Almost immediately after Peter Rauhofer died in May, I began what turned out to be a very long process of compiling a list of my favorite remixes by the late Grammy-winning DJ/producer.

Combing through his remixography, it’s impressive just how much Rauhofer accomplished during his 15+ year career. Beginning with his Club 69 days, there are hundreds of mixes, many of them for the biggest names in pop music. Others are certified classics featuring lesser known artists. I’m amazed just how much of his work I own, a credit to how much Rauhofer’s talent moved me.

I had the pleasure of hearing Peter Rauhofer spin live just twice. Once at the now-closed Roxy in New York, where he was the resident DJ — a textbook Saturday night out — and later back home in Chicago at a 2004 Halloween event. If I was in New York again tonight, there’s really only one place I’d want to be — the Roseland Ballroom, where a special Pride Weekend edition of Rauhofer’s own Work party is being held to pay tribute to its founder, a true club legend.

As anyone who follows dance music knows, at a minimum a remix must enhance the original track. But the very best remixes elevate the original production, even transcending it. Rauhofer was one of those rare talents who reached the stratososphere with amazing regularity. While there are so many productions worth mentioning, below are my 30 favorites.

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1. “Perfect Love” (Peter’s Long ‘N’ Perfect Edit) – House Of Prince feat. Oezlem (1997, #1)

This is the one that started my deep and abiding love for Peter Rauhofer, though I wouldn’t have recognized his name at the time since he really was relatively new to the scene. Released on the near-flawless Twisted America label, Rauhofer’s hypnotic mix — pulsating throughout, relentless in parts — remains everything to me to this day.

“Perfect Love” is a perfect encapsulation of what Rauhofer’s productions delivered to those of us lucky enough to experience them, no matter where or how we might have encountered his work or where we chose to enjoy it.

2. “Five Fathoms” (Club 69 Future Mix) – Everything But The Girl (1999, #1)

Something sinister lurks at the heart of Rauhofer’s remix of Everything But The Girl’s “Five Fathoms” (taken from their brilliant 1999 album, Temperamental), and I love it more than anything else anyone has re-done for the duo.

Rauhofer’s dark vibe casts a menacing shadow as Tracey Thorn sings, “I’ll take you home and make it easy,” offering a feeling that the encounter will be anything but.

3. “Nothing Really Matters” (Club 69 Vocal Club Mix) – Madonna (1999, #1)

They say you never forget your first, and “Nothing Really Matters” was Rauhofer’s point of entry into Madonna’s club mixes. He’d go on to rework at least another 10 tracks, a few of which made this list — I had to draw the line somewhere — but “Nothing Really Matters” remains one of his best.

While Rauhofer wasn’t the only one who remixed “Nothing Really Matters,” his revamp (four variations and a dub, more accurately) is the only one that mattered then and now.

4. “Love That Man” (Peter Rauhofer Retro Mix) – Whitney Houston (2003, #1)

Rauhofer holds the record for having remixed the most Whitney Houston tracks, a total of seven. His Retro Mix of “Love That Man” (one of two commissioned for the final single from Houston’s 2002 album, Just Whitney) is my absolute favorite.

The disco claps reference the funky “old-school love” of the original track, while the radiating synths at the remix’s base — running into red, dallying with distortion — are irresistibly propulsive. Also a highlight: the post-breakdown repetition of “Always, always, always, always, always, always, always there!” at 5:19.

5. “Beautiful” (Peter Rauhofer Remix) – Christina Aguilera (2002, #1)

Christina Aguilera’s signature self-acceptance anthem, “Beautiful,” was bequeathed a fittingly epic remix by Rauhofer, who references two British trip-hop classics in his production.

Besides obvious shades of Kosheen’s “Hide U,” which he’d covered with Suzanne Palmer the previous summer (see #7 below), the keyboard stabs in the chorus are straight out of Olive’s 1997 club hit, “You’re Not Alone.” His fittingly beautiful addition elevates Aguilera’s sentiment to an even more hopeful place.

