Location: Camboriú, Brazil

Capacity: 12,000

Website: greenvalleybr.com

They've done it again! The club that topped the poll in 2013 and 2015 — and has been in the top three all decade — has risen to the apex once more for 2018. So it's congratulations to Green Valley in Brazil, who even had world class footballer Neymar supporting their campaign again this year.

Green Valley is a fantastic place to party. More like a mini-festival than a traditional walled club, the fact that it's largely open-air — thanks to the warm climate in the state of Santa Catarina in the southern part of Brazil — simply adds to the allure.

When you consider that Green Valley was nothing more than a makeshift tent in the middle of an airfield a decade ago — surrounded by lush vegetation — its meteoric rise has been incredible. The legendary Carl Cox played that first rave, creating enough of a stir for the demand to be there in the locality to create a permanent structure. GV quickly built up, and now boasts three main areas, multiple bars, a merchandising boutique and a lovely picturesque lake in the centre of the grounds.

The main room is covered by tented canvas, and plays host to a wealth of international big room names. Sonically, it is equipped with the latest VerTec Series technology by JBL, combined with the latest Funktion One system for DJ monitoring. Huge attention is paid to visuals and lighting, with LED walls transmitting cutting-edge visuals from the various in-house VJs, and several 'light hubs' working overtime. Add in CO2 cannons, lasers and other special effects and you get an amazing immersive experience.

The second room, Underline, is for more underground sounds. A platform has been built at one side in the past 12 months to give a great view of the lake, and new LED walls and lighting put in to amplify the experience of being on a long rectangular dancefloor. And up at the top of GV, the Lagoon Stage — used on especially big nights during Carnival and the like — is like another festival stage in itself.

In the past year, Green Valley has booked the likes of Claptone, Bontan, Duke Dumont, Amine Edge & Dance, Oliver Heldens, Steve Angello, Steve Aoki and Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, while also foregrounding top Brazilian artists like Gui Boratto and Felguk. Among the residents are Alok and Vintage Culture — who both rank prominently in the Top 100 DJs list, and who undoubtedly owe part of their success to Green Valley — as well as Chemical Surf, FTampa, Fabrício Peçanha, San Schwartz and the unstoppable Rodrigo Vieira. Backstage, the 'green rooms' are more than ample for visiting DJs.

Green Valley embarked on an international tour recently, taking in China (Hangzhou, Shanghai), Tokyo in Japan, La Coruna in Spain, and Madeira and The Algarve in Portugal — spreading the brand name far and wide in the process. But the main concern is the home club, which is set to put on a host of top nights well into the future. The club will surely be celebrating their status as the No.1 club in the world again, Brazilian-style — reclaiming the Top 100 Clubs crown for 2018.

Location: Playa D’en Bossa, Ibiza

Capacity: 5,000

Website: ushuaiabeachhotel.com

Ever since it arrived in 2011, Ushuaïa has always been about setting new standards when it comes to luxury clubbing experiences in Ibiza. The club makes no bones about that and prides itself on combining premium accommodation with huge international headliners. Last season, it redesigned all rooms and suites with plush material such as “ash Travertine and black Marquina marble, granite bar counters and combed cotton sheets with creative details by interior designer Nina Campbell for Osborne & Little”, and even added a presidential suite to cater for VVVVIPs.

At the same time, the club continued to bring dance giants like David Guetta, Tinie Tempah, Martin Garrix and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike to play by their famous pool. Thousands flock round it for each party, with palm trees, beach hut like bars and sun loungers all in the shadow of the giant Tower. Another of Ushuaïa’s unique features is that it throws parties in the day, under the warm Balearic sun, without the constant threat of closure from police.

Although the slightly more underground ANTS party continues to call the place home, people who come to Ushuaïa really do so as much for the breathtaking views of the Mediterranean and over-the-top pyrotechnics as they do the music. Each night of the week, Ushuaïa offers varied stage designs and decorations which make for slightly different experiences. But you can always count on there being beautifully designed gogo costumes, as well as an abundance of confetti, streamers and CO2 at each party, and these days the fact all this happens in the open air stands Ushuaïa out from the crowd. In 2018, tropical house and pop crossover star Kygo will return for another summer residency, as will Martin Garrix.

Location: Singapore

Capacity: 2,600

Website: zoukclub.com

The word institution is thrown around far too readily when it comes to clubs, but Zouk Singapore legitimately lives up to that title. Not just as a world-renowned club with an illustrious history and global influence dating back to 1991, but because it’s been able to entirely relocate to a new location and venue and still retain its atmosphere, status and loyal following.

