The Dutch uber lord has done it again, beating off tough opposition to retain his coveted title as the No.1 DJ in the World. Tiesto is once more Lord of the trance and the king of the dancefloor. Now in it's tenth year, the definitive DJ chart has yet again thrown up some surprises, some shocks and some undeniable Trends. Trance is on top yet again and there seems to be no stopping the big room sound
An amazing 61,529 people voted, up 50% on last year, with over 120 countries voting including territories as far flung as Moldaova, Bosnia, The Fiji Islands, Papua New Guinea and Iran. Proof yet again that dance music is a truly global phenomenon.
Commenting on this year's poll DJ magazine editor Lesley Wright said:Mental - that's the only way to describe this year's Top 100. Voting went through the roof and exceeded all our expectations. While scare-mongers bleated on about the death of dance music, we received a record-breaking number of votes from 120 countries around the world.
What kind of message does that send out? It's a massive two-fingered salute to those who have been desperate to bury this scene and the music we love. Dance music and the people who love it ain't going anywhere.
There are 19 new entries, six re-entries and 2 non-movers. Tiesto has reclaimed his crown and for another year and can boast that he is the No.1 DJ in the world. With Paul Van Dyk and Armin van Buuren leapfrogging over Sasha and Digweed into the Top 3, it's a triple whammy for the European purveyors of trance. With Ferry Corsten rising three places to No.6 and Paul Oakenfold and Judge Jules holding firm, we can safely say that the sounds of trance and hard dance are still dominating clubland in a big way.
The public's penchant for the tougher sound is further evident from the highest new entry from production wizards Gabriel & Dresden, and highest climber Tall Paul who climbs 57 places to No. 19.
The prog set remain pretty steadfast with Sasha & Digweed still well up there. Danny Howells, Sander Kleinenberg, Steve Lawler, Pete Tong, Satoshi Tomiie, Hernan Cattaneo, Timo Mass and Dave Seaman hold their positions in the higher regions of the chart. Another year and another sizeable leap for young gun and one to watch James Zabiela, who just misses out on a Top 10 ranking settling for an impressive No.11 position. The top 20 is as below, with the full list at the link below:
DJ Mag Top 20 - 2003 Poll
1 Tiësto
2 Paul Van Dyk
3 Armin Van Buuren
4 Sasha
5 John Digweed
6 Ferry Corsten
7 Carl Cox
8 Paul Oakenfold
9 Judge Jules
10 Deep Dish
11 James Zabiela
12 Danny Howells
13 Sander Kleinenberg
14 Steve Lawler
15 Marco V
16 Erick Morillo
17 Mauro Picotto
18 Danny Tenaglia
19 Tall Paul
20 Eddie Halliwell