By: Anand Harsh

The BPM arms race continues to escalate. Just like last summer's festival stages were dominated by the resurgence of house music, I'm predicting 2015 to be the full-scale return of drum & bass to main stages around the world. Producers keep cranking the tempo higher and higher, and after a certain point, all those wild, energetic sounds of the mid-90's will suddenly be back.

Whether you're an old-school junglist or part of the new crop of D&B fans, 2014 had a lot to offer. It's not just the old standbys producing the same tired record over and over, again. There was a lot of fresh blood on this list, and it seems that the youth movement in electronic music is felt even more acutely in the drum and bass arena simply because it's such a vintage sound ripe for exploration.

While the UK still dominates the scene and this list, our fans helped us pick a wide array of artists from all over the world. Some are legends of D&B, others are bright young newcomers. The main thing these artists have in common is they absolutely killed it in 2014.

10. State of Mind - Helios

A bonus download from their Eat The Rich EP, "Helios" is an addictive tune from New Zealand dnb duo State of Mind, who celebrated their 10th anniversary in 2014. Here's to ten more mind-warping years!

9. SIGMA - Nobody to Love

Using shiny vocals and piano stabs you'd ordinarily find in a house tune, London duo SIGMA crafted an inventive pop & bass anthem that's taking the genre into the next stage of evolution.

8. Rudimental - Waiting All Night (Rene LaVice Remix)

The rest of the remixes for Rudimental's massive hit "Waiting All Night" came out in 2013, but the set wasn't complete. At least not until Toronto's Rene LaVice got his hands on the song, and created this heavy, heavy, HEAVY monster.