HOW THE
RANKING
WORKS.
A ranking built on real DJ support.
Top 101 Producers celebrates the artists whose tracks have been supported the most by qualifying DJs on 1001Tracklists. It gives a different perspective on a producer’s impact: the music other artists choose to play.
The 2026 edition counts support between October 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026.
Follow the calculationFrom DJ support
to the Top 101.
- 01
Start with eligible tracks.
A track must be supported by at least three DJs. It also needs a first release or first play within the last two years.
- 02
Count unique DJ support.
One artist supporting one track counts once. Playing it again does not add another unique support. Supporting a second track adds one more. One artist can support another artist a maximum of five times.
- 03
Use qualifying DJ support.
We count support from qualifying DJs in the 1001Tracklists database. For radio shows, we count shows which have demonstrated consistent listenership and distribution. We regularly review all shows on the site to determine the shows that qualify.
- 04
Take the top-scoring 24 tracks.
We count each artist’s top-scoring 24 tracks. Their unique DJ support is summed to produce the total and their place in the ranking.
What counts as
unique support?
Choose an example to see how it counts.
One DJ playing one track three times still counts as one unique support.
More about
the ranking.
Is this based on public votes?
No. The Top 101 Producers is calculated from qualifying unique DJ support on 1001Tracklists. It is a data-driven ranking.
How does The Future of Dance fit in?
The Future of Dance is a separate hand-curated selection. It highlights artists making an impact and shaping what comes next; its artists are not assigned numbered ranks.
Where can I explore the support data?
Each published ranking links to its original chart on 1001Tracklists, where you can explore the detailed breakdown.
Explore the 2025 support dataDo the current rules apply to every archive?
The archives preserve each original edition and its scoring period. The methodology here describes the 2026 edition.
Behind the
Top 101.
From the archives: the 2020 announcement with David Guetta.