The last year has been testament to this; Zouk re-opened just over a year ago in its new riverside location on Clarke Quay and continues to claim its must-play reputation for world-touring DJs and world-travelling music lovers.

This is down to a number of reasons: the attention to line-ups, production and atmosphere remains just as strong as it has since it became a critical incubator of electronic music as it moved from west to east in dance music’s earliest chapters, but also its design and installation was taken care of by the same company who fitted their original location on Jiak Kim Street. This created consistency with the club’s 27-year legacy in terms of its aesthetic and vibe, but this time on a much grander scale as it offers two new lounge areas, two storeys and an impressive overlooking balcony as well as its two famed rooms: Zouk and Phuture. The former dedicated to the big EDM guns, the latter championing underground and deeper talent as it has done since Phuture was established in 1996, both Zouk brands remain as on-point and dedicated as ever with their line-up curations and support of the entire cross-spectrum of dance music.

Don’t take our word for it, though. Ask the likes of Apparat, Âme, San Hole, Jai Wolf, M.A.N.D.Y, Blasterjaxx, Sven Väth, Tujamo or any of the other high ranking artist who’ve passed through the famous club’s doors in the last year. Long may the institution continue…

Location: Washington, D.C., USA

Capacity: 3,000

Website: echostage.com

The vision behind Echostage was always clear: a hybrid nightclub and concert venue that offers an immersive outdoor festival experience year-round with the comfort and convenience of an indoor space. Finding that sweet spot between the intimacy of a nightclub/concert venue and the bombast of a festival was born out of necessity to satisfy the growing EDM fanbase in Washington, D.C., and meet the ever-evolving technical demands of DJs and live acts. The team behind GLOW, the city’s longest-running EDM promotions company, answered that call with Echostage in 2012, which has since grown to become one of the most coveted venues on the East Coast.

The building where Echostage calls home is ideal for ravers and music lovers; housed in a warehouse space reminiscent of early-day electronic music culture, the venue features a large main room with unobstructed sight lines. Echostage then comes to life via its enhanced production and sound and lighting setup, which includes a D&B V-Series audio system, a giant 14-by-40-foot LED screen, tons of lasers, cryo jets, intelligent lights and confetti cannons. Collectively, it all offers a performance-centric production value rarely seen in an indoor setting. Echostage recently upped the production ante, upgrading the D&B sub amps to powerful four-channel DNB D80 amplifiers, a move that doubles the amount of available sub power, up to 48,000 watts on the subs alone. The venue also recently installed a new LED wall to further enhance the visual experience.

This is the reason why the biggest names in dance music have made Echostage a can’t-miss stop on their US tours, with recent bookings running the genre gamut: Diplo, Alison Wonderland, Sasha & John Digweed, Kaskade, REZZ, DJ Snake, Above & Beyond and many more. Whether you’re a festival veteran, a club-hopping raver or a live music fanatic, Echostage offers a taste for everyone.

Location: Ibiza, Spain

Capacity: 3,000

Website: hiibiza.com

Starting life on the former site of DJ Mag’s number one club Space, Hï Ibiza had a lot to live up to. It did it with impressive style, re-imagining the legendary location into a remarkable clubbing experience with state-of-the-art sound and lighting coupled and forward-thinking residents, nodding gracefully to all aspects of the island’s diverse musical history.

After an esoteric launch campaign full of personality, Hï kicked off with new resident Black Coffee inviting Luciano, Apollonia, Kölsch, Nic Fanciulli and Space resident Paul Reynolds. Later in the season, bona fide legends Armin van Buuren and Eric Prydz both transformed the The Theatre overnight with their bespoke setup, proving Hï’s versatility and ambition in its programming could be matched in its production. The LED screens that run alongside the walls, through the crowd and connect at the booth offer a seamless connection from the dancefloor to the DJ while the moving kinetic lights have to be experienced to be believed.

Off centre, the Wild Corner, or ‘disco toilet’ as it affectionately became known by the DJ Mag staff, plonks a DJ booth right in the centre of the unisex bathroom, with lights and lasers reflected from the all-black gloss floor and toilet doors. Island party-starters Melon Bomb brought the funkiness to this unique space, often capturing the attention of partygoers who came for the seats and stayed for the beats.

With former Amnesia institution Cream making its way to Hï for the 2018 season and Black Coffee, Eric Prydz, Glitterbox and Armin van Buuren all set to return, Hï’s entry straight into the top five of the DJ Mag Top 100 Clubs means it’s already carving out its own legacy on the d’en Bossa seafront.