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Electronic albums

Best Electronic Albums of All Time

5 min read

Updated

Three published rankings, three different number ones, and sixteen albums counted across them, each with its year, label and placing.

Three lists, three number ones.

The sixteen run from 1978 to 2013. Thirteen are on two lists or by an artist who appears on two. Three are top-ten placings kept for range.

What is the best electronic album ever?

It depends on who is voting. Headphonesty's list is a reader vote among audiophiles, where Oxygène by Jean-Michel Jarre has 8.19% of votes. Slant's 2002 poll asked 300 journalists, DJs and label staff about the twentieth century and put Kraftwerk's Trans-Europe Express first. Resident Advisor's editors covered 2000 to 2025, where Burial's Untrue is number 1.

What the lists do share is a short run of records. Seven albums appear on two lists, and all seven sit in the top fifteen of at least one list. The highest placings are Untrue at number 1 on Resident Advisor, Blue Lines at number 2 on Slant, Selected Ambient Works 85-92 at number 3 and Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld at number 4. No album is on all three, because Slant's poll stops at 2000 and Resident Advisor's list starts there.

How the 16 were picked.

I used three lists and nothing else. Headphonesty's 30 albums (August 2026) come from a reader vote and are a different kind of list: the top five are Jarre, Daft Punk, Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk and New Order. Slant's 25 (June 2002) come from 300 journalists, DJs and label staff and cover the twentieth century. Resident Advisor's 100 records (2025) cover 2000 to 2025 and include EPs and compilations.

An album gets in if it is on two lists, or if the artist is on two lists with a different album (Daft Punk are on all three). Where an artist has two albums I took the one that placed higher or appeared in the older list and name the other: Orbital are Orbital 2 on Slant and In Sides, number 16, on Headphonesty. Three more are top-ten placings I kept for range: Music for Airports, Boy in da Corner and Double Cup. The sixteen are not every top-ten album. Oxygène and Trans-Europe Express, the number ones of two lists, are named but have no player here.

Years and labels come from MusicBrainz release data, checked against the Resident Advisor list where it covers the album. The page makes no ranking of its own.

1978 to 1990.

Kraftwerk's The Man-Machine (1978, Capitol) is number 4 on the Headphonesty vote with 6.08%. Slant's number 1 is a different Kraftwerk album, Trans-Europe Express (1977, Capitol), which is named here without a player. The Man-Machine stands in for Kraftwerk because it is in the top five of the vote.

Kraftwerk on stage in Stockholm behind a row of illuminated consoles
Kraftwerk, number 1 on Slant with Trans-Europe Express, live in Stockholm in 2004. Photograph: Andréas Hagström, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Brian Eno's Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978, E'G and Polydor) is number 6 on Slant. Violator by Depeche Mode (1990, Mute, with Sire in the US) is number 3 on Headphonesty with 6.46%, and Slant lists the same band's Music for the Masses at number 20.

1991 to 1995.

Five of the seven shared albums come from these five years. Massive Attack's Blue Lines (1991, Wild Bunch and Virgin) is number 2 on Slant and number 15 on Headphonesty. The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld (1991, Big Life) is number 4 on Slant and number 10 on Headphonesty. Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1992, Apollo) is number 3 on Slant and number 22 on Headphonesty.

Massive Attack performing on stage at the Eurockéennes festival
Massive Attack, whose Blue Lines is number 2 on Slant, at the Eurockéennes festival in 2008. Photograph: Festival Eurockéennes, CC BY 2.0.

Underworld's dubnobasswithmyheadman (1994, Junior Boy's Own; Slant dates it 1993) is number 13 on Slant and number 14 on Headphonesty. Leftfield's Leftism (1995, Hard Hands) is number 19 on Slant and number 13 on Headphonesty.

Underworld performing at the Brixton Academy in London
Underworld, on two lists with dubnobasswithmyheadman, at the Brixton Academy in London. Photograph: Phil Whitehouse, CC BY 2.0.

Orbital's second album (1993, Internal), known as the brown album, is number 11 on Slant.

The next track is mine and is on none of the three rankings. It is glitch, IDM and ambient, for anyone who stayed on the ambient end of this list.