6. “Situation ’99” (Club 69 Future Phunk Mix) – Yaz (1999, #1)

During his career, Rauhofer enjoyed many opportunities to officially rework a classic dance track. Be it Book Of Love’s “Boy” (see #15), Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Relax,” Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love,” or Seal’s “Killer,” Rauhofer managed to give them all a modern sound without sacrificing what made them classics in the first place.

His remix of Yaz’s “Situation” preceded all of these, returning Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke’s 1982 #1 club hit to the top of the dance chart 17 years later.

While the Club 69 Future Phunk Mix is my favorite, Rauhofer dove into even deeper territory on the Club 69 Millennium Mix.

7. “Hide U” (Peter Rauhofer Original Club Mix) – Suzanne Palmer (2001, #4)

I very nearly didn’t include this on the list, as Rauhofer courted some controversy (and legal troubles) by releasing a cover of Kosheen’s “Hide U” on his Star 69 label ahead of the British trio’s original recording.

From what I recall, Kosheen had declined to release the John Creamer & Stephane K remix, which was making the rounds (they thought it was too much of a departure from their drum ‘n’ bass sound). Rauhofer shrewdly capitalized on the missed opportunity, recruiting his pal Suzanne Palmer to cover the track over a production that very nearly mimicked Creamer & K’s. (She spins a slightly different, but still pro-Rauhofer tale.)

Gray areas aside, there can be no obfuscation that “Hide U” was the song of Summer 2001 thanks to Rauhofer meeting the demands of the marketplace.

8. “We Belong Together” (Peter Rauhofer Reconstruction Club Mix) – Mariah Carey (2005, #1)

Mariah Carey’s longtime collaboration with David Morales really has no equal, with the singer re-entering the studio specifically to record new vocals for his remixes. But while Morales had remixed previous Emancipation Of Mimi single, “It’s Like That,” Rauhofer was given the reigns for the follow-up, “We Belong Together,” which would become Mariah’s biggest hit of the past decade (a 14-week run at #1).

Rauhofer transformed the old-school R&B ballad into a perfectly realized club track with pulsating electro sounds that frame Mariah’s pleading vocals. Mariah and Morales might belong together, but Rauhofer (whose remix of “It’s Like That” was commissioned and shelved) proved himself a worthy suitor.

Rauhofer’s alternate remix of “We Belong Together,” the Reconstruction Mix Part 2, is also worth a spin.

9. “Body” (Club 69 Future Mix) – Funky Green Dogs (1999, #1)

In Rauhofer’s impressive remixography, this revamp of Funky Green Dogs’ “Body” stands head and shoulders above the rest as pure fun. Jettisoning the infectious track’s original disco feel, Rauhofer works Tamara Wallace’s vocal declaration, “Need to, got to have your body / Want to, got to have your body,” into a bouncy, flirty mantra that no man could resist.

10. “I Don’t Know What You Want But I Can’t Give It Any More” (Peter Rauhofer Roxy Anthem) – Pet Shop Boys (1999, #2)

An epically long remix befitting a Pet Shop Boys song with an epically long title (so very them). Reconstructing David Morales’ original production (not the last time the two New York club legends would cross paths), Rauhofer brings his inimitable chords of doom to bear down on the synthpop duo’s tale of a relationship that’s reached its breaking point.

I don’t know the origination of the female backing vocals (they’re not present on the original single), but Rauhofer puts them to brilliant use here. Fasten your seatbelt, it’s gonna be a bumpy night.

11. “It’s No Good” (Club 69 Future Mix) – Depeche Mode (1997, #1)

By the time Depeche Mode released “It’s No Good,” the second single from 1997’s Ultra, plenty of grabbing hands had been all over the synthpop band’s songs. Most were esoteric turns, with precious few designed for four-on-the-floor club consumption. But Rauhofer’s storming remix for “It’s No Good” (under his Club 69 moniker), while criminally absent from the official release, secured Depeche Mode their first Billboard dance #1.

