eve gig, as 2009 was rung in. -Nicole Pajer
16. Sandra Collins
With respect to Irene, Collette, and Heather, Collins is perhaps the biggest female American to emerge from the EDM explosion of the 1990s. We have witnessed her mesmerizing, long-winded beat matching and icy cold progressive beats whip massive festival crowds into a frenzy, and her precise-yet-groovy performances have been aired on BBC Radio One. If women are mounting an assault on the top-DJs circuit, Collins is the general. -Dennis Romero
15. Kaskade
Last year Kaskade tipped off his Twitter followers that he'd be playing at the EDC film premiere in Hollywood, and more than 250,000 people a huge crowd showed up. (See below.) Aside from his crowd-wrangling abilities, the Evanston, Illinois-bred DJ who specializes in progressive house has played an integral role in the rise of electronic dance music in the U.S.; he was the first DJ to headline the Staples Center, and has worked with female vocalists including Haley Gibby, Joslyn Petty, and Sunsun Tamra. A devote Mormon and the father of three, he's never had a drink or done drugs in his life. How about that. -Nicole Pajer
See also: Rave Standoff in Hollywood: Cops Move in to Disperse Crowds That Came to See DJ Kaskade
14. Donald Glaude
Glaude, a Southern Californian originally from Seattle, is one of America's original EDM showmen. Before there were guys like Steve Aoki jumping up and down on-stage, Glaude was showcasing razzle-dazzle hip-hop skills on the mixer and getting on the mic, instructing folks to put their hands up. He plays the kind of funky house and techno that has become a staple of the West Coast EDM sound. -Dennis Romero
13. Skrillex
Skrillex has become an EDM lightning rod, almost single-handedly bringing dubstep to American mass culture, for better or worse. But in addition to three Grammys and increasingly-massive celebrity, the 24-year old Highland Park native also been a force for good in EDM, seeking out and releasing music from top rising stars like Dillon Francis, Kill The Noise, Zedd, and Porter Robinson. And, ok, many of his songs are ridiculously catchy and he posts funny things on Twitter, so there's that. -Nicole Pajer
See also: Top Five Girls Who Look Like Skrillex
12. The Gaslamp Killer
The Gaslamp Killer is a Low End Theory legend on the power of his aggressively heavy sets, characterized by sludgy beats, loads of whomp whomp bass wobble, jump cut samples incorporating everything from Jay-Z to the Star Wars soundtrack and a frenetically-energetic stage presence, characterized by a shit ton of head banging and myriad elastic facial expressions. Already beloved in the L.A. beat scene and beyond for such performances, he advanced his rep as a Brainfeeder darling with the September release of his excellent debut LP Breakthrough. Plus, the man can rock an iPad solo like no other. –Katie Bain
See also: The Gaslamp Killer Confronts Tragedy and Finds His Way Forward
11. Charles Feelgood
Orange County's Charles Feelgood got his start in the Baltimore rave scene of the 1990s and has since become one of the nation's most beloved DJs. He plays house, house and more house — mostly of the loopy, Daft Punk variety. There is rarely a better fan experience than soaking in a Feelgood set when he's rinsing cheeky bootleg mixes of the likes of Michael Jackson, Prince and whoever's at the top of the charts. -Dennis Romero
See also: The 20 Greatest EDM DJs: 10-1
Follow us on Twitter @LAWeeklyMusic, and like us at LAWeeklyMusic.
Top Ten Awkward Coachella Dance Move GIFs
What's the Difference Between the EDM Scene and the Beat Scene?
Interview With a Raver Who Wears Electrical Tape on Her Boobs
World's Douchiest DJs: The Top Five
Top Five Girls From Hard Summer Who Are Out of My League
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.