10. Calvin Harris- I was fortunate enough to catch the spinning Scot at Liv in Miami during WMC 2010, and he absolutely killed it. When he isn't wrecking decks at venues around the world, Calvin is delivering bangers, such as "You Used to Hold Me" and the much anticipated "Bounce".
9. Wolfgang Gartner- The Texas native burst onto the scene with some big tracks this past year. "Conscindo", "Animal Rights", and his remix of the Fugees' "Ready or Not" are all praiseworthy efforts, but his crown jewel was smash hit "Illmerica", which may also be one of the greatest music videos ever made.
8. Hardwell- Yet another young up and coming Dutch DJ, Hardwell has produced some of my favorite tracks of the past year. His remixes of Gregor Salto's "Your Friend", Haley's "Physical", and Nadia Ali's "At the End" were all great improvements over the already solid originals. However, his original productions are what solidified his lofty position. His collaboration with Tiesto on "Zero 76" was one of the year's biggest hits; while, solo efforts "Molotov" and "Asteroid" were two of the most underrated tracks of the past 12 months.
7. Kaskade- The highest ranked American, Illinois native Ryan Raddon, better known as Kaskade, absolutely lit it up this past year. Known for his infectious vocal jams, Kaskade released some absolute monsters including "Raining", "Finally", "Dynasty" and my personal favorite "Fire in Your New Shoes". Keep your eyes on Kaskade, as he shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
6. Steve Angello- The second of the Swedish House boys on this list reminded us that he can bring it whether or not Ingrosso and Axwell are in tow. Angello had himself a solid solo year with "Knas", "Rave N Roll", "Valodja" (with brother AN21) and his remix of Magnetic Man's "Perfect Stranger".
5. Michael Woods- Although I have yet to see this famed British producer, Michael Woods solidified his place in the top 5 on the strength of his track roster alone. His original productions include "Dominos", "Dropzone", and hit tracks "No Access" and "First Aid". Not content with simply producing his own smashes, Woods was my favorite remixer of the year thanks to his work on La Roux's "In for the Kill", Katie Melua's "The Flood", Kylie Minogue's "All the Lovers", and Moguai's "Oyster".
4. Dirty South- Originals "Stopover" and "Phazing" and remixes of Dirty Money's "Coming Home" and Jeremy Olander's "Airsteala" represented a solid but not stellar year of production for the awesome Aussie. What set Dirty South apart in my mind was his massive set at Electric Zoo in New York, which would have been best in show, if it wasn't for #1 on this list.
3. Avicii- Simply put, the young Swede is currently my favorite producer in the game. The 21 year old virtuoso dropped some serious bombs this past year, including "My Feelings for You", "ID", "Levels", "Street Dancer", "Seek Bromance", and massive remixes of Junior Caldera's "Can't Fight This Feeling" and Nadia Ali's classic, "Rapture".
2. Laidback Luke- Born in the Philippines and raised in the Netherlands, Luke van Scheppingen, aka Laidback Luke, finds himself in the number 2 spot. Luke produced some absolutely stellar tracks this past year, including "Indestructible", "Turbulence", "Till Tonight", and my personal favorite "Timebomb"; remixes of i Square's "Hey Sexy Lady" and Wynter Gordon's "Dirty Talk" round out an ambitious year. Luke elevated himself in my eyes by dropping an absolutely fire set at Liv in Miami during WMC 2010.
1. Axwell- And then there was 1. As a solo artist Axel Hedfors blessed us with "Nothing But Love 4 You" and "Heart is King". At Electric Zoo, Axwell stood head and shoulders above the rest; he pretty much solidified his place atop these rankings that day by spinning the greatest set I have ever heard. Oh and he was part of some little group called Swedish House Mafia.
The transcendent trio of Axwell, Angello, and Ingrosso released the year's biggest (and most remixed) hit, "One", kept their momentum going with the catchy "Miami 2 Ibiza", and put out too many sublime remixes to name here. By headlining some massive shows, including their own rival to Ultra Music Festival, they put their indelible mark on this past year, the year of Swedish House Mafia.
Hope you've enjoyed this feature. The next edition of the power rankings will be released in July/August and will be considerably shorter than this original incarnation (carpel tunnel much?)
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