When the late 1970s were bleeding into the early 1980s, a generation of mostly European bands was redefining electronic music. (At the time, the genre was still considered more suitable for spacey, sci-fi sound effects than for jamming out in your room.) Three decades later, the songs on this playlist—by industrial, EBM, coldwave, and synthpunk pioneers—still sound like they came from the future. The bleak, dystopian future. —Eleanor

17 tracks