Endtroducing.....

DJ Shadow

1996

3.35

Rating

21713

Votes

Distribution

Hip Hop Electronica

Album Summary

Endtroducing..... is the debut studio album by American music producer DJ Shadow, released on September 16, 1996, by Mo' Wax. It is an instrumental hip hop work composed almost entirely of samples from vinyl records. DJ Shadow produced Endtroducing over two years, using an Akai MPC60 sampler and little other equipment. He edited and layered samples to create new tracks of varying moods and tempos. In the United Kingdom, where DJ Shadow had already established himself as a rising act, Endtroducing received praise from music journalists at the time of its release, and reached the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart. It was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry. Mo' Wax issued four singles from the album, including the chart hits "Midnight in a Perfect World" and "Stem". It took considerably longer for Endtroducing to find success in the United States. After promoting the album and returning to his hometown of Davis, California, DJ Shadow devoted his time to creating new music. During this period, interest in Endtroducing began to build among the American music press, and it peaked at number 37 on the US Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. Endtroducing was ranked highly on various lists of the best albums of 1996, and has been acclaimed by critics as one of the greatest albums of the 1990s. It is considered a landmark recording in instrumental hip hop, with DJ Shadow's sampling techniques and arrangements leaving a lasting influence. In 2020, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Endtroducing 329th on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Keywords from Reviews

Reviews

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Sep 07 2021 Author

Questions of ownership. Whose property is that drum beat, this organ, that voice? Of authorship. If I use your art for my art, do I become its creator? If not, does that tune belong to the guitar maker or the composer? Of permanence. If placing that snippet next to this one, or looping it, or giving it a beat, changes its original meaning, does art ever have a final form? A man in a room filled with vinyl, exploring every groove in minute detail, sinking deeper into his musical fever dream, the answers always a fingertip away, if he'd just.....

Jun 03 2021 Author

A load of samples expertly put together to bore you to death on a Wednesday morning. 2/5

Apr 05 2022 Author

It's sort of the epitome of what this list is all about. I would argue that it's absolutely one of the albums everyone should listen to at least once before shuffling off to the great beyond. That isn't to say you'll like it. I'm not even sure if I liked it or would bother listening again. I do know there's no album like this, and was happy to hear it. Something like a hip hop DJ trying to update jazz.

Apr 29 2021 Author

Elevator music + noise

Jun 29 2021 Author

This is a beautiful album it needs to be felt, and feel it I do.

Feb 15 2021 Author

Still do not see what people see in this album. I can appreciate the samples, but not the resulting sound, I guess.

Feb 22 2021 Author

No idea about anything about this. Let's dive in. Best Foot Forward - Classic 90s rap intro. Not really music. Building Steam with a Grain of Salt - Lovely little piano line leads into a great hook. Quotes from a guy who MIGHT be JK Simmons? This track evolves into something that sounds a lot like Blockhead The Number Song - This reminds me of a Guitar Hero spinoff game called DJ Hero. Shadow has a great knack for mixing other people's melodies, drum beats, and samples. You could draw a direct line from DJ Shadow in the mid-90s to Girl Talk in the mid-2000s. Peppy with a lot of hard kicking drums. Changeling - A rainy, dreary, ethereal piece. Eventually a melody comes in that can only be described as Cyperpunk Weather Channel. What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 4) - Jazzy AF with a nasty little bass riff. Untitled - I have to imagine that this is the stinger at the end of Side 1 on the LP (and the cassette). Just a goofy little 20 second thing. Stem/Long Stem - A long medley of melodies Mutual Slump - This one didn't make a huge impression on me Organ Donor - I think this hook was LITERALLY used by Blockhead! Why Hip Hop Sucks in '96 - Frankly, I don't think it does! Midnight in a Perfect World - This one also failed to make much of an impression on me. Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain - Chill vibes What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 1 – Blue Sky Revisit) - Maybe the best track on the album? Overall this is excellent. You can hear the artists that influenced Shadow, as well as the artists he influenced. Excellent. Excellent. Excellent!