Rauhofer had big love for this remix, giving it a permanent place in his crate, but Dave Gahan & Co. must have been pleased too, as they would enlist him for three additional singles, “I Feel Loved,” “Wrong,” and “Peace.” Rauhofer also revisited their Music For The Masses classic, “Behind The Wheel.”

12. “Me Against The Music” (Peter Rauhofer’s Electrohouse Mix) – Britney Spears feat. Madonna (2003, #1)

While the much-anticipated team-up of Britney Spears and Madonna on “Me Against The Music” only managed to eke out a #35 showing on the Billboard Hot 100 — avoid reading the ageist reviews unless you want to become angry all over again — Rauhofer’s remix gave the cross-generational pair a #1 club hit.

Nothing Rauhofer had done to that point sounded quite like this remix with its zipper-like bassline, one of the reasons I was totally for “Me Against The Music.”

13. “Muscles” (Club 69 Future Mix) – Club 69 feat. Suzanne Palmer (1998, #18)

While Rauhofer and Chicago-born dance diva Suzanne Palmer would collaborate many times over the years, their Club 69 cover of Diana Ross’ “Muscles” (penned by Michael Jackson) was one of the first. Really more of a dub (five minutes pass before a verse appears), the Future Mix of “Muscles” gives Palmer ample room to flex her impressive pipes.

Palmer and Rauhofer had such a great time during the Vienna session for “Muscles” that he forgot to have her record the song’s second verse. Getting ready to fly home, Palmer returned to the studio and knocked out those lyrics like the pro she is.

14. “Flavor” (Peter Rauhofer Big Room Mix) – Tori Amos (2012, #1)

Frankly, I’ve been disappointed by most club remixes of Tori Amos’ songs over the years, but Rauhofer really delivered, doing right by the source material. His Big Room Mix of “Flavor” is a deliciously dark rework that’s a late-in-life cousin to his remix of Everything But The Girl’s “Five Fathoms (Love More)” (see #2).

15. “Boy” (Peter Rauhofer Club Mix) – Book Of Love (2001, #1)

Rauhofer was enlisted to revisit Book Of Love’s 1985 debut single, “Boy,” to bring attention to the Philadelphia synthpop band’s 2001 best-of compilation, their first. While the original “Boy” was a #7 dance hit, Rauhofer’s epic 10-minute rebuild took Book Of Love to the top, with the song’s 16-year-old message reaching a new audience.

“Peter was a huge fan of the song, and he wanted to do it,” Book Of Love’s Ted Ottaviano told The Advocate at the time of the remix’s release. “It really has the essence of the original.”

16. “Turn It Up” (Peter Does Paris) – Paris Hilton (2006, #1)

One of the many things I appreciated about Rauhofer is that unlike some of his contemporaries, he didn’t turn his nose down at remixing pop artists, even when loosely defined to include a dubiously talented celebutante. One of his singular talents was brilliantly blending the underground with the mainstream.

The bass line on “Turn It Up” cannot be denied. That’s (still) hot.

17. “Lose My Breath” (Peter Rauhofer Breathless Mix) – Destiny’s Child (2005, #1)

Rauhofer’s sole remix for Destiny’s Child was relegated to DJ-only land, but ushering Beyoncé, Kelly, and Michelle to the underground — and daring us to keep up — secured the trio their first #1 dance hit.

Not long afterward, Rauhofer was commissioned to remix Beyoncé’s solo single, “Upgrade U,” but Sony shelved his work. Last year, he posted that remix as a free download via SoundCloud.

18. “Do It Properly” (Victor & Peter’s NY Club Anthem) – The Collaboration (Peter Rauhofer + Victor Calderone) (1999, #7)

“Do It Properly” was a cover of a 1987 house classic, written by Robert Clivillés and David Cole, and released under the moniker 2 Puerto Ricans, A Blackman And A Dominican, a quasi-group that also counted David Morales as a member.

