Drum and Bass roundup
The Best Drum and Bass Artists to Know
From Goldie to Andy C, here's a practical map of the drum and bass artists behind every corner of the genre, grouped by what they actually do.
Naming "the best" drum and bass artists is a fool's errand if you try to rank them against each other — a jungle pioneer and a modern festival headliner aren't really playing the same game. What's more useful is a map: the names who shaped each corner of the genre, grouped by what they actually did, so you know exactly why each one matters before you press play.
The Pioneers
These are the names most of the genre's family tree leads back to, one way or another.
- Goldie — producer, DJ and founder of the label Metalheadz, whose 1995 album Timeless showed the genre could work at album length, not just as club singles.
- LTJ Bukem — the driving force behind Good Looking Records and the atmospheric, jazz-influenced "intelligent" strand of the sound.
- Roni Size — Bristol producer whose band Reprazent won the 1997 Mercury Prize with their album New Forms.
- Photek — known for sparse, intricately edited breakbeats and some of the genre's most technically admired production.
Between them, this handful of names covers most of what "classic" DnB sounds like today, whether you land on the dark, spacious side or the club-ready end. Almost every subgenre that followed owes something to one of these four.
The Techstep and Neurofunk Crowd
If your idea of DnB is dark, mechanical and precisely engineered, these are the names behind it.
- Ed Rush & Optical — central figures in developing techstep's harder, more stripped-back sound.
- Noisia — a Dutch act whose complex, aggressive bass design has been hugely influential on modern neurofunk.
The Jungle and Bass-Heavy Camp
- Shy FX — a key figure in jungle and ragga-influenced DnB, with genuine crossover success.
- DJ Zinc — associated with jump-up and bass-heavy, dancefloor-first production.
- Aphrodite — another important name in the punchy, bass-hook-driven jump-up lineage.
The Crossover Generation
These acts are the reason a lot of people who'd never call themselves DnB fans still know the genre exists.
- Pendulum — brought rock energy and festival-scale production to the genre.
- Sub Focus — polished, melodic production that found real radio and chart success.
- Chase & Status — a major British act whose work spans club DnB, bass music and live performance.
Our history of the genre covers how this crossover era actually happened, if you want the fuller story.
The Liquid and Melodic Wing
- Netsky — Belgian producer known for warm, melodic, vocal-friendly liquid tracks.
- High Contrast — soulful, string-laden production that helped define the liquid sound.
- London Elektricity — co-founder of Hospital Records and a mainstay of the melodic side of the genre.
- LSB — known for emotive, song-focused liquid production.
The Labels Behind the Names
Most of these artists are tied to a handful of labels that shaped their sound as much as any individual producer did. Metalheadz, founded by Goldie, became the home of dark, technically ambitious production. Good Looking Records did the same for the atmospheric, jazz-leaning wing under LTJ Bukem. Hospital Records, co-founded by London Elektricity, became the natural home for liquid and melodic artists like Netsky and High Contrast, while RAM Records, closely associated with Andy C, has anchored a lot of the genre's more technical modern output. Knowing the label often tells you as much as knowing the artist.
Contemporary Names Worth Following
| Artist | Associated with |
|---|---|
| Andy C | RAM Records, technically sharp DJing and production spanning multiple styles |
| Wilkinson | Melodic, vocal-led dancefloor DnB |
| Dimension | Polished, festival-ready dancefloor production |
| Bou | Punchy, jump-up-rooted modern production |
| Hedex | High-energy, festival-focused DnB |
For an idea of how these artists' work actually sounds in practice, our roundup of defining DnB tracks is a natural next stop.
How to Actually Use This List
Don't try to work through it top to bottom like homework. Pick whichever camp sounds most like what you already enjoy — melodic and vocal-led, dark and technical, or loud and bass-forward — and start there. You'll find your way to the others soon enough once you know what you're chasing. If you're not sure which camp that is yet, our guide to DnB subgenres will help you work it out first, and if you're completely new to the genre, our newcomer's guide is a gentler starting point than diving straight into a list of names.
The Bottom Line
Drum and bass has never had one defining sound, and that's exactly why this list is a map rather than a ranking. Follow the name that matches what you already like, and the rest of the genre tends to open up from there.
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