Recommendations for Techno: From Classic Masterpieces to Popular Tracks of the 2000s and Beyond
In the early 1980s, techno was born in Detroit as a derivative of house music, which originated in Chicago’s clubs.
Its spirit of innovation has continued to exert a major influence on artists across other genres.
From a music history perspective, electronic music pioneered by artists like Kraftwerk and YMO is undeniably important.
However, in this article, we’ll focus on techno purely as dance music, introducing classic and popular tracks.
We’ve selected a wide range—from well-known classics to standout tracks from the ’90s and ’00s that emerged alongside the genre’s evolution.
If you’re thinking of getting into techno, be sure to check these out!
- Classic tracks of Detroit techno: famous and popular songs you should listen to first
- Legendary techno masterpieces that go down in history. Recommended albums you should listen to at least once.
- Ranking of Popular House and Techno Songs
- Aggressive dance music. A masterpiece of hardcore techno.
- Latest Techno Music | Introducing the Trends of 2025
- The Aesthetics of Repetition: Iconic Minimal Techno Tracks. Recommended Popular Songs
- Floating Electronic Music: A Collection of Ambient Techno Masterpieces
- Recommended Techno Artists: From Big Names to Rising Stars [2025]
- Latest House Music [2025]
- What does tech trance sound like? Revisiting the world of trance music through nostalgic tracks
- Beautiful Electronica: Recommended Masterpieces and Popular Tracks
- Dance to iconic house music hits! Timeless anthems that continue to captivate the world
- Deep house masterpieces. Recommended popular tracks.
Recommendation of Techno: From Classic Masterpieces to Popular Tracks Since the 2000s (41–50)
Wisdom To The Wise (Red 2) (A. Mochi Re-Edit)Dave Clarke
This is a hit track by Dave Clarke, a leading figure in the UK techno scene since the ’90s.
In 2012, he even hosted his own show on BBC Radio, helping bridge the gap between the underground scene and listeners.
The track was released on the label of German electro star Boys Noize and was edited by A.
Mochi, a Japanese techno DJ active on the global stage.
SubzeroBen Klock
A classic track born from 2000s German techno! This piece, featured on Berlin-born DJ, producer, and label owner Ben Klock’s acclaimed 2009 EP “Before One,” has earned strong popularity as a new masterpiece.
It’s Berlin-style, hard-edged, heavyweight minimal techno, yet infused with percussive elements, letting you sink into a sense of being enveloped by serious, foreboding synth tones.
It’s sound best experienced on the dance floor, but it might be just as rewarding to put on headphones and immerse yourself in this sonic world in your bedroom at midnight.
You may start to see a different world—somewhere other than here.
.
.
!
FollowAmelie Lens
If Nina Kraviz is the original techno queen, then Amelie Lens is the second-generation techno queen.
Her selling point is a heavy, straight-down-the-line techno sound, and she always gives her all in her DJ sets.
She’s one of the charismatic female techno DJs who brought hard techno back to younger generations, and that is clearly reflected in her work.
DominatorHuman Resource
Human Resource—this is a classic of rave techno.
The famous sound at the beginning is called the “hoover sound,” which later took the surrounding scene by storm.
At the time, it drew attention as a tone that could only be produced by the α-JUNO, an affordable successor to Roland’s high-end JUNO-106, and it was sampled frequently.
Spastik (Original Mix)Plastikman
Under his alias Plastikman, Richie Hawtin watched the birth of the techno scene in Detroit during the 1980s from across the river in Ontario, Canada.
His early DJ sets featured raw Chicago house and a slightly harder techno style, but in the 1990s he pivoted sharply toward minimal production.
The most acclaimed track to emerge from that period is Spastik, distinguished by its trembling drum machine and tightly shuffled, staccato beats.
Acperience 1Hardfloor
Hardfloor is a representative duo in German techno and acid house.
As originators who wield Roland’s legendary TB-303 synthesizer with a unique sensibility—and hitmakers with many successful tracks—they are truly one of the remarkable talents born from the techno scene.
Formed in 1991, they released the nine-minute masterpiece “Acperience 1” the following year, shocking the scene.
It not only stands as a definitive early Hardfloor track but also as a landmark in techno history.
Incidentally, it’s also the source of the subtitle for episode 12 of the acclaimed TV anime Eureka Seven.
Phylyps Trak Ii/IiBasic Channel
After Detroit techno, the next most popular label in Japan is this one: Basic Channel, affectionately known as “Bei-chan.” As the label that defined dub techno, it still enjoys enduring popularity.
Its faint, minimalist tone that blurs the line between techno and house occupies a perfect sweet spot—one that every techno fan passes through at least once.