Oct 22 2021 Author

Painful.

Sep 30 2021 Author

Already knew it well. Classic. Bit depressing to be reminded it came out 25 years ago though!

Dec 14 2023 Author

Some of the tracks are nice and chill, others are annoying af. Not my cup of tea.

Mar 19 2021 Author

What a waste of time! Not my music genre at all. Did not like a single track of that album

Nov 01 2021 Author

Absolute classic of hip-hop. I have so many nostalgic memories tied to this album. The sampling game here is just unparalleled.

Dec 23 2022 Author

Jul 29 2022 Author

This album defined so much of my late teenage years, it was epic back then and it's still epic now. I give this 4 blazed years of PlayStation in your mates garage and a long walk home in the rain with your cans on.

Sep 13 2021 Author

Wow! Wasn't expecting to love this so much.

Feb 21 2021 Author

A classic. Great

Jan 26 2021 Author

I know it is only samples and not songs, but it was amazing :D

Jan 25 2021 Author

Great! Chill, and good to work to

Jul 30 2024 Author

Background music. Not much else to say about this one, it faded into the background and I could not identify any individual songs. Wasn't bad music but definitely not something that stood out to me. I know DJ Shadow is one of the original producers who brought this music to the forefront but it will never be more than working background music for me.

Jan 18 2021 Author

Fantastic album, very awesome discovery

Jan 18 2021 Author

Conhecia já. Amo. Perfeito. Sampling at its best. Um dos meus álbuns preferidos, queria morar dentro dele. Músicas preferidas: Changeling, Stem/Long Stem, e principalmente Midnight in a Perfect World

Sep 17 2020 Author

Absolutely loved some of it. Some of it made me feel completely uneasy.

Mar 10 2024 Author

I'll tell you want I did like...the use of an organ on a song titled "organ donor"

Jul 04 2021 Author

Not my cup of tea.

Nov 30 2020 Author

Couldn't listen to it all.

Dec 29 2020 Author

hello

Dec 21 2024 Author

Godamn. This album is pretty damn immaculate. Nothing that really blew me out of the water per se, but the mixing is incredible. I feel like I'm saying this every review but instrumental hip-hop is new to me. The samples of interviews are also a nice touch. Just great.

Mar 29 2021 Author

Really enjoying this album. Definitely one to come back to while riding my bike, chilling in the tub, or to have echoing through the house. Cool find!

Apr 15 2021 Author

Didn't like the beginning but by the middle it was getting interesting

Mar 02 2021 Author

I love plunderphonics but its just drawn out too much

Oct 05 2021 Author

Boring. Sampling is just such an uninteresting act. I don’t care for it.

Mar 29 2024 Author

Definitely not for me.

Mar 09 2024 Author

Horrible

Feb 19 2021 Author

dont really like it

Sep 15 2025 Author

An insane artistic achievement to have created something that sounds so organic purely from vinyl samples with basic gear. Blends rhythm and texture seamlessly to create a sound that’s constantly interesting.

Aug 04 2025 Author

This record is perfect, and Shadow has made some decent records since, but nothing comes close to this. I love that the second track has a sample of a guy talking about learning to play the drums, then the beat kicks in, and following a sample describing Cancer, DJ Shadow shows you how well HE can drum. This is one of the pinnacles of sampling/using other artists music as an art form. He does such a good job of creating his own world within this record, that you forget that he’s sampling anything. It all fits together flawlessly.

Jan 07 2025 Author

Shadows masterpiece. Still such an amazing soundscape of trip hop and down tempo hip hop. Too good.

Dec 22 2024 Author

Amazing album, absolute top of the feeling/atmospheric records of all time. For a long time I was only listening to Midnight In the Perfect World, and the song is great for sure, but in comparison to the rest of the album it doesn't really stand out. Every track is like a short, slightly melancholic story that creates an overarching theme, and MITPW is just one of those stories. Easily one of the top records on this list, in my opinion, and probably one of my favourite trip hop album, maybe even better than Massive Attack. Absolutely great stuff.

