# The 9 Best Electro Tracks of All Time

Funk played by a Roland TR-808 instead of a band, invented in New York in 1982 when Kraftwerk records reached Bronx block parties. Robotic, hard-panned and built for cardboard on pavement.

- **Origin:** New York City, 1982
- **Tempo:** 110–130 BPM
- **Also known as:** electro-funk, electro funk, breakdance music, 808 music
- **Tracks:** 9
- **Updated:** 2026-08-29
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/genre/electro/

## The list

### 1. [Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force](https://waxonia.com/artist/afrika-bambaataa-and-the-soulsonic-force/) — [Planet Rock](https://waxonia.com/track/afrika-bambaataa-and-the-soulsonic-force--planet-rock/)

*1982 · Tommy Boy*

Two Kraftwerk records, an 808 and a Bronx sound system. The single most generative record in this entire corpus: techno, electro, Miami bass and most of what followed all point back at it.

Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Afrika%20Bambaataa%20%26%20The%20Soulsonic%20Force%20Planet%20Rock) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=SqS8X-5aIns)

### 2. [Kraftwerk](https://waxonia.com/artist/kraftwerk/) — [Numbers](https://waxonia.com/track/kraftwerk--numbers/)

*1981 · Kling Klang*

Düsseldorf makes a rhythm track with no melody and no warmth, and American teenagers hear the funkiest thing on the radio. Nobody involved predicted this and everybody benefited.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Kraftwerk%20Numbers) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=jSsj3fTHtps)

### 3. [Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five](https://waxonia.com/artist/grandmaster-flash-and-the-furious-five/) — [The Message](https://waxonia.com/track/grandmaster-flash-and-the-furious-five--the-message/)

*1982 · Sugar Hill*

Not electro exactly, but made on the same machines in the same year and it changed what a rap record was permitted to be about. The synth bassline is the sound of the format arriving.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Grandmaster%20Flash%20%26%20The%20Furious%20Five%20The%20Message) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=jwo8-IUzOuc)

### 4. [Hashim](https://waxonia.com/artist/hashim/) — [Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)](https://waxonia.com/track/hashim--al-naafiysh-the-soul/)

*1983 · Cutting*

Four sounds, no vocal, and an unshakeable riff. The most efficient record on this list, and the one every subsequent electro producer has quietly measured themselves against.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Hashim%20Al-Naafiysh%20(The%20Soul)) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=i46sF1PcqL8)

### 5. [Planet Patrol](https://waxonia.com/artist/planet-patrol/) — [Play at Your Own Risk](https://waxonia.com/track/planet-patrol--play-at-your-own-risk/)

*1982 · Tommy Boy*

Vocoded doo-wop harmony over Arthur Baker's drum programming. The human and the machine in open negotiation, which is the genre's central subject whether it admits it or not.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Planet%20Patrol%20Play%20at%20Your%20Own%20Risk) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=w13OJJkWyo0)

### 6. [Herbie Hancock](https://waxonia.com/artist/herbie-hancock/) — [Rockit](https://waxonia.com/track/herbie-hancock--rockit/)

*1983 · Columbia*

A jazz pianist wins a Grammy for a record whose lead instrument is Grand Mixer DXT's hands on a turntable. Scratching entered the mainstream through this door.

Also on: [Twice Over](https://waxonia.com/theme/twice-over/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Herbie%20Hancock%20Rockit) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=GHhD4PD75zY)

### 7. [The Egyptian Lover](https://waxonia.com/artist/the-egyptian-lover/) — [Egypt, Egypt](https://waxonia.com/track/the-egyptian-lover--egypt-egypt/)

*1984 · Egyptian Empire*

Los Angeles takes the template and makes it sleazier and more spacious. The 808 handclap on this record is the one every West Coast producer spent the next decade chasing.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Egyptian%20Lover%20Egypt%2C%20Egypt) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3vZTk7603U)

### 8. [Newcleus](https://waxonia.com/artist/newcleus/) — [Jam On It](https://waxonia.com/track/newcleus--jam-on-it/)

*1984 · Sunnyview*

Sped-up chipmunk vocals and a bassline of total seriousness. Ridiculous and indestructible, and still the record that clears the most reluctant floor.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Newcleus%20Jam%20On%20It) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1Qdcl4ja1Y)

### 9. [Strafe](https://waxonia.com/artist/strafe/) — [Set It Off](https://waxonia.com/track/strafe--set-it-off/)

*1984 · Jus Born*

The bridge to Chicago: a New York electro record that Ron Hardy and Frankie Knuckles played as though it were house, because functionally it already was.

Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — In the Room](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-chicago-in-the-room/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Strafe%20Set%20It%20Off) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=z8wokfoyHf4)

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