Superstars like Skrillex and Deadmau5 have helped make electronic dance music more successful than ever this year, but party people around the world had been devoting themselves to programmed rhythms for decades before those guys arrived. In its broadest definition, EDM can range from Chicago house to Dutch chat, drum and bass and dubstep, from the visionary beeps of Kraftwerk to the ambient blues of Moby's Play and the synthesized indie-rock of LCD Soundsystem. With this list of the 30 best EDM albums of all time, we've tried to reach all the highlights of that ridiculously varied and constantly evolving mix. When Settle was released, the generational divide in dance music became more evident, and veteran stage designers who had forged sound and culture often regretted that their former underground scene had followed the path of company-sponsored festivals and commercial synchronizations.
Meanwhile, most of the new generation didn't understand the historical context of the world they were entering. With Settle, Disclosure helped close this divide, making the music strong enough to earn the respect of old school househeads and cool enough to appeal to children. Which, at 19 and 22 years after the release of Settle, the Lawrence brothers from Disclosure certainly were.
