Mixtapes

Los Angeles Mixtapes

DJ mixes and mixtapes from one of the most vital and distinctive regional dance music scenes in America, digitized and restored from original cassette tape and CD recordings.

403 mixes

House / Deep House Mixtapes

House and deep house mixes from the 90s and early 2000s, restored from the original cassettes. The collection leans West Coast but pulls from New York and Chicago too.

349 mixes

San Francisco Bay Area Mixtapes

DJ mixes and mixtapes from one of America's most celebrated regional dance music scenes, San Francisco, digitized and restored from original cassette tape and CD recordings.

284 mixes

Drum & Bass / Jungle Mixtapes

Drum & bass and jungle mixes from the 90s and early 2000s, restored from the original cassettes. UK promo tapes, mixes from Bukem, Hype, and others from that era. West Coast, Midwest, and East Coast tapes as well. Spanning early ragga jungle through techstep and neurofunk.

262 mixes

1997 Mixtapes

1997 sits at the peak of the golden era for American dance music on virtually every front. The house and techno scenes in Chicago, Detroit, and New York were producing some of their most sophisticated work. Trance was growing rapidly as a live and DJ format. And across the country, a generation of American DJs had fully absorbed their influences and were developing sounds that were entirely their own. These tapes are the best document of what those scenes sounded like from the inside.

188 mixes

1996 Mixtapes

By 1996, American dance music scenes had fully come into their own. New York's house and garage scene was world-class. Detroit techno was influencing producers globally while remaining deeply rooted at home. The West Coast had developed a hard trance and house sound that was distinctly American. And in cities across the country, weekly club nights and monthly raves were building loyal local communities around cassette tapes, white labels, and word of mouth.

178 mixes

1998 Mixtapes

By 1998, American dance music was navigating a defining tension: the underground scenes that had built rave culture were thriving, while larger commercial events and festival culture were beginning to pull the mainstream in a different direction. House and techno remained powerful underground forces in their home cities, trance was drawing bigger and bigger crowds, and the mix tape circuit continued to document what was happening at ground level, away from the hype.

176 mixes

1994 Mixtapes

By 1994, American rave culture was maturing into something more defined. Regional scenes had developed their own identities - the hard trance and techno of the Midwest, the deep house of New York and Chicago, the harder sounds coming out of Los Angeles and the West Coast. Promoters, labels, and DJ crews were becoming more established, but the cassette tape circuit remained the lifeblood of how music and mixes actually circulated between scenes.

153 mixes

1995 Mixtapes

1995 marked a high point for the American underground. The rave scene was large enough to have real infrastructure - dedicated promoters, independent labels, record pools, and a thriving tape trading culture - but still underground enough to feel like a genuine counterculture. House, techno, trance, and breakbeat were all developing distinct American flavors, and the DJ mix cassette was still the primary way those sounds spread from city to city.

138 mixes

Chicago Mixtapes

DJ mixes and mixtapes from the city where house music was born - digitized and restored from original cassette tape and CD recordings.

134 mixes

1999 Mixtapes

The final year of the decade felt like both a peak and a farewell. American rave culture was bigger than it had ever been, with massive events drawing tens of thousands and homegrown DJs competing on the world stage. But early MP3 sites and online forums were already hinting at how differently music would be shared in the decade ahead. The cassette tape mix was still the dominant format for underground culture - and these recordings are among the last great examples of that tradition.

131 mixes

Techno Mixtapes

Techno mixes from the 90s and early 2000s, restored from the original cassettes. Mostly US tapes - Jeff Mills, Frankie Bones, Hyperactive, Nigel Richards, and others from that era and some UK tapes as well.

103 mixes

Trance Mixtapes

Trance DJ mixes from the 1990s and early 2000s, restored from original cassette tapes, mix CDs, and promo recordings. Mostly US tapes - local DJs like Mars and Mystre alongside bigger names from that era. Spanning early progressive trance through the anthem-driven sound of the late 90s. Restored from analog and digital sources.

96 mixes

1993 Mixtapes

1993 was the year the American rave scene exploded in scale. Massive outdoor events and warehouse parties were drawing thousands across California, the Midwest, and the East Coast. House music was evolving in every direction - deep, tribal, progressive - while Detroit techno was influencing a new generation of producers and DJs. The mix tape was essential currency in every local scene, and these recordings are the primary document of what that actually sounded like.

91 mixes

Breakbeat / Electro Mixtapes

Breakbeat and electro DJ mixes from the 1990s and early 2000s, digitized and restored from original cassette tapes and promo recordings.

