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TOP 100 DJS: ESSENTIAL TUNES (1-5)

The tracks that helped define last year's ranking

Voting is well underway in the definitive global DJ poll - Top 100 DJs. These days it is hard (but not impossible) to break through as a DJ alone. So your work in the studio goes a long way towards helping you reach a global audience - and the summit of the Top 100 DJs poll.

These are the tracks that helped to define the Top 5 in the 2013 poll.

1. HARDWELL ‘JUMPER’
There were many tracks that contributed to Hardwell’s ascent to the No.1 spot. His 2012 anthem ‘Spaceman’ was still on repeat play at clubs and festivals worldwide and ‘Countdown’ his EDM bomb with Dyro was destroying dancefloors across the globe. However, the selection is ‘Jumper’ (co-produced with W&W) - probably the most ubiquitous breakdown in clubland last year and the track that got the biggest reaction at the Top 100 DJs parties in Amsterdam and London.

2. ARMIN VAN BUUREN ‘THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE’
2013 was the year that saw Armin relinquish the top spot to fellow Dutchman, Hardwell. However, it was also the year that the five-time Top 100 DJs champion truly crossed into the mainstream. Combining Armin’s trance aesthetic with the vocal talents of Trevor Guthrie was a masterstroke that has notched up in excess of 45 million plays on YouTube.

3. AVICII ‘WAKE ME UP’
Avicii proved to the world that he was no one hit wonder, by completely flipping the script and creating an unlikely fusion between country and EDM during his Ultra performance. ‘Wake Me Up’ was a number one hit across Europe and the Unites States and dominated the radio and festival airwaves alike.

4. TIESTO ‘RED LIGHTS’
Release-wise, 2013 was a relatively quiet year for Tiesto. However ‘Red Lights’ won him a whole new ream of fans (he had quite a few already!) and helped him to win the Top 100 DJs Legend Award, for the best DJ of the last 20 years.

5. DAVID GUETTA ‘PLAY HARD’
David Guetta has forged an increasingly commercial route in recent years, giving the EDM treatment to pop music’s biggest names. It is a trend that he has slightly bucked in 2014, releasing more solo productions aimed at the dancefloor. His biggest track from 2013 however has to be his [Alice DeeJay sampling] collab with Ne-Yo & Akon.