Dec 11 2024 Author

Piękny eksperyment, piękny chaos. Z jednej strony słyszę, jak prostymi środkami ten album został stworzony, z drugiej strony to wciąż jest kawał świetnej muzyki stworzonej przez jednego człowieka gdzieś w garażu. Współczesna oda do muzyki, bez rozróżniania na gatunki. Mam wrażenie, że na tej płycie wykorzystał wszystko - klasykę, jazz, synthy, funk, drum machine, hip-hop, wywiady, wycinki z filmów, co tylko chcecie. I gość sprawia, że to się łączy w jedną, spójną całość. "Stem" to absolutna perełka dla mnie. Słuchając tego mam wrażenie, jakbym dosłownie słuchał esencji wczesnych lat 90-tych. Ta płyta jest przede wszystkim intrygująca, zachęca do odkrywania i poszukiwań, a jednocześnie pozwala się w niej totalnie pogubić i po prostu porwać zmiennemu nurtowi. Jakbym miał czas na kolejne hobby, to po przesłuchaniu tego albumu kupiłbym sampler. Wahałem się długo między 4 a 5, ale chyba w ramach uznania za samo to, ile pracy i pasji musiało zająć samo zbieranie tych dźwięków pójdę w pięć.

Oct 24 2024 Author

surprisingly great all the way through

Jan 23 2022 Author

I got this album when I was 15 or so. I've loved it ever since. Moody, atmospheric, with beats that sounded like nothing else ever at the time. It introduced me to the concept of crate digging for which I am so grateful. Dig out the extended mix of Organ Donor if you can. The 90 seconds you get on here almost feels cruel - like here is the best song ever but you can only play for a moment. I forgive it, because Building Steam, The Number Song, Midnight and What Does Your Soul Look Like also deliver at that level, and I suppose he had to make it all fit on wax somehow (hint, drop Why Hip Hop Sucks in 96 - while it remains true in any year, the joke wastes 40 seconds!) Before Timbaland and Dilla, there was this, and damn it was good - a real shame his tracks are almost too distinct to be rhymed over (though RTJ do a great job).

Dec 14 2021 Author

Still love this album. The beats, the bass, the samples, the soul. Especially noticed the sample from Bjork's Possibly Maybe on Mutual Slump, which made me very happy.

Dec 10 2021 Author

A hypnotizing cinematic sound and a masterpiece of reinvention by way of ingenious layering. Amazing dynamics along the way on this head-bobbing ride. I could stay inside this postmodern collage all night.

Dec 02 2021 Author

I'm very happy this album popped up, as it is already one of my favorite albums of all-time. It may be popular/over-rated in music circles on the internet, but I don't care about that. It's such an interesting, beautiful album with immense atmosphere. It captivates me like no other record has before, and that's just with samples and drums. Definitely has high replay value and is very memorable.

Jul 16 2021 Author

One of my favorite albums ever. For me, this is where electronic music began.

Jan 13 2021 Author

Elemental

Dec 23 2024 Author

I should like Endtroducing more than I do. It ticks pretty much every single box that I look for in music. But there has always been something about it that I find a bit … cold. It’s good, but it has never engendered any affection in me. But everyone else seems to think it’s amazing. I can appreciate the dusty crate driven craftsmanship.

Dec 18 2024 Author

2/1001. Beautiful record, had already listened to it a few times before. Took a while to click (listens with proper headphones, for starters). Its highs are sensational (Steam, Stem, Midnight). Only knocks I can see is that otherwise its repetition can get a bit stale, and I value lyricism a lot so its absence limits the upside of becoming a phenomenal album to me. Either way this album sits firmly in 8/10 territory and I could see it ascending just by virtue of more exposure to its deeper cuts and associating it with other life events.

