Music
Plus One
The 11 best Calvin Harris tracks
Picking the best tracks from the superstar DJ ahead of his summer 2026 dates at Creamfields and the Isle of Wight festival
When it comes to EDM, there is one name that instantly springs to mind: Calvin Harris. The Grammy-nominated producer, DJ and songwriter is behind many of the biggest club and festival bangers of the past 18 years.
Having worked with the world’s biggest popstars – including Rihanna, Frank Ocean, Sam Smith, Pharrell, Dua Lipa and Ellie Goulding – the Scotsman has broken world records, frequently dominated the charts, and is one of the most viewed artists on YouTube.
With such a CV, we could have filled this list twice over, but here are 11 of his best tracks.
11. ‘Smoke The Pain Away’
(single, 2025)
It’s rare for an artist of Harris’ level to be brave enough to try a totally different musical route so far into their career, but that’s exactly what makes this country-EDM fusion work so well. While the intriguing mix of acoustic guitar, harmonica, house drums and downbeat vocals sounds a little sombre at first, it all comes together in subtly upbeat fashion. Channeling shades of Avicii’s iconic ‘Wake Me Up’, it’s also his first song since 2018 to feature his own voice.
10. ‘Slide’ (Feat. Frank Ocean & Migos)
(Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1, 2017)
Swapping big-room beats for funk, Harris returned – alongside US rap group Migos and a newly-independent Frank Ocean – with the laid-back grooves of ‘Slide’. Having performed every instrument, the runaway hit from his fifth album ‘Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1’, alongside the undeniably catchy ‘Feels’, became 2017’s summer anthem.
9. ‘Pray To God’ (Feat. HAIM)
(Motion, 2015)
Don’t ask, don’t get. That’s certainly the message of this indie-EDM banger which, somewhere between Stevie Nicks’ Edge of Seventeen and EDM Mecca Tomorrowland, came to life after bass face queen Este Haim reached out to Harris. On paper, mixing the two disparate genres makes for an unusual prospect but, in the hands of HAIM and Harris – the latter who enjoyed being able to work on something that the band had created – their chugging guitar riffs reach a cathartic high.
8. ‘Acceptable In The 80s’
(I Created Disco, 2007)
Having arrived on the scene in the late 2000s, this instantly infectious slice of electro-pop gave Harris his first top 10 chart hit. Featuring his own vocals, his nostalgia-fuelled debut single became a highlight of his extremely fun debut album I Created Disco (shoutout to top three song ‘The Girls’ too). The ‘Acceptable…’ music video, meanwhile, is just as memorable thanks to the big hair, bright colours and a strange scene where scientists dissect an otter.
7. ‘I’m Not Alone’
(Ready For The Weekend, 2009)
Harris’ second album, Ready For The Weekend, was stacked with huge singles: ‘You Used to Hold Me’, ‘Flashback’ and the title track among them. But it’s the lead single from it, ‘I’m Not Alone’, that had the biggest impact: landing him his first solo No.1, it knocked Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face’ off the throne. The track’s euphoric rave vibes continue to stand the test of time too – a 2025 UK Garage remix by rising producer MPH has clocked up more than 10 million streams in just over two months.
6. ‘One Kiss’ (with Dua Lipa)
(96 Months, 2018)
Thank god Dua Lipa was keeping an eye on her socials, otherwise the world wouldn’t have been gifted this slice of pop-house perfection. Having met at a party years prior and been a fan of her work since (who isn’t?) Harris slid into her Twitter DMs to send her a half-finished song that he thought she would be perfect on. Soon after, they worked on it together at his Los Angeles home and the sultry hit went on to not only bag a BRIT Award but remain atop the UK singles chart for a massive eight weeks. It was also the biggest-selling song of 2018.
5. ‘Miracle’ (with Ellie Goulding)
(96 Months, 2023)
Arguably the catalyst to the recent mainstream trance revival, Harris teamed up with the angelically voiced Goulding for a third time on ‘Miracle’. After teasing her haunting acapella vocal via a TikTok filmed inside a church, the gradually-building fusion of ‘90s techno, Eurodance, trance and breakbeats soared to the top of the chart. Nostalgic rave euphoria at its best, ‘Miracle’ remained at the summit for eight weeks.
4. ‘This Is What You Came For’ (Feat. Rihanna)
(96 Months, 2016)
Co-written with his former girlfriend Taylor Swift, who initially used a pseudonym (Nils Sjöberg) as she did not want their relationship to overshadow the song’s success, Harris’ second team up with Rihanna peaked at No.2 in the UK Top 40. Thanks to its cinematic production and emotional lyrics, the EDM belter continues to dominate party playlists all around the world almost a decade later.
3. ‘Sweet Nothing’ (Feat. Florence Welch)
(18 Months, 2012)
With Florence Welch’s ethereal yet anthemic vocal driving this dance banger forward to a euphoric chorus, ‘Sweet Nothing’ not only gave Harris another No.1 single but a Grammy Award nomination too. Two huge achievements considering that Harris – who was owed a favour after he remixed the equally massive ‘Spectrum (Say My Name)’ – thought Welch was an unattainable artist to reach for. So much so that when he found out she was keen to be involved, he had to scramble to give her a track to record the vocals on!
2. ‘I Need Your Love’ (Feat. Ellie Goulding)
(18 Months, 2012)
There’s no question that Ellie Goulding and Calvin Harris are a match made in music heaven. Having released four collaborative songs (‘Outside’ almost made this list too) everything they work on turns to gold, including ‘I Need Your Love’. The stadium-sized EDM love song, which was almost entirely scrapped by the pair, is undeniable proof – it made Harris the first artist in UK chart history to achieve eight top-10 entries from one album.
1. ‘We Found Love’
(18 Months, 2011)
Originally offered to both Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger and former X Factor star Leona Lewis, this timeless EDM-pop party anthem was snapped up by Rihanna who was keen to show a dancier side of her sound. After Harris – who wrote and produced ‘We Found Love’ – joined the Barbadian star on her Last Girl On Earth tour in 2011, the instantly-recognisable hit became the lead single of her album Talk That Talk. The global smash topped charts in 25 countries and is now recognised as one of the best-selling singles of all time.