80 mixes

2000 Mixtapes

The turn of the millennium was a complicated moment for American dance music. The rave scene had never been larger or more commercially visible - and it had never faced more legal pressure, with local and federal crackdowns targeting promoters and venues across the country. Through it all, the underground persisted. House, techno, and trance scenes continued to thrive in clubs and warehouse spaces, and the mix tape and mix CD circuit remained the connective tissue holding it all together.

64 mixes

New York Mixtapes

DJ mixes and mixtapes from the city where American dance music has always had its deepest roots - digitized and restored from original cassette tape and CD recordings.

62 mixes

Personal Favorites

The mixes I recommend when someone asks about my favorites. If you're new to the channel, this is a good place to start. If you've been here a while, consider this a personal recommendation from one music obsessive to another.

56 mixes

R.A.W. Mixtapes

DJ and Producer R.A.W. (aka 6blocc) is a veteran of the Los Angeles Jungle scene beginning in 1992. This playlist represents all of the mixtapes I have from him, arranged in roughly chronological order.

53 mixes

Frankie Bones Mixtapes

A collection of mixes from the man widely credited as the godfather of American rave culture - a Brooklyn native whose impact on the US underground is simply without equal.

47 mixes

Ambient / Chill Out Mixtapes

Ambient, downtempo, and chill out DJ mixes from the 1990s and early 2000s, restored from original cassette tapes and CD recordings. Sourced from rare promo tapes and mix CDs. For fans of Mixmaster Morris, The Orb, and Pete Namlook.

46 mixes

1992 Mixtapes

By 1992, the American rave scene had moved from coastal curiosity to a genuine national underground movement. Chicago house and Detroit techno were the twin engines driving club culture, while cities like New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Chicago were developing distinct local sounds and scenes. The cassette tape circuit was how mixes traveled - DJs dubbing sets for friends, record shops stocking local mix tapes, and crews sharing recordings across state lines.

45 mixes

Hardcore Mixtapes

Hardcore DJ mixes from the early-to-mid 1990s, restored from original cassette tapes. Sourced from promo cassettes that documented the rave scene at its most raw. All recordings cleaned up and remastered from analog sources.

40 mixes

Philadelphia Mixtapes

DJ mixes and mixtapes from one of the most creatively potent cities in the American underground dance music scene, digitized and restored from original cassette tape and CD recordings.

36 mixes

2001 Mixtapes

By 2001, the first American rave era was drawing to a close. The RAVE Act was being drafted in Washington. Legendary venues and promoters were shutting down under legal and financial pressure. But the music kept moving - house and techno scenes in Chicago, Detroit, and New York remained vital, and a new generation of DJs and producers was already laying the groundwork for what came next. These mixes document the end of one chapter and the persistence of the culture that survived it.

25 mixes

Florida Mixtapes

DJ mixes and mixtapes from one of the most wildly creative and underappreciated regional scenes in American dance music history - spanning Tampa, Orlando, Miami, and Sarasota, digitized and restored from original cassette tape and CD recordings.

22 mixes

Goa Trance Mixtapes

Goa trance DJ mixes from the 1990s and early 2000s, restored from original cassette tapes and DAT recordings. Restored from analog sources for fans of Goa Gil, Astral Projection, Man With No Name, Etnica, and the original Goa spirit.

20 mixes

1991 Mixtapes

1991 was a foundational year for American dance music culture. The rave scene was spreading rapidly from its coastal origins in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco into cities and college towns across the country - fueled by word of mouth, flyers, and cassette tapes passed hand to hand. House and techno, born in Chicago and Detroit, were finding new audiences nationwide while the underground DJ mix circuit was thriving in clubs and at illegal warehouse parties.

20 mixes

Doc Martin Mixtapes

A collection of mixes from one of the West Coast's most enduring and respected figures in underground house music - a DJ who has been doing this longer than almost anyone, and never stopped getting better at it.

19 mixes

DJ Dan Mixtapes

A collection of mixes from one of the most beloved and influential figures in American house music, a West Coast pioneer whose tapes circulated further and hit harder than almost anyone else of his era.

17 mixes

Detroit Mixtapes

DJ mixes and mixtapes from the city that invented techno - digitized and restored from original cassette tape and CD recordings.

16 mixes

The California Project Mixtapes

Released in October 1994, The California Project is one of the most sought-after artifacts of the American rave era - a limited boxset of 16 cassette tapes featuring exclusive mixes from eight of the West Coast's defining DJs: Ron D Core, DRC, DJ Trance, Thee-O, Jon Bishop, Simply Jeff, DJ Dan, and Vitamin D.

