The Greatest DJ Of All Time

Launched this week, Mixmag’s search for the best DJ of all time has swung into full effect, with the UK publication urging fans to get online and cast their vote for their all-time #1 DJ.

Voters can only pick DJs from a list selected by Mixmag and a cast of international DJs who’ve nominated their personal favourites. It’s an interesting system, and the DJs polled offer up the reasons behind their picks in a series of video interviews.

Check out and dissect the full nominations list below and head over to Mixmag.net to get votin’.

Mixmag’s Greatest DJ of All Time nominations:

SASHA
DAVID MANCUSO
FELIX DA HOUSECAT
PAUL OAKENFOLD
2MANYDJS
DERRICK CARTER
ANDREW WEATHERALL
LARRY LEVAN
SVEN VATH
FRANCOIS KEVORKIAN
GRANDMASTER FLASH
ANDY C
FRANCIS GRASSO
RICHIE HAWTIN
FATBOY SLIM
ALFREDO
TONY DE VIT
ERICK MORILLO
JIMMY SAVILE
RICARDO VILLALOBOS
PAUL VAN DYK
CARL COX
TIESTO
EROL ALKAN
DJ MARKY
HATCHA
QBERT
FRANKIE KNUCKLES
JEFF MILLS
KOOL HERC
FABIO & GROOVERIDER
LAURENT GARNIER
OPTIMO
EDDIE HALLIWELL
DJ JAZZY JEFF


Most of these online DJ lists are bollocks, but it is an interesting topic... who would you vote for (doesnt need to be on the list) and why do you think they are the greatest dj of all time?

Premier

/end thread

weez

That is one weird list! At first look i thought it was excluding hip hop and only focused on dance music but i guess not. How could it not have Premier, Mix master Mike, Qbert, shadow etc?

For me I'll break it in to two parts;

Best DJ with Turntable skills;

Mix Master Mike
Premier

Best beat mixing dj;

LTJ Bukem
Carl Cox

All go without saying IMO

qbert was in there, but i agree there was a massive lack of turntablists in the list. its really hard trying to nail down just the one dj, especially when you are weighing up turntablists vs dancefloor smashers like andy c and people who can play 12 hour journey sets like tenaglia. gonna give it a bit more thought before dropping my answer in.

there is no doubt primo can get the floor moving, but he loses major points for me by stopping his set short @ hq to let nick javas do his thing.

his production alone defecates on the future graves of everyone else on that list

not disputing that either, but its the greatest dj list, not the greatest producer list

Hmm, well I'll put it this way. If I were having a party, there aren't too many DJ's in the world I'd rather have playing over Jazzy Jeff.

[video: www.youtube.com]
[video: www.youtube.com]

I came in here to post that...Jazzy Jeff would easily be my pick. For pioneering, longevity and straight-up party rocking.

I've said it before but he's still top of the list for DJs I've never seen that I want to see.


Edit: Just voted for Jazzy.

He's one of the few guys going round who can showcase really techincal tablist skills while still keeping it relatively dancefloor friendly. Everybody from the casual observer to the hardcore turntablist fan can appreciate what he does.

The brief says The GREATEST DJ of ALL time.

I'm with Headache and Glock. You can't go past Jazzy Jeff. Though your favourite DJ may be a master in their own skill area(s), you would be hard pressed to find a DJ that can tick all the boxes like Jazzy.

tiesto gets my vote - easy






















 


hmmm id like to see z trip in that list and bukem...
its a fairly ghey list in terms of variety of ppl/music etc.

Sasha is probably the best I've seen on that list.

Arggh it's a pity that voting installs one of those annoying Facebook apps that automatically plasters crap all over your profile. It updated my status without my knowledge!

Worth it for the Magnificent one though!

not possible.

what an utterly pointless poll

its like saying what is the best fruit ever.

definately rockmelon

Bananas, closely followed by day-light!

pineapple... mmmmmmm

i stated this in the opening post of the thread.



still, gives us a good excuse to discuss who we think is the greatest ever and why...

Mango by a country mile.

DJ Derek

and I will listen to no counter arguments really because they are null and void.

hahaha nice 1 

[video: www.youtube.com]

plus 1

im surprised that Armin van buren is not on that list. He has been #1 DJ for a few years. Also Z Trip should have been there too IMO.

Dude, thats a fake buddy. Not that I like Tiesto but thats definitely fake

sorry had no sound on this free internet hotel computer...picked the first one on there... The worry is that thewre is more than 1...

Its really hard to compare apples with apples with this list. I mean Sasha is a great DJ but what makes him great is not the same thing that makes Andy C great.

The more I look at this list the bigger my list gets I can get it to about a top five as there are many who have some fine qualitys.
Which I think is great as then I get to choose from more than one. Otherwise it would be like commercial radio and just a replay of the same abba songs everyday.

i have no idea but that was terrible mixing

I rekon this dude should be on this list for sure! lol

[video: www.youtube.com]

yep haha awesome

  Thats awesome!

