David Guetta has made history. The French superstar has topped the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs for a record-breaking sixth time, moving ahead of five-time winners Martin Garrix and Armin van Buuren. But from a Trance perspective, the 2026 ranking tells another fascinating story: Armin remains the World’s No. 1 Trance DJ at No. 7, several established names suffer dramatic losses, while a new generation of faster, harder and increasingly Trance-influenced artists pushes into the Top 100.
And there is another reason why this year matters to us. TranceAttack first looked at the position of Trance within the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs back in 2016. Ten years later, we can finally compare an entire decade.
Armin van Buuren remains the World’s No. 1 Trance DJ
At No. 7, Armin van Buuren once again finishes as the highest-ranked Trance artist in the poll. He drops two places from No. 5 in 2025, but DJ Mag still officially awards him the title of World’s No. 1 Trance DJ.
His consistency across the last decade is remarkable. When TranceAttack published its first article in this series in 2016, Armin was No. 4. Since then he has remained the highest-ranked Trance act every single year covered by our series.
The wider trend, however, is impossible to ignore. After spending most of the previous two decades around the very top of the poll, No. 7 represents a noticeably different position for Trance’s most visible global ambassador.
The Trance artists in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs 2026
For continuity with our previous Top 100 articles, we separate the Core Trance artists from a broader group of Trance-related and crossover acts whose current sound or history has strong links to the genre.
| # | Artist | Change | TranceAttack classification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Armin van Buuren | −2 | Core Trance |
| 20 | W&W | −2 | Trance-related / crossover |
| 22 | Tiësto | −1 | Trance-related / returning roots |
| 35 | Paul van Dyk | +4 | Core Trance |
| 52 | Maddix | +1 | Trance / Techno crossover |
| 63 | ATB | −4 | Core Trance |
| 66 | Ben Nicky | New Entry | Trance / Hard Dance crossover |
| 71 | Vini Vici | −39 | Core / Psy-Trance |
| 78 | Giuseppe Ottaviani | +11 | Core Trance |
| 83 | Ferry Corsten | +2 | Core Trance |
| 87 | Above & Beyond | −26 | Core Trance |
| 97 | Marlon Hoffstadt | +3 | Trance-influenced crossover |
| 100 | KI/KI | New Entry | Trance / Acid-Techno crossover |
That gives us seven Core Trance representatives, compared with six in both 2022 and 2023. But the broader picture extends to 13 artists once the current generation of Trance-influenced crossover acts is included.
Giuseppe Ottaviani is the biggest Trance winner
Among the established Trance names, Giuseppe Ottaviani has the strongest result of 2026. The Italian climbs eleven positions from No. 89 to No. 78, continuing the progress that began with his Top 100 return at No. 98 in 2024.
Paul van Dyk also moves in the right direction, rising four places to No. 35, while Ferry Corsten gains two positions to No. 83.
That contrasts sharply with two of the biggest falls anywhere in the Trance section.
Vini Vici drop a huge 39 places, from No. 32 to No. 71, while Above & Beyond fall 26 positions, from No. 61 to No. 87. ATB also drops four places to No. 63.
The movement leaves Armin and Paul van Dyk as the only Core Trance names inside the 2026 Top 50.
Ben Nicky and KI/KI bring a new generation into the ranking
Two of the most interesting entries appear much further down the ranking.
Ben Nicky enters at No. 66, while KI/KI debuts at No. 100. Their arrival matters beyond the positions themselves. Neither represents the traditional melodic or uplifting definition that dominated the TranceAttack Top 100 coverage ten years ago.
Instead, both represent a wider movement towards harder, faster club music in which Trance, Hard Trance, Acid and Techno increasingly overlap.
Maddix at No. 52 and Marlon Hoffstadt at No. 97 reinforce the same point. The genre boundaries are becoming less useful as rigid boxes — but the influence of Trance itself is becoming increasingly difficult to miss.
What counts as Trance in 2026?
This is where simply declaring that the Top 100 contains “13 Trance DJs” becomes problematic.
Historically, TranceAttack used a comparatively narrow definition. The annual articles concentrated on artists whose identity was directly associated with the Trance scene. That is why artists such as Armin van Buuren, Above & Beyond, Paul van Dyk, Ferry Corsten, ATB, Aly & Fila or Andrew Rayel formed the core of the earlier comparisons.
Applying that same logic in 2026 gives us seven Core Trance acts.
But the musical landscape around them has changed dramatically.
Tiësto has again embraced his Trance history, W&W continue to maintain their connection to the genre, Maddix sits at the increasingly fluid intersection between Techno and Trance, Ben Nicky connects Trance with Hard Dance, while artists such as Marlon Hoffstadt and KI/KI have brought ’90s Trance, Hard Trance and Acid aesthetics to a new club generation.
So perhaps the more meaningful conclusion is not that Trance suddenly has 13 DJs in the Top 100.
It is that Trance has become bigger than the traditional group of artists that once defined its presence in the ranking.
A decade of Trance in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs: 2016–2026
When TranceAttack covered the results in 2016, the mood was notably pessimistic. The article pointed to a declining representation of Trance despite a healthy scene, with Armin van Buuren the only Trance name inside the Top Five and established artists scattered much further down the ranking.
Two years later, 2018 produced one of the strongest results of the period with 12 Trance artists in the Top 100. But that number collapsed to only six in 2019.
The recovery was temporary but noticeable: seven artists appeared in 2020 and ten in 2021. In 2022 that number fell back to six, where it remained in 2023. Reconstructing 2024 and 2025 according to the same Core Trance logic gives seven artists in each year. In other words, the traditional Trance presence has remained relatively stable through the middle of the decade.
What has changed is who exists around that core. In 2016, we were asking why so many established Trance stars were disappearing from the ranking.
In 2026, the more interesting question may be the opposite: How far has the sound of Trance spread beyond the artists traditionally labelled as Trance DJs?
TranceAttack verdict
The DJ Mag Top 100 DJs remains a popularity poll, not a measurement of musical quality — something we already pointed out when we began covering it a decade ago.
But as a snapshot of audience visibility, 2026 is particularly revealing.
The traditional Trance guard is under pressure. Armin van Buuren remains its clear leader, Giuseppe Ottaviani is moving upwards and Paul van Dyk continues to demonstrate extraordinary longevity. At the same time, Above & Beyond and Vini Vici suffer two of the year’s biggest falls among Trance artists.
Yet there is another side to the story.
Ben Nicky and KI/KI enter the poll. Maddix continues his rise. Tiësto’s renewed relationship with Trance has become impossible to overlook. And sounds that would once have been described explicitly as Trance are now moving through Techno, Hard Dance and a new generation of club music.
Ten years after our first look at Trance in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs, the number of traditional Trance names may not have exploded — but the genre’s influence has travelled much further.
And perhaps that is the most interesting result of all.
