Just imagine a world without disc jockeys. It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it? DJs are so much more than just people who spin records all day. Indeed, they introduce us to new musicians, help us enjoy the music even more, and most of all, allow us to laugh and have fun every time we listen to the radio.
While most DJs live in obscurity for most of their lives, some have gone on to national and even international fame, which makes them all the more interesting.
Introduction
Disc jockeys have a fun job, but they work harder than most people realize because being on the air isn’t all that they do. They are usually local celebrities in their area of the world, and as such, they are expected to do promotional work and represent the station at various social events.
It can make for a long day, but the ones who master it and who bring some type of unique talent to the station they represent can really make an impression on the listeners.
It is difficult narrowing the list of great DJs down to only 10, but here they are in all of their glory:
1. Alan Walker
English-born Norwegian DJ Alan Walker is now a recording artist but spent from 2012 to 2016 as an up-and-coming disc jockey.
He was born in 1997 in Northamptonshire, England, and first became interested in computers, especially programming and graphic arts. Even though he did not come from a musical background, Walker taught himself music via YouTube videos and became quite good at the piano and other keyboard instruments.
In August of 2014, he recorded his first song, called Fade, a track that has more than 400 million views on YouTube. He concentrates on YouTube, Spotify, and SoundCloud, and he has done extremely well on all three channels. Since 2016, he has concentrated solely on songwriting and producing more music for his fans.
2. Skrillex
Sonny Moore, AKA Skrillex, was born in 1988 in Los Angeles, California and got his start in music as the lead singer of a band that he formed in 2004. The music he oversees as a DJ includes EDM, Dubstep, electro-house, and Moombahton.
Around 2008, when he was roughly 20 years old he started creating his own music and has since recorded songs such as First of the Year, Bangarang, and Scary Monsters.
But Skrillex is more than just your average everyday DJ and musician. A few of the awards he’s won for his music include eight Grammy Awards, two MTV Music Video awards, and one Annie award. Moore has also made it into DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJs more than a few times.
3. Marshmello
Also known as Chris Comstock, Marshmello is a DJ and EDM producer. He has had several hit songs and released his debut album in January of 2016.
Some of his songs have gone platinum with more than one million copies sold, and a few of his awards include a Billboard Music Award, iHeartRadio Music award, MTV Europe Music award, Radio Disney Music Award, and several awards for his remixing talents, which seem to be what he’s most known for.
Comstock was born in 1992 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and he plays numerous instruments, including piano, synthesizer, guitar, drums, bass guitar, and other percussion instruments. He is also devoted to causes that include helping refugee children, immigrants, and dogs that need a home.
4. Hardwell
Robbert van de Corput, AKA Hardwell, was born in 1988 in the Netherlands. He is a very popular DJ and was voted the number one DJ by DJ Magazine in both 2013 and 2014.
He founded his own record label called Revealed Recordings in 2010 and has released songs that include Break the House Down, Party till the Daylight, Creatures of the Night, and We are One. He has also performed at some of the world’s biggest music festivals, including Tomorrowland, the Ultra Music Festival, and the Sunburn festival.
Hardwell told his fans in September of 2018 that he was taking an indefinite hiatus from the music business to concentrate on his personal life. He is currently single.
5. Tiësto
Tiësto is also from the Netherlands and is a DJ and record producer. Many people consider him to be the “godfather of EDM,” and he released his first solo album in 2001, called “In My Memory.” The album was a very big success and in fact, he had several big hits off of it.
In April of 2007, he began his own radio show on Radio 538 in the Netherlands. It is called Tiësto’s Club Life. Mix magazine even rated him the “all-time favorite DJ,” an honor he got from being nominated by the most fans.
Tiësto was born in 1969 and has won numerous awards, including ones such as the Beatport Music award, BG Magazine award, a Grammy award, Mixmag award, Lucky Strike Dance award, and 3FM award, to name a few.
6. Calvin Harris
Calvin Harris is actually Adam Richard Wiles, a DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter from Scotland. His debut album was called I Created Disco and was released in 2007. Some of his singles include This is What You Came For, Acceptable in the 80s, I’m Not Alone, and The Girls.
With singer Rihanna, he had a number-one single entitled We Found Love. He played himself in the 2015 film Entourage, and his many charitable interests include AIDS research, children’s hospitals, and children affected by war.
Harris was born in 1984 in Dumfries, Scotland, and specializes in musical styles that include EDM, nu-disco, electro house, dance pop, and electropop. He can also play several instruments, including piano, guitar, bass guitar, and synthesizer.
7. David Guetta
David Guetta is a French DJ and musician who has sold more than nine million albums and 30 million singles since he got into the business. He was voted the number one DJ by DJ Magazine in 2011, and some of his many hits include Gettin Over You, Sexy Bitch, Memories, and When Love Takes Over.
He has won awards from iHeartRadio, American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, Grammy Awards, International Dance Music Awards, and MTV Europe Music Awards, to name a few.
Guetta was born in 1967 in France and was married to his wife Cathy from 1992 to 2014. They have two children, a son and a daughter. It’s hard to tell what he is best at, being a musician or being a DJ, but he is certainly great at both of them
8. Armin van Buuren
Armin van Buuren is a Dutch DJ and record producer who has hosted his own radio show, A State of Trance, since 2001. He’s been ranked the number one DJ by DJ Magazine a total of five times, and has placed in the top five no less than four times.
Some of his songs include This is What It Feels Like, Communication, Blue Fear, One, and In and Out of Love, among many others. He was born on Christmas Day in 1976 in Holland and even studied law at Leiden University. He has been a DJ in Holland, England, and the United States.
Van Buuren Erika van Thiel in 2009 and they have one daughter named Fenna and a son named Remy. A few of his many awards include the Best Trance DJ, Best International DJ, and several International Dance Music Awards.
9. Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike
Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike are actually two brothers named Dimitri and Michael Thivaios. They are DJs and record producers who ranked in the top 5 DJs by DJ Magazine no less than six times.
Of Greek origin, the two brothers grew up in the Flemish town of Willebroek. When they were still very young, they became DJs and before long became record producers. They released their first single, “Liquid Skies,” in 2009, and by 2010 they had their own record label.
Dimitri and Mike were born in Belgium in 1981 and 1985, respectively, and Dimitri has been married since 2017. Mike is still single.
10. Martin Garrix
Martijn Gerard Garritsen, or Martin Garrix, is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He was born in the Netherlands in 1996 and showed musical talent early, even learning to play the guitar when he was only eight years old.
In 2013, he graduated from the Herman Brood Academy where he studied production. In addition to everything else, Garrix is a spokesman/model for Armani Exchange, an Italian brand, and he even posed for some photos for the company that he put on his social media accounts.
Some of his many songs include Itsa, Bfam, Torrent, Registration Code, Just Some Loops, Animals, Wizard, and Gold Skies. He has also done charity work for numerous organizations, including the SOS Children’s Village in South Africa and organizations that help fund cancer research and those that educate Indian children and children from other countries.