Armin van Buuren (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑrmɪn vɑn ˈbyːrə(n)]), (born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch Trance music producer and DJ. He is the number one ranked DJ having won DJ Magazine's Top 100 DJs fan poll a record of 5 times, including winning 4 consecutive years between 2007–2010 and again in 2012. Since 2001, Van Buuren has hosted a weekly radio show called A State of Trance, which claims to have around 20 million weekly listeners in 26 countries, which would make it one of the most listened-to radio shows in the world. His 2008 studio album, Imagine, entered the Dutch album chart at No. 1, a first for a dance music artist in Dutch music history.
Armin van Buuren was born in Leiden, Netherlands on 25 December 1976, but grew up in Koudekerk aan den Rijn. Van Buuren started making music when he was 14. He was inspired by French electronic music composer Jean Michel Jarre. He graduated from the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden in 1995, and studied law at Leiden University. He began working as a DJ in Club Nexus, playing multiple sets a week, most of which lasted six or more hours. As his musical career began to take off he put his law degree on hold, although he returned to graduate from law school in 2003.