Oct 28 2024 Author

Definitely not beating the lo-fi chill weed vibe allegations here. This whole album just feels easy to unwind to or have on in the back during a quiet/lazy day of work. I can see where someone could find this monotonous but this whole thing just flows together so easily. if I had to pick a specific part that stood out to me as a favourite it would be Midnight in a Perfect World

Feb 12 2024 Author

When this came out I avoided it for lost ideological reasons that would’ve been fed by the era’s wash of tepid trip-hop. Big beats, soft beats, dead beats, sugar beats, ubiquitous in every other stoner’s college latte lounge, utterly vile. A couple of years on, Simon and I attended an UNKLE set for free, and had a lovely conversation, only mentioning the music when I asked if the gig had started and was told Lavelle sans Shadow had been playing for half an hour. Thank goodness we had seats and each other’s sparkling company, otherwise blood would’ve been glugged by the goblet. 26 years later, I like this! Thoughtful splashes of big drums Pollock’d with drama and intent, the best tracks reminiscent of Morricone and Carpenter soundtracks. I also belong to the same vintage cycle club as the The Herbaliser. What was the prime of your youth like?

Sep 11 2025 Author

I love DJ shadow, but perhaps controversially not this album so much. Some tracks are too long/meandering, but no one else was making beats like this at the time, at least in America, hence all the mid -90s hype for Entroducing. I continued to follow his career to this day, and he's also awesome live, where every track is manipulated/remixed uniquely for each show. Midnight in a Perfect World is my favorite on this album. Made with 2 turntables and a sampler, no computer, pretty impressive.

Dec 25 2024 Author

I am a fan of hip-hop and respect the context of this record and DJ Shadow's meticulous sampling. Many of the songs just aren't clicking for me, especially Organ Donor. Overall, I'd give this a 3.5, just barely rounded down to a 3 on this scale.

Apr 15 2024 Author

I initially came across DJ Shadow on various compilations, especially cover CDs from British music monthlies like Mojo, and some remixes. And I read about this album long before I ever heard it. This is the ur-text for instrumental hip hop, re-inventing the album patchworked out of samples. Less frenetic than its forebears (Three Ft High and Rising, Paul's Boutique, Nation of Millions, etc), it showed that trawling through the crates could yield atmospheric and open soundtracks. It established the blueprint for Dilla and the Avalanches. Moody, cinematic, and with a distinct trip-hop vibe, the material, is ultimately, a bit forgettable. But a pretty chill vibe. I do love the cover. I've spent many an hour digging crates in stores just like that. It felt like I had been seen.

Apr 09 2024 Author

Shrug

Mar 30 2024 Author

more noise than music

Feb 12 2024 Author

Yet another I was puzzled by when it came out. It's built entirely from samples - great, but why? Dull as ditchwater, highlight is Organ Donor but when you're relying on Bach for a tune you're pretty low on ideas. Could be entirely AI-generated these days. Rubbish

Jan 31 2022 Author

Somewhat catchy during certain parts, but not super memorable as a whole. It is hard for me to judge a DJ's work as it is typically relies on the work of others through samples. In this instance, I noticed a bit of Metallica's 'Orion' on one of these tracks so I am sure that there is a ton here that was not originally created by DJ Shadow. While he did use this piece in a unique way, it is hard for me to tell how good this really is outside of my personal enjoyment of it (which was average). I understand that it takes real talent and patience to create mixes on the level he is doing here; however, I am overall not as impressed as I probably should be by this work. If it had more that stood out or more of a cohesive album structure, I would probably like this more, but it just ended up coming across as what I would consider mediocre DJ work (even though this is probably considered one of the best given its placement on this list). There is nothing here that would make me want to come back to it. 2/5.

Sep 28 2021 Author

Listened to this on a road trip, album pretty much finished, and I barely realised it was on. Not adding nor deducting points for working with Zack De La Rocha later down the track.

Mar 11 2024 Author

DJ music. Pass.

May 14 2021 Author

Too experimental for my taste

Jan 21 2021 Author

I don't get this album, pretty sure that I listened to it before a couple of times but it doesn't inspire anything in me at all. Maybe it's an album of it's time but not for me.