16 mixes

Colorado Mixtapes

DJ mixes and mixtapes from one of the American underground's most passionate and self-contained regional scenes - digitized and restored from original cassette tape and CD recordings.

16 mixes

Mark Farina Mixtapes

A collection of mixes from one of the most distinctive and enduring figures in American house music, Mark Farina. Chicago-born, San Francisco-adopted, and genuinely one of a kind.

15 mixes

Dieselboy Mixtapes

Dieselboy (Damian Higgins) is the defining figure of American drum & bass - a self-taught vinyl obsessive from Pennsylvania who went from selling homemade tapes on early rave mailing lists to headlining Coachella and Bonnaroo. The first American voted into the Drum & Bass Arena Top 10 and founder of the Human Imprint label, he's spent over three decades proving that D&B isn't just a UK thing.

14 mixes

Miles Maeda Mixtapes

A collection of mixes from one of Chicago's most distinctive voices of the early 1990s underground, a DJ whose path from Hawaii to Indiana to the Chicago house scene is as unconventional as the music he made.

13 mixes

DJ Brad (Moontribe) Mixtapes

A veteran of the West Coast underground since 1992, DJ Brad is a longtime resident of Southern California's legendary Moontribe Collective, the roving full-moon desert gathering that became one of the most mythologised outdoor party series in American rave history. Born and raised in Long Beach and sharpened across warehouse raves and open-air desert dancefloors, his sets move fluidly between techno, acid house, tribal, and breaks, always with an organic, exploratory feel.

12 mixes

Ghetto House Mixtapes

Ghetto house DJ mixes from the 1990s and early 2000s, digitized and restored from original cassette and promo recordings. Rare and underarchived, these mixes are some of the most historically significant recordings on the channel. Restored from analog sources and preserved here for fans of DJ Deeon, DJ Funk, and the Trax/Dance Mania lineage.

11 mixes

Live At Pure Space (San Francisco)

A collection of mixes recorded live at "Pure Space" in San Francisco held on Thursdays at the DNA Lounge in 1994. Most of these mixes are exclusive to HD Mixtapes and have never been shared online before.

11 mixes

Texas Mixtapes

DJ mixes and mixtapes from the Lone Star State - spanning Dallas, Houston, Austin, and beyond - digitized and restored from original cassette tape and CD recordings.

11 mixes

DJ Galen (Sunset Sound System) Mixtapes

Galen is one of the Bay Area's most enduring figures in underground dance music, best known as the founder of San Francisco's legendary Sunset Sound System. Starting in 1994 with a generator, a pair of speakers, and a free Sunday party on the Berkeley waterfront, he helped build one of the West Coast's most beloved DJ communities from the ground up. His sets draw from a deep vinyl collection spanning acid house, disco, roots reggae, and beyond - always eclectic, always rooted in the moment.

10 mixes

Seattle Mixtapes

DJ mixes and mixtapes from one of the Pacific Northwest's most distinctive electronic music scenes - digitized and restored from original cassette tape and CD recordings.

9 mixes

Thomas Michael Mixtapes

A collection of mixes from one of the West Coast underground trance scene's most distinctive voices. Originally based in San Francisco, Thomas Michael was active from the mid-1990s through the early 2000s - known early on as "American Thomas" to distinguish himself from Thomas of SF's legendary Wicked crew, before settling into "Thomas Michael SF" and eventually simply Thomas Michael.

9 mixes

Fever: Time To Get Ill Mixtapes

A series of mixtapes released by the club night FEVER in Baltimore Maryland. Highlighting the two resident DJs, Scott Henry and Charles Feelgood.

6 mixes

The Jungle Book 2 (Chapters 1 - 12)

The Jungle Book 2 was a six tape drum n bass set released in 1998 by Sole Unlimited. It featured 12 DJs from the midwest drum n bass scene.

6 mixes

Thee-O - Cybersex Mixtape Series

Los Angeles DJ Thee-O's Cybersex series released over the course of five years from 1993 - 1998.

5 mixes

Mr. Buzz - Acid Hits Series

Mr. Buzz was an underground DJ in Los Angeles in the early 1990s. He released a series of mixtapes called Acid Hits that were a mix of early acid house, techno, and hardcore tunes. These tapes were passed out at parties from 1990 - 1993 or so.

5 mixes

HD Mixtapes Releases

These are the mixes I've put together myself - original compilations available for purchase at hdmixtapes.org.

2 mixes