50 tracks that prove 2006 was the greatest year in dance music history

For my money, 2006 was the greatest year in dance music history. Think about it: the Parisian electro movement was dropping strobe-lit, ecstasy-propelled hits in abundance (and inspiring artists in Australia and North America to do the same); producers in London were cementing the foundations of dubstep, a local genre that would go on to change the face of dance music forever, by releasing seminal records; Ibiza and Berlin were dominated by anthems like 'Rej', 'In White Rooms', 'Seeing Through Shadows', 'Mouth To Mouth' and 'Erotic Discourse'; the dance/pop crossover was in a heightened state of creativity that would put today's chart climbers to shame, thanks to Hot Chip, Metronomy and New Young Pony Club; young guns like Jamie Jones and Claude VonStroke were releasing their first records; beloved-but-short-lived sub genre fidget house grew out of 'A Bit Patchy' and Klaxons, CSS and Shit Disco kicked off the equally flash-in-the-pan Nu Rave. Who could forget Nu Rave?!

Granted, it's a subjective take from a 29-year-old whose gateway into dance music were those Boys Noize and Erol Alkan remixes, but there's no denying the fervent energy that wooshed through 2006 and the fact that it felt like revolutionary new music was sprouting from every corner of the scene. A look at Mixmag's Top 100 Tunes from that year confirms this: the whole list is made up of moment-defining records.

Of course, some of the tracks have aged better than others, and some of the movements ended sooner than expected, but at the time it was glorious and made my head spin endlessly (I was 18, after all). So here's 50 tracks to prove that '06 was the year of all years – don't @ me!

Seb Wheeler is Mixmag's Head Of Digital. He'd like 'Alice Practice' played at his funeral