1001Tracklists is back in a big way with their annual A State Of Dance Music report, showcasing the music, moments, and trends that defined 2021. 1001Tracklists is the world’s leading DJ tracklist database, and they release the 100% data-driven report at the end of each year based on website data from the previous 12 months. Read on for an inside look at the incredible data set and a recap of 2021’s top tracks, sets, labels, and more!
2021 was a record year for 1001Tracklists with more than 69,000 tracklists added (that’s almost 200 per day!) and an increase of nearly 30% from 2020. Over 111,000 tracks were added to their database, and more than 6.8 million people visited 62.5 million times over the year.
Tech House’s rise to mainstream popularity has never been more evident. The genre was the most prevalent among top tracks on the site (22%) with Dance (18%), House (15%), Trance (9%), and Mainstage / Electro House (8%) rounding out the Top 5 genres for the most DJ supported tracks of 2021.
ACRAZE’s hit ‘Do It To It’ was a runaway for the top track of the year. Perfectly bridging the gap between the commercial and underground, the addictive record outpaced the competition, with the next closest track behind by almost 100 unique DJ plays! GUZ’s tech house bomb ‘Set U Free’ took home the second spot, while Vintage Culture & Kiko Franco’s Remix of ‘Love Tonight’ was seemingly heard everywhere and round out the top 3.
Turning to the top sets of the year, Timmy Trumpet takes home the #1 spot with the debut episode of his radio show series SINPHONY RADIO. Always innovating with his DJ sets and live performances, this episode was no different, showcasing quick mixing with 30 tracks packed in 60 minutes, raising the bar for what a listener can expect from a weekly radio show. Also always pushing the envelope with their mixes are Two Friends, whose celebrated Big Bootie mix series placed two shows in the Top 10 sets of the year!
Marshmello took home the #2 spot with his live set from Lollapalooza in Chicago, in the process making him the top live set of the year. Other top festival sets included Martin Garrix at Tomorrowland NYE performance and Solomon at Exit Festival. W&W continued to shine with their forward thinking extended reality sets, placing two sets in the Top 10, with episode 001 and 002 from their virtual Club Mythic. And rounding out the top 10 sets of the year was Armin van Buuren & Ruben De Ronde with their historic ASOT Top 1000: Final 50 radio show as well as KOROLOVA’s live set from Egypt.
Spinnin’ Records came in as the top label for the third consecutive year, and they are joined in the Top 5 once again by Armada Music, Musical Freedom and STMPD. It was a massive year for trance and the Armada imprints, as Armin van Buuren and his team’s work was evident with A State Of Trance and Armind Recordings also placing in the Top 10. Revealed Recordings had a big year and continue to evolve their sound, making a big entrance at #5. Hexagon, Toolroom, and Anjunabeats round out the Top 10 Labels.
Tiësto‘s Club Life radio show moved up one spot to take home the #1 radio show of the year, with stalwart shows such as Armin van Buuren & Ruben de Ronde‘s A State Of Trance, Sasha‘s Last Night On Earth, Oliver Heldens‘ Heldeep Radio, Kryder‘s Kryteria Radio, and W&W‘s Rave Culture Radio holding down spots in the Top 10 for consecutive years. One notable new edition was Timmy Trumpet’s SINPHONY Radio, launched in 2021 and taking home the #4 spot.
Check out the full report here and be sure to celebrate and share your favorite moments of 2021!