That original collaborative track reached #33, but Rauhofer and Calderone, enlisting the talents of Deborah Cooper (herself a vocalist for Clivillés and Cole’s C+C Music Factory), more than did it properly. Though Rauhofer and Calderone’s production only peaked at #7, “Do It Properly” turned it out on every dancefloor I was on back in those days. W-w-w-work it!

19. “How Would U Feel” (Peter Rauhofer Re-Construction Mix) – David Morales with Lea-Lorién (2004, #1)

The coming together of two legendary New York DJs, David Morales and Peter Rauhofer, delivered dancefloor domination. Lea-Lorién’s airy vocals (so very Jody Watley to my ears) provide the perfect counterpoint to the tougher bassline that Rauhofer brought to Morales’ original track. In Rauhofer’s expert hands, love’s first blush is total bliss.

20. “Life Story” (Club 69 Future Mix) – Angie Stone (1999, didn’t chart)

Probably the purest expression of house music in Rauhofer’s remixography is this mix of Angie Stone’s “Life Story,” taken from her 1999 debut, Black Diamond. While it didn’t chart, I can’t help but think that Rauhofer’s rework opened others’ eyes to Stone’s dance diva potential. She later scored five top 20 dance hits, including a pair of number ones (“I Wish I Didn’t Miss You” and “I Wanna Thank Ya”).

21. “Mother And Father” (Peter Rauhofer Re-Invention Mix) – Madonna (2004, didn’t chart)

Every time Madonna releases a new album, I’m all, “Please no songs about her dead mother and/or difficult relationship with her father.” On American Life, she tackled the pair together in, ahem, “Mother And Father.” Listening to the track upon the album’s release, I found Madonna’s latest confessional uncomfortable, but there was enough of a disco bump that I thought, “Well, someone needs to sample the ‘I’ve got to give it up, find someone who loves me’ bits and make a remix.”

That someone turned out to be Rauhofer. And he more than delivered on my dreams, even inserting some “Vogue” horn blasts.

Listen via YouTube.

22. “Appreciate Me” (Return To Paradise Mix) – Jahkey B. presents Amuka (2003, #7)

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, as the saying goes, and Amuka’s (aka Sheila Brody) pointed vocal performance is what makes “Appreciate Me” such a visceral experience. Rauhofer’s tough-as-nails remix serves to heighten that feeling, with an exotic-industrial feel as its foundation.

Whatever fool did Amuka wrong had better watch out for that Mack truck heading his way.

Rauhofer and Brody later served up a sequel of sorts with 2004’s “U Ain’t That Good,” which reached #3.

23. “4 Minutes” (Peter Saves Paris) – Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake (2008, #1)

Before undertaking the difficult task of compiling this list, I can’t say I recall listening much to the remixes of “4 Minutes,” Madonna’s 2008 team-up with Justin Timberlake (and Timbaland). How I overlooked the Peter Saves Paris mix is beyond me.

Rauhofer actually delivered three separate remixes of “4 Minutes” (he also saves New York and London), but it’s the first three minutes of his Peter Saves Paris remix that makes this one the keeper. That, and liberal insertions of Timberlake intoning, “M-M-M-Madonna.”

24. “Comin’ Back” (Club 69 Future Mix) – The Crystal Method (1998, #1)

Remember when Big Beat music was, well, big? Somehow Rauhofer was given the green-light to rework The Crystal Method’s “Comin’ Back,” adding his trademark style to the track. Yes, the ‘starfall’ sound makes several appearances (a trademark of Rauhofer’s sound during this period), while retaining many of the duo’s electronic touches. Rauhofer’s mix kept me coming back for more.