1997 to 2003.

Daft Punk's Homework (1997, Virgin) is number 18 on Slant. Boards of Canada's Music Has the Right to Children (1998, Warp) is on two lists, number 22 on Slant and number 6 on Headphonesty with 4.31% of votes, and Resident Advisor ranks a different Boards of Canada record, the 2000 EP In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country, at number 84.

Daft Punk's Discovery (2001, Virgin) is number 7 on Resident Advisor. Dizzee Rascal's Boy in da Corner (2003, XL Recordings) is number 5.

Daft Punk in 2013, two figures in helmets
Daft Punk in 2013, the year of Random Access Memories, the band with an album on all three lists. Photograph: Sony Music Entertainment, CC BY 4.0.

Daft Punk have an album on each of the three lists: Homework on Slant, Discovery on Resident Advisor and Random Access Memories on Headphonesty.

2007 to 2013.

Burial's Untrue (2007, Hyperdub) is number 1 on Resident Advisor and number 28 on Headphonesty. DJ Rashad's Double Cup (2013, Hyperdub) is number 8 on Resident Advisor. Daft Punk's Random Access Memories (2013, Columbia) is number 2 on Headphonesty with 7.11%.

The last track is mine too and is on none of the three lists.

The 16 albums in one table.

ArtistAlbumYearLabelPlacing
KraftwerkThe Man-Machine1978CapitolHeadphonesty 4
Brian EnoAmbient 1: Music for Airports1978E'G, PolydorSlant 6
Depeche ModeViolator1990Mute (Sire in the US)Headphonesty 3
The OrbAdventures Beyond the Ultraworld1991Big LifeSlant 4, Headphonesty 10
Massive AttackBlue Lines1991Wild Bunch, VirginSlant 2, Headphonesty 15
Aphex TwinSelected Ambient Works 85-921992ApolloSlant 3, Headphonesty 22
OrbitalOrbital 21993InternalSlant 11
Underworlddubnobasswithmyheadman1994 (Slant dates it 1993)Junior Boy's OwnSlant 13, Headphonesty 14
LeftfieldLeftism1995Hard HandsSlant 19, Headphonesty 13
Daft PunkHomework1997VirginSlant 18
Boards of CanadaMusic Has the Right to Children1998WarpSlant 22, Headphonesty 6
Daft PunkDiscovery2001VirginResident Advisor 7
Dizzee RascalBoy in da Corner2003XL RecordingsResident Advisor 5
BurialUntrue2007HyperdubResident Advisor 1, Headphonesty 28
DJ RashadDouble Cup2013HyperdubResident Advisor 8
Daft PunkRandom Access Memories2013ColumbiaHeadphonesty 2

Where to go next.

If one album sent you to a scene, the guides here follow the scenes: house, techno, trance, UK electronic music and German electronic music. For listening to DJs rather than albums, see the best DJ sets of all time.

Best electronic albums FAQ.

What is the best electronic album ever?

The sources do not agree. Jarre's Oxygène leads the 2026 Headphonesty reader vote, Kraftwerk's Trans-Europe Express leads Slant's 2002 poll, and Burial's Untrue leads Resident Advisor's list for 2000 to 2025. Of the albums on two lists, Blue Lines is placed highest, at number 2 on Slant and number 15 on Headphonesty.

Which electronic albums are on more than one list?

Seven: Music Has the Right to Children, Untrue, Selected Ambient Works 85-92, Blue Lines, dubnobasswithmyheadman, Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld and Leftism.

What is the oldest album here?

Two are from 1978: Kraftwerk's The Man-Machine and Brian Eno's Ambient 1: Music for Airports.

Why is The Man-Machine here and not Trans-Europe Express?

Both are Kraftwerk. The Man-Machine is number 4 on the Headphonesty vote, and Trans-Europe Express (1977, Capitol) is Slant's number 1, so it is named in the text and has no player.

How were the 16 albums picked?

Thirteen are on two of the three lists or by an artist who is on two. Three are top-ten placings kept for range. Nothing was added from memory.

Sources.

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