I'd love to know if that is real for sure.   Is there any more video from that party?   Fukn golden!

What mixmag needs to do is explain what they consider the definition of a DJ

To me, the definition of a DJ and a producer are two different things.

For example; Fat Boy slim = amazing producer, shit DJ.

HAHAHA! how close was the table to the edge of the stage, classic!

The dude who jumps up looks just like patch.

 

I thought it was jules and simmo at traffic?

this guy's right up there on my list

[video: www.youtube.com]

yeah turntablism was a bit lacking in the list, but still i'm surprised dj mama didnt get a look in

[video: www.youtube.com]

  That is Awesome. Greyboy never ceases to amaze me, now he has topped it with all his DJ Mama vids. Check the one where she is driving through the hood. 

yeah good one patchy u ruined our set!

First things first in my opinion, is any great DJ needs to have the crowd ALL DANCING!

its all about next level stuff for me, no points for coming to adelaide and serving up the same dish as last time... Keep it fresh and interesting

sure does, at a keyneton oval party!

could be.. nigger got skills.

[video: www.youtube.com]

The list has been announced...

10. 2manydjs
9. Tony De Vit
8. Sasha
7. Paul Van Dyk
6. Ricardo Villalobos
5. Carl Cox
4. Andy C
3. Sven Vath
2. Richie Hawtin
1. Tiesto

nice one andy

that's an achievement and a half!

i really expected to see jazzy jeff in there somewhere

no DJ Weez, list is void

/thread

haha tiesto. well done to andy though. good to see him getting the recognition he deserves.

I voted for him.

As for Tiesto at #1...

Did anyone expect otherwise though? I'm pretty surprised that Armin Van Buuren isn't anywhere in that top 10 though.

 Yeah it would really help if the two things had different names and definitions

 Well done to Andy, thoroughly deserved though! He is a machine

 

I'm sorry but.....

Wasn't he the guy behind La Bamba?

Richie Hawtin does not beat match anymore. computer does it for him...

can you do what he is doing right now? on vinyl or pc?

beatmatching is only one part of djing. you could say that most hip hop djs are shit cos they dont beat match, or you could say most dnb/tech djs are shit cos they dont scratch or beat juggle. if he was just letting the pc do the beatmatching for him and he was just mixing from breakdown to breakdown, then your comment might have some validity, but hawtin is doing some pretty interesting things now that he doesnt have to spend all his time beatmatching. he isnt lazy, in fact its pretty standard for him to get 4 decks running at the same time during a set. playing minimal allows him to set up a couple of different decks and loop/remix stuff on the fly. even when he did have to beatmatch he was busy running loads of effect units and playing a 909 live alongside the decks. now he can pretty much do what we was doing all those years ago, but instead of having to lug a record box, a drum machine and crate full of effects units with him on tour, he can do the same with a laptop and a controller.

one of the best sets i have ever seen was when he played on the rooftop of the young street car park for five and a half hours.

if you think he shouldnt be in that list go and listen to decks, efx + 909.  

didnt state that anywhere...

just something for people to think about...

I know he is a good dj - heard his sets when he rocked vinyl and he smashes it..

just something for people to think about, not a diss at all but it does make me think that maybe (brilliant) dj's who still beat match manually are a cut above...

just a thought..


sure can, on one tt with my eyes closed wearing ear plugs

sasha doesnt beatmatch any more either, he has a custom built controller set up to use with ableton live.

http://createdigitalmusic.com/2005/03/dj-sashas-maven-controller-mac-setup/

Fabio & Grooverider FFS, they basically invented drum & bass.

they were available to vote for, but have you heard rider mix recently? it aint pretty and his selection aint quite what it used to be. prototype years is one of my fave dnb mix cds but i didnt bother voting for rider. such a shame, as his sets used to be pretty epic. you would spend the next 2-3 years waiting for the tunes he played to come out. now, you hope that half the tunes he plays dont come out, he is playing proper garbage now. i am kinda glad prototype hasnt put anything out for so long cos i would hate to imagine the kinda stuff he would be putting out on it. i doubt it would be of the same calibre as locust, still, mute, planet dust, etc.

when was that? would've been an interesting venue for a gig...?

woulda been around 99/00 i reckon

they had a couple of gigs there. one was carl cox, who played downstairs inside the car park. at the hawtin gig, hawtin did his decks, efx and 909 show up on the rooftop of the car park, while umek, valentino and someone else - gaetek maybe - played downstairs inside the carpark. awesome, awesome show. hawtin was pretty much flawless all night, open air in the city, crisp sound, visuals being projected onto the neighbouring building.

cant see anything like that happening in the city again though.

That show was nuts

yeah it was 99 - i was in year 12 at the time

was a Strange Days i think?

possibly, it was a redlight district party, not 100% sure if it was a strange days or not.

Clash of the Titans vol.1?

that was bukem and hawtin at st pauls i reckon