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What music shook you to your very foundations this year? We’re in the closing days of 2009, and Inthemix.com.au thought it was the perfect time to reflect on some of the finest music that reached our iPods over other the past 12 months, and to highlight which albums and compilations really shook things up and made an impact.

1. Various Artists - Balance 014, mixed by Joris Voorn

What’s even more amazing than the 100+ tracks that were digitally crammed onto this double CD, is the fact it all sounds so coherent. Truly groundbreaking, the bar has been raised and ‘Balance 014’ slides in as one of the greatest mix CDs of all time. Let’s hear a round of applause for Mr Voorn!

2. Moderat – Moderat

Modeselektor and Apparat team up for the year’s most exciting dance union, and make ridiculously good music. “A sublime and diverse album… an enveloping collection of moments of melody and beauty, perfect listening for sunny Sunday reflection.”

3. Deadmau5 - For Lack of a Better Name

Packed full of dancefloor weapons, Mr Mau dashed any remaining criticism that he’s formulaic in one fell swoop with ‘For Lack of a Better Name’, further cementing himself as one of electronic music’s most elite. Accessible, but utterly explosive.

4. Way Out West - We Love Machine

Nick Warren’s and Jodi Wisternoff’s love affair with analogue synths (which they partnered up with some hi-tech machinery), the result was so lush, detailed and gorgeous that it was like this machine truly was alive. Stunning.

5. Phoenix - Wolgang Amadeus Phoenix

Again calling on fellow Frenchies Cassius for help on production duties, Phoenix delivered a synth-heavy, melodic and beautifully cohesive album that surpassed all expectations. Nothing short of an indie-dance masterpiece.

6. DJ Hell – Teufelswerk

A double-album opus that covered both the moody soundscapes of ‘Day’ and the sweaty 3am shenanigans of ‘Night’, it impressed The Guardian enough that they hailed it as “one of the most ambitious and cogent dance music albums of, well, all time.” And they weren’t kidding. 

7. Various Artists - Toolroom Knights 2.0, mixed by Mark Knight

Like the Toolroom label itself, this release smoothly captured nearly all sides of house music in a united front - soul, funk, electro, progressive and techno. Hear ye, hear ye - Mark Knight and his Toolroom crew are ELITE.

8. Tiga – Ciao

The public’s interest in electro house has well and truly waned, but Canadian pinup Tiga showed with ‘Ciao’ that he’s well and truly got staying power. The perfect balance between underground electronic glitch and mainstream pop, it showed this boy is here for good.

9. Various Artists - Toronto '09, mixed by Marcus Schulz

While the big-room side of trance might have disappointed in 2009, there were plenty of tasty treats if you went digging in the underground, and Marcus Schulz captured this perfectly with his flawless ‘Toronto ‘09’.

10. Calvin Harris - Ready For The Weekend

While The Guardian notoriously wrote it off (much to Calvin’s online fury), ‘Ready For The Weekend’ was actually a supremely clever and catchy slice of dance-pop. Whether you love or hate Calvin, ya gotta respect him.

11. The Bloody Beetroots – Romborama

Those crazy Italians created mass meltdowns wherever they went this year. While their debut album had as much noise as you’d expect, it was also a surprisingly polished and ‘mature’ piece of work (ummm wow... can’t believe we just said that).

12. Tydi - Look Closer

Queensland’s golden boy of trance and progressive had a massive 12 months, playing mainstage at Trance Energy and retaining the Sony inthemix50 crown. But the cohesive piece of music that was ‘Look Closer’ was perhaps his biggest achievement. 

13. La Roux - La Roux

So you love your pop music? Well there’s no need to be ashamed anymore, with La Roux leading the resurgence in ‘credible’ pop-dance this year with a debut album simply brimming over with hits. Or maybe it was just that duckbill haircut… 

14. Various Artists - Anjunabeats vol. 7, mixed by Above & Beyond

The trance scene lost a little bit of steam after a storming 2008, but you wouldn’t know it listening to this superb collection from the Anjunabeats stable. In 2009, Above & Beyond were the saviors of uplifting trance.

15. Martyn - Great Lengths

Easily one of the most successful breakthrough producers of 2009. “Bridging the gap between dubstep, tech, minimal, and leftfield electronica, Dutchman Martyn’s debut LP is a dense and hypnotic ride.” 

16. Various Artists - Against The Grain, mixed by Krafty Kuts

While breakbeat kept its head down in the underground during 2009, scene stalwart Krafty Kuts threatened to bust it back into the dance mainstream when he unleashed his personal collection of breaks ‘rerubs’. Devastating. 

17. Harmonic 313 - When Machines Exceed Human Intelligence

Mark Pritchard’s futuristic take on dubstep and glitched-out beats. “If interesting and futuristic beats are your thing you don’t have to wait until the machines become self-aware… as Pritchard is creating for us humans now.” 

18. Major Lazer - Guns Don't Kill People, Lazers Do

When Switch and Diplo hooked up to do dancehall, a lot of us thought it’d just be a cute little oddity, but how wrong we were as the album was ubiquitous in 2009. It was all ‘Pon De Floor’ and daggering galore. 

19. Claude VonStroke - Bird Brain

The San Francisco favourite returned this year with his second album that saw him continuing to pursue his trademark ‘quirky techno’ sound – but refining and perfecting it to the nth degree. Pretty much a perfectly realised piece of work.

20. Jamie Lloyd - Beware Of The Light

Loved for his ability to bring a soulful edge to his techno, ‘Beware of the Light’ showcases Lloyd’s ability to bring strong songwriting and vocal performances together with leftfield electronic music. A Future Classic win.