# Johann Sebastian Bach — Every Record We Rank

Johann Sebastian Bach appears 4 times in our Baroque and Laurent Garnier — A Life in Twenty-One Records lists, placing as high as No. 1. Hand-curated, with a reason for every pick.

- **Ranked entries:** 4
- **Appears on:** Baroque and Laurent Garnier — A Life in Twenty-One Records
- **Years:** 1721–1749
- **Highest placing:** No. 1 in Baroque
- **Updated:** 2026-08-30
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/artist/johann-sebastian-bach/

## Appears on

### [Goldberg Variations](https://waxonia.com/track/johann-sebastian-bach--goldberg-variations/)

*1741 · No. 1 in [Baroque](https://waxonia.com/genre/baroque/)*

Thirty variations over a bass line, returning at the end to the aria unchanged. Glenn Gould recorded it twice, at opposite tempos, twenty-six years apart, and both are right.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Johann%20Sebastian%20Bach%20Goldberg%20Variations) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah392lnFHxM)

### [Mass in B minor](https://waxonia.com/track/johann-sebastian-bach--mass-in-b-minor/)

*1749 · No. 2 in [Baroque](https://waxonia.com/genre/baroque/)*

Assembled at the end of his life from music written across four decades, for a liturgy his own church did not use. The largest single achievement in Western music, put together from parts.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Johann%20Sebastian%20Bach%20Mass%20in%20B%20minor) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=3FLbiDrn8IE)

### [Brandenburg Concerto No. 3](https://waxonia.com/track/johann-sebastian-bach--brandenburg-concerto-no-3/)

*1721 · No. 8 in [Baroque](https://waxonia.com/genre/baroque/)*

Nine string players, no soloist, and every one of them busy. Bach sent the set to a margrave who appears never to have had them played, which is the most Bach fact available.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Johann%20Sebastian%20Bach%20Brandenburg%20Concerto%20No.%203) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=pdsyNwUoON0)

### [Brandenburg Concerto No. 5](https://waxonia.com/track/johann-sebastian-bach--brandenburg-concerto-no-5/)

*1721 · Picked by [Laurent Garnier — A Life in Twenty-One Records](https://waxonia.com/selection/laurent-garnier-a-life-in-records/)*

The bridge to Nina Simone, and why it is here at the end. Listen to Bach and you hear the exact classical piano she is playing inside her jazz records — which is the whole argument: it is all one music.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Johann%20Sebastian%20Bach%20Brandenburg%20Concerto%20No.%205) · [Search YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/search?q=Johann%20Sebastian%20Bach%20Brandenburg%20Concerto%20No.%205)

---

Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.