#1Paul van Dyk — “For an Angel”
MFS / Deviant Records·1998·Uplifting Trance
The 1998 single is an early uplifting record. Every element of the modern 138 BPM template — driving four-on-the-floor, soaring lead, breakdown built around emotional release — is present in finished form. The record other producers learn the genre from.
#2System F (Ferry Corsten) — “Out of the Blue”
Tsunami Records·1999·Uplifting Trance
The 1999 anthem that defined late-90s peak-time uplifting. The lead melody is a widely-quoted melody at this point, and the original mix still detonates rooms in 2026.
#3Push (M.I.K.E.) — “Universal Nation”
Bonzai Records·1998·Hard Uplifting
Mike Dierickx's 1998 anthem is the harder-uplifting cornerstone of the late-90s Belgian scene. The buzzing supersaw lead and the unapologetic peak-time energy define what "uplifting with attitude" sounds like.
#4ATB — “9 PM (Till I Come)”
Kontor Records·1998·Uplifting Trance
The signature filter-swept melody is one of the most recognisable hooks in dance music. The track that put trance on European pop charts and proved 138 BPM uplifting could be a #1 single in any market.
#5Veracocha — “Carte Blanche”
Positiva·1999·Uplifting Trance
Ferry Corsten and Vincent de Moor's collaboration produced the strings-pad breakdown that defined a generation of uplifting production. One of the most-sampled trance moments in history.
#6Gouryella — “Gouryella”
Tsunami Records·1999·Uplifting Trance
The Ferry Corsten / Tiësto collaboration delivered the third 1999 uplifting anthem alongside "Out of the Blue" and "Carte Blanche." The lead melody is one of trance's most-quoted.
#7Binary Finary — “1998”
Positiva·1998·Uplifting Trance
The signature lead is structurally simple and emotionally enormous — a well-known example of how restraint outperforms complexity in uplifting. Recognised within four bars by anyone of a certain age.
#8Three Drives on a Vinyl — “Greece 2000”
Massive Drive Recordings·1997·Uplifting Trance
The 1997 original is one of the late-90s' purest melodic anthems. The Mediterranean-coloured lead became one of trance's most-covered melodies, with the 2026 Max Styler re-work reactivating it for the modern festival mainstage.
#9Cosmic Gate — “Exploration of Space”
EQ Recordings·1999·Uplifting Trance
The duo's 1999 breakthrough defined the German tech-trance crossover that fed into the early-2000s peak-time scene. The combination of melodic accessibility and rhythmic drive launched the duo's entire career.
#10Sean Tyas — “Lift”
Tytanium Recordings·2007·Tech Uplifting
The 2007 single set a new bar for what tech-uplifting trance could sound like — the punchy bass, synthesised hooks, and reference-level mixdown were widely championed by Armin van Buuren and quickly became an ASOT staple.
#11John O'Callaghan feat. Audrey Gallagher — “Big Sky”
WAO138?!·2007·Vocal Uplifting
Voted ASOT Tune of the Year by listener poll, IDMA-nominated, and still played at peak-time sets nearly twenty years later. The Audrey Gallagher vocal carries the kind of weight that turns peak-time uplifting into something approaching pop catharsis.
#12Aly & Fila feat. Plumb — “Somebody Loves You”
FSOE Recordings·2014·Vocal Uplifting
The most disciplined vocal-uplifting record FSOE has produced. Plumb's vocal sits on top of one of the cleanest 138 BPM arrangements of the era — frequently cited by the harder, faster wing of vocal trance.
#13Gareth Emery & Christina Novelli — “Concrete Angel”
Garuda Music·2014·Vocal Uplifting
Over 70 million YouTube views and 44 million Spotify streams. The Christina Novelli vocal is co-write level, not feature level — the record DJs across the genre still close peak-time sets with a decade later.
#14Markus Schulz pres. Dakota — “Sin City”
Coldharbour Recordings·2007·Tech Uplifting
The Dakota alias produced one of the late-2000s' most-played peak-time records. The dark-tinged melodic content and relentless rhythmic forward motion became templates for the harder Coldharbour aesthetic.
#15Daniel Kandi — “Make Me Believe”
Anjunabeats·2008·Uplifting Trance
One of the era's most emotionally direct uplifting records. The arrangement is straightforward, the lead is unforgettable, the breakdown does its work without ornamentation. The clean expression of late-2000s Anjuna uplifting at its purest.
#16Tiësto — “Lethal Industry”
Black Hole Recordings·2002·Uplifting Trance
The 2002 single sits in the middle of Tiësto's defining trance era. A peak-time festival weapon that demonstrated his ability to deliver direct dancefloor impact alongside his more cinematic work.
#17Lange feat. Skye — “Drifting Away”
Lange Recordings·2002·Vocal Uplifting
Stuart Langelaan's 2002 vocal collaboration is one of the most enduring vocal-uplifting records of the early 2000s. The arrangement is generous and the production has aged better than most of its peers.
#18Aly & Fila — “Eye of Horus”
FSOE Recordings·2008·Uplifting Trance
The Egyptian duo's 2008 single anchors the FSOE editorial direction at its founding period. The Egyptian-tonal harmonic content set Aly & Fila apart from European producers and gave their catalogue a distinctive identity.
#19Gareth Emery — “Sanctuary”
Garuda Music·2010·Uplifting Trance
The 2010 instrumental is one of Emery's most-played records. The breakdown deploys patient pad-led architecture before the lead enters in full force — frequently cited by late-decade Garuda-era uplifting production.
#20Andy Moor pres. Whiteroom — “The White Room”
AVA Recordings·2008·Uplifting Trance
Moor's 2008 instrumental is one of the era's most technically refined uplifting records. The breakdown is built around a single sustained chord change that lands harder than most peak-time anthems' full drops.
#21Andrew Rayel feat. Christian Burns — “Miracles”
Armada Music·2014·Vocal Uplifting
The 2014 vocal collaboration produced one of the most-played peak-time records of the mid-2010s. Andrew Rayel's production is symphonic-scale, and Burns' vocal carries the genre's emotional vocabulary with unusual conviction.
#22Bryan Kearney — “Goodbye”
Subculture·2013·Tech Uplifting
Kearney's 2013 anthem became the defining record of the harder Subculture / 138 BPM tradition that has run through to the modern Pure Trance NEON sub-imprint. Peak-time tech-uplifting at its purest.
#23Standerwick & HALIENE — “FOMO”
Black Hole Recordings·2018·Vocal Uplifting
The 2018 collaboration consolidated HALIENE's status as the defining female voice of late-2010s emotional uplifting. The Standerwick production is melodic-bass-adjacent without losing the 138 BPM uplifting form — exactly the late-2010s evolution the subgenre needed.
#24Ferry Corsten — “Punk”
Tsunami Records·2002·Tech Uplifting
The 2002 single pushed Corsten into the harder, more rhythmic territory that the post-Out-of-the-Blue era allowed. The driving bassline and the synthesised lead aggressively reset what mainstream uplifting could sound like at peak time.
#25Above & Beyond feat. Richard Bedford — “Sun & Moon”
Anjunabeats·2011·Vocal Uplifting
The 2011 vocal record closes this list at #25 to underscore that vocal-led uplifting and instrumental peak-time uplifting belong on the same canvas. The breakdown is one of the genre's most frequently cited "this is why I love trance" moments.