Feb 02 2021 Author

Not a fan

Nov 26 2025 Author

Love DJ Shadow and this record working with James Lavelle was ground breaking in my opinion. They would later go and work together on the UNKLE first release, which also was an amazing record.

Nov 25 2025 Author

I could write almost forever (read: 15-20 pages) about this album, but there are many albums to write about so I'll try and be concise. Yes the album was made entirely with samples/sample manipulation and it's beautifully executed. But I'd like to add something more personal: There's music you like and can really relate to in one way or another, personal experience to something that connects to your metaphysical sense of reality and aspires you to act or change and/or hopefully improve yourself from it. Endtroducing(...) was the definitive album that made me want to become a musician. Then I looked into sampling laws and getting copyright approval, and went to buying a bunch of synthesizers instead as an alternative means to recreate the feelings and general soundscape Endtroducing provides. Fear, anxiety, wonder, chilled out, mellow, groove. There's a lot of emotions that run through the album and it never feels like it's out of place (IE: for 90s hip hop, the filler parts are working too). It's a transformative remix of humanity working as a reflection of 20th century art. With the horrific advent of "AI Music", this album will stand the test of time as one of the best testaments to the creativity of homo sapiens.

Nov 25 2025 Author

Truly one of the best albums of the 90's (of all time?) and a record DJ Shadow is forever either trying to live up to or haunted by. It's gotta be weird when your debut is such a classic and clearly stands head and shoulders above the rest of your ouvre but what can you do... Myself, I got into this a bit later in college so 98-2000. Shadow was everywhere, he had just dropped Unkle's Psyence Fiction with Lavelle and his second album and it felt like he was the true king of West Coast hip hop production only to go full punk fuck you and peter out into niche sounds and uninspired beats on a steak that lasts until this day. He still rips it live though. But that late 90's era was pretty peak. Also bay area artists ftw Also nice to have an album worthy of this list for once in minute

Nov 18 2025 Author

Someone described this as an album that you feel. It’s absolutely the case; since it’s more made up of samples and sounds it kinda lends itself to being that. It’s all crafted to feeling highs and lows throughout. Nothing here to sing out loud to, but more an album to be in the moment with; to observe your world through the lenses of these songs.

Nov 16 2025 Author

This hit

Nov 15 2025 Author

Classic 5/5

Nov 13 2025 Author

This album was by entry into the world of sampling by the likes if of UNKLE, Burial, RJD2 etc. I can understand why it might not be to everyone’s taste, but I think it’s great. Just loads of samples spliced together in a simply sublime way.

Nov 12 2025 Author

10/10

Nov 10 2025 Author

Super Dope

Nov 04 2025 Author

Best ever

Oct 30 2025 Author

A collection of samples coming together as something new and unique.

Oct 27 2025 Author

Brooding and menacing in equal portions. Not been equalled since. Its an album to be listened to in its entirety on a yearly basis. Hard to pick out highlights as the whole piece is excellent but stem/long stem is the most memorable.

Oct 25 2025 Author

Good Transtions Good Beats

Sep 25 2025 Author

This album was super great. Was not sure what to expect. very cool grooves and soundscapes. Actually a pretty big fan.

Oct 18 2025 Author

Иногда, бывает, что-то включаешь такое, не ожидая ничего особенного, и спустя некоторое время, может секунды, а может минуты, понимаешь, что касаешься чего-то действительно великого и влияющего на весь жанр или вообще создающего свой. Вот это тот самый момент. Такого подхода к семплингу и раздвигания границ "дозволенного" в рамках хип-хопа сложно найти где-то еще. Это воистину невероятная работа. Я не изучал историю альбома, но это чувствуется во время прослушивания. Реально легендарная вещь. Не хочу спойлерить, просто послушайте.

Oct 18 2025 Author

Brilliant. Loved every second!

Oct 16 2025 Author

Absolute masterpiece. Spawned many imitators, but nothing comes close. Astonishing considering the relatively primitive tech used, and still sounds fresh today. Would give this six stars if I could...