25. “Skyfall” (Peter Rauhofer Big Room Anthem) – Adele (2012, #10)

Nearly immediately after Adele debuted her James Bond theme, “Skyfall,” I was hoping for a proper dance remix. Because of the spy franchise’s English origins and the song’s orchestral sweep, two strings-loving British production teams with previous Adele experience seemed best suited to accompany 007 to the club — Moto Blanco, who’d officially remixed “Set Fire To The Rain,” or Freemasons, who’d done a bootleg mix of “Rolling In The Deep.”

But it was Rauhofer, an Austrian ex-pat living in New York, who stepped in to shake and stir “Skyfall,” delivering this pounding remix. While not an official release, Adele still netted a #10 peak on the Billboard Dance chart.

26. “Nothing Fails” (Peter’s Lost In Space Mix) – Madonna (2003, #1)

Someday Madonna’s criminally underrated American Life will receive the accolades it so richly deserves (in some smart circles, this is already the case). Rauhofer remixed four of the album’s tracks, including the aforementioned “Mother And Father” (#21) and “Nothing Fails,” which had all the makings of another “Like A Prayer”-style hit for Madonna in an alternate, more attuned universe.

While “Nothing Fails” did just that — failing to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 — Rauhofer’s remix scored Madonna a much-deserved #1 hit where she’s always had a home: the dancefloor.

Also worth a spin is Rauhofer’s Classic House Mix of “Nothing Fails,” which harkens back to the days of “Vogue” and “Deeper And Deeper.”

27. “Hurt Me So Bad” (Club 69 Tribal Vox Anthem) – Lulu (did not chart)

Rauhofer created this pounding remix for Lulu’s latest comeback, the Scottish singer best known to U.S. audiences for her 1967 #1 hit, “To Sir With Love.” It’s a wonder that guys didn’t leave the dancefloor battered and bruised after Rauhofer’s remix of “Hurt Me So Bad” came barreling through the club speakers.

There’s a lot going on in this mix (probably too much in retropsect), but this is still an unexpected classic from the days when tribal sounds hurt so good.

28. “A Thousand Beautiful Things” (Peter Rauhofer Beautiful Strings Anthem) – Annie Lennox (2004, #1)

The mark of a good remixer is knowing when to get out of the way, backing off from overloading the production. Rauhofer’s epic 10-minute remix of “A Thousand Beautiful Things” is testament to that talent. Given a gorgeous vocal from the inimitable Annie Lennox, he accents her performance with string flourishes and just enough of a hardened pulse to propel it along.

29. “Dance To The Music” (Peter Rauhofer Re-Construction Mix) – Laszlo Panaflex (2002, #5)

With a preponderance of evidence to support my assertion, Rauhofer was no minimalist. And yet there’s a simplicity to his ‘re-construction’ of Laszlo Panaflex’s “Dance To The Music” that I love. Sure, I could do with a tad less air horn, but that breakdown harkens back to the best of Rauhofer’s Club 69 days.

30. “Just A Little While” (Peter Rauhofer Club Mix) – Janet Jackson (2004, #1)

Rauhofer’s remix of the lead single to Janet Jackson’s 2004 album, Damita Jo, gave her a 16th club chart topper. Her breathy vocal style wouldn’t seem to be the best match for Rauhofer’s sound, and there are moments when she nearly drowns in the mix, but somehow I always end up loving it even if it’s just for a little while.

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This quote, taken from the liner notes to Rauhofer’s 1998 Club 69 Future Mix albums, sums up my feelings about the 30 tracks I’ve chosen:

“To me, every song on this album is a story,” Rauhofer explains. “When you listen to them, they should remind you of old memories. Fond memories of great nights out. Some may remind you of the good old days at Palladium, Arena, Sound Factory Bar, and Twilo. Many memories live in these songs.”

Those memories will most certainly live on. It’s just such a shame he’s no longer around to help us create even more.

If you’ve got a favorite Peter Rauhofer remix that’s not featured in the list above, share your addition(s) in the comments below.