With all the drama surrounding DJ Mag’s list and the legitimate excitement of RA, it’s often easy to forget that DJ Times and Pioneer also have their annual “Best DJ” list in the form of “America’s Best DJ”.
Whatever you may think of rankings and lists, they at least hold a marketing relevance, allowing the “voted xxx best DJ in xxx” tags so often seen. Based on fan votes, this years list, once again, ranks the favorite DJs in the infamously EDM loving US market.
See also: Dirtybird Campout Drops Second Phase And We’re Officially Excited
So, in 2016, coming as a bit of a surprise, DIRTYBIRD‘s main man Claude VonStroke was given the title (DIRTYBIRD was also represented in the top 50 by Justin Martin and J Phlip at positions 25 and 46, respectively). VonStroke beat out the likes of Kaskade, Chainsmokers, Bassnecter and Skrillex, perhaps highlighting a change in the direction of American dance music tastes. Last year’s winner, for example, Steve Aoki, didn’t even rank in the top 50, beaten out by the likes of Dubfire (15), Green Velvet (23), Armand van Helden (27), Kevin Saunderson (33), Maceo Plex (34), MK (35) Soul Clap (38), Lee Foss (33), and Lauren Lane (50).
On the title, Claude vonStroke said:
“My fans are so kind hearted and amazing and I love them so much for creating such an awesome community where people feel safe and can have fun together. They voted for me to win over artists with huge radio hits and business machines which is so inspiring and surprising, for that I am truly humbled.”
