03/20/2026

Nylon House Announces Innaugural Dance 100 List

NYLON today announced the launch of its inaugural NYLON House Dance 100 list, a new annual vertical recognizing the artists shaping the sound, culture, and future of global dance music. Leading the first-ever ranking is John Summit. He was named No. 1 DJ of 2026 and is featured as the cover star of the issue. The list marks a significant expansion of NYLON’s editorial footprint into the global dance music ecosystem.

NYLON House Dance 100 List

NYLON House’s Dance 100 list serves as a cornerstone of NYLON House, NYLON’s newly launched vertical dedicated to dance music and nightlife culture. It signals the brand’s long-term commitment to dance music as a defining cultural force. The Dance 100 list also represents NYLON House’s first major editorial vertical at scale. In addition, there will be a special print version available during Miami Music Week.

“Dance music has become one of the most influential forces in global culture, shaping everything from nightlife and fashion to how young audiences experience music,” … “NYLON has always been at the center of major cultural movements, and NYLON House is our way of building a true editorial home for the artists, communities, and scenes driving dance music forward.”

BDG CEO Bryan Goldberg

To curate the list, NYLON convened an industry-led judging panel of over sixty industry professionals. The panel spans promoters, agents, managers, label executives, venue operators, tastemakers, and media leaders from across the U.S. and around the world. Judges evaluated artists using professional judgment rather than fan voting or algorithmic rankings. Each DJ was scored on a 1-10 scale across six criteria: streaming impact, live presence, cultural influence and virality, audience engagement, artistic innovation, and professional standing.

The list showcases as a snapshot of the current moment in dance music. Therefore, the judges prioritize recent impact and sustained relevance. Judges give equal weight to creative integrity and cultural influence. Furthermore, they can also nominate underrepresented artists. This step reinforces NYLON’s goal of reflecting the full breadth of the global dance music ecosystem. It spans across genres, geographies, and career stages.