Oct 14 2025 Author

One of my favorites

Oct 11 2025 Author

Good

Oct 11 2025 Author

Enjoyed listening to this a lot

Oct 07 2025 Author

haunting, thrilling, a magnificent tour de jockeying

Oct 04 2025 Author

This album continues to impress and relax me into a place of pure comfort. I don't know what is so relaxing about the scratchy and disjointed mixing heard on this album but it makes me want to lay down and float. The main reason for the score drop are some of the interludes and small choices in sounds that I feel make them a bit clunky at times. This album and Portishead's Dummy continue to put me in such a relaxing trance and have dug a deep hole in my heart where they will forever stay treasured and praised. I listen to this album at least once a month for the past couple years and never once has it gotten old or repetitive in my eyes. Such a thought-provoking and impressive piece of music.

Oct 02 2025 Author

This shit was so smooth and relaxing that I fell into such a deep slumber that I drifted off into another dimension. Whizzing by planets and galaxies til I landed on the planet Gorkon 11 which is where I met the Kraglons. They begged and pleaded that I save their elvish princess. Now I know what you are thinking, why would the Kraglons have an elvish princess? They are an asexual race of blob creatures. And what does this have to do with the album? Well first of all that was a little racist towards the Kraglons, I’m not sure what they did to you to elicit that kind of response. And yes they are slightly blob like but they are deeply offended by that comparison. Anyways, after the princess was saved, they rewarded me with their greatest jewels and berries. Believe me when I say that you have never tasted a jewel as delicious and juicy as a Gorkon 11 Lamex. And the berries you can sell for goods and services or get set into a ring or necklace. Great weekend!

Sep 30 2025 Author

Quality beats

Sep 26 2025 Author

Another one of my all time favorites!

Sep 26 2025 Author

I’m sort of amazed I hadn’t heard this album before. It’s super interesting, the production is fire, and I will be making it my personality for the foreseeable future.

Sep 26 2025 Author

It's an iconic album. It's one of the most creative pieces of modern, popular music and it blew me away the first time I heard it. It still slaps, would listen to Shadow all day. Cover is also good, appropriately DIY and relevant, it gets a solid 4, but the album is a 5.

Sep 26 2025 Author

I was already somewhat familiar with this album, but I'd never listened to it all the way through. What a masterpiece.

Sep 24 2025 Author

…Endtroducing restored my faith in hip hop. At the time it just seemed boring & bloated & along came this! Every song is genius level with all the samples & cuts & scratches. Do yourself a favour & listen to the deluxe edition to hear some alternate takes & remixes (especially Cut Chemist’s remix of The Number Song) you won’t be disappointed.

Sep 23 2025 Author

I felt like the main character. This album is such a viiiiiiibe

Sep 23 2025 Author

Easy 5. Sounds incredible and can see how it's influenced so many other artists that I like, such as Flying Lotus. Particularly enjoyed the bits that sound like Boards of Canada...by which I mean all the 60s/70s style "Dr Who" synths.

Sep 23 2025 Author

Sounds like I’ve bought a 20 bag in the mid 2000’s. Weird considering I was 9 when it came out. Tight buds, inner city pubs and adidas clothes. Top album, love it.

Sep 23 2025 Author

It’s 30 years old and feels fresh out the box. Excellent stuff, loved it.

Sep 20 2025 Author

Great album!

Sep 20 2025 Author

Excellent, de la musique smooth. Les tunes sont tellement variées. C’est planant, ça met vraiment une belle ambiance dans le salon

Sep 17 2025 Author

The more you learn about how this album was created, the better it gets. I tend to think of this album as one piece of art and through countless listenings over decades, I can’t name a single “song” on it. This record gets at the project of this book in that it’s something every pop music fan ought to hear at least once.

Sep 17 2025 Author

it grew on me

Sep 16 2025 Author

Rating: 10/10 One of my favorite albums of all time, this is the definition in beauty in sampling. This album is absolutely gorgeous and deeply relaxes me, literally therapeutic.