The history of contemporary dance music is littered with the names of the legendary. One-hit wonders and longstanding superstars alike seem to occupy the same space.

Take Master C&J and Liz Torres, for example. Carl Bias and Jesse Jones (the “C&J”) teamed up with the queen of house, Liz Torres, for a series of Chicago house tracks that passed muster with the most discriminating of audiences: underground house habitués such as DJs, dancers and voguers. With their stamp of approval, many songs went on to wider success in other dance clubs. Can’t Get Enough: The Classics & More (Trax/Casablanca Trax) is an 11-track compilation that captures the sound of an era – one that still has the potential to make steam rise from a dance floor. Torres’ authoritative vocals over the bare-boned syncopated beats on tracks such as “Mama’s Boy,” “Can’t Get Enough,” “Mind Games” and “What You Make Me Feel” illustrate why these provocative tunes achieved cult status.

Few names inspire the kind of drop-to-your-knees-and-worship-at-the-altar response that the late Larry Levan’s does. A DJ of unparalleled renown and skill, portions of Levan’s story were most recently told in Peter Shapiro’s book Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco and in Josell Ramos’s documentary Maestro. But Levan himself told his own story when he was spinning records at the Gallery, the Continental Baths and ultimately at Paradise Garage, where he defined a sound and a style. The nearly two-dozen tracks on Journey into Paradise…The Larry Levan Story (Rhino) are comprised of dance tracks remixed, produced and also broken by Levan, whose DJ sets are truly the stuff of legend. Almost 15 years after his death, Levan’s impact can still be felt and measured in the world of dance music and amongst DJs, and this compilation celebrates and elevates his contributions. It’s not difficult to imagine a dance floor packed with shirtless men working their bodies to “Smack Dab in the Middle” by Janice McClain, “Heartbeat” by Taana Gardner, “Don’t Make Me Wait” by the Peech Boys, “Can’t Play Around” by Lace,” “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Inner Life and “It Should Have Been You” by the late Gwen Guthrie, as well as the many other tracks included here from Levan’s heyday.

In 1985, I lived in Boston and then Washington, D.C., putting me perhaps too far north and then too far south to have been caught up in the APB fever that took the tri-state area around New York by storm. A trio from Scotland, APB’s funk-driven dance-punk style –in league with Gang of Four and Shriekback and echoed today by Franz Ferdinand –spoke directly to the listener’s hips and feet. It’s easy to hear their appeal, but because they didn’t achieve the kind of name recognition that their contemporaries did, their ascent was short-lived. However, the high cost of the band’s long-out-of-print disc on eBay is legendary. The double-disc 20th anniversary reissue of that album, Something to Believe In (Young American) should not only sate longtime fans but also introduce APB to a whole new generation. As I mentioned, APB sounds like they could be siblings of Gang of Four (a band also on the comeback trail), but you can also hear “Work for Love”-era Ministry on “One Day.” APB was unafraid to haul out the heavy disco artillery such as the cowbell and the tambourine on the instrumental track “All Your Life with Me.” None of this is meant to detract from the fact that they created persuasive and enticing dance music with a snaky bass line. Songs such as “Shoot You Down,” “Talk to Me,” “Summer Love,” “Danceability Parts 1 and 2” and “Power Crisis” provide the listener with both a glance at the past and an excuse to dance into the future. Half of the second disc is live recordings from N.Y.C.-area concerts, with the remainder being unreleased tracks and B-sides.

By 1985, most of the acts on Future Retro (Rhino) had already established themselves and become, for all intents and purposes, household names, even if that “household” was a nightclub. Some of the acts, such as Yaz and B-Movie, had even ceased to exist by that time. Others, such as Book of Love and Erasure, were just beginning to make a name for themselves, while Morrissey, New Order, Depeche Mode and INXS would see their fame grow exponentially in the years to come. Being “retro,” the songs on this compilation will undoubtedly be familiar to many – especially to those out clubbing back in the day. What sets them apart, of course, are the hot new remixes by Richard X (Yaz’s “Situation”), Way Out West (Echo & The Bunnymen’s “Lips Like Sugar”), Tiga (Depeche Mode’s “Shake the Disease”) and DJ Irene (Book of Love’s “Boy”).

Howard Jones, whose 1983 “New Song” can be heard in a Peter Black & Hardrock Striker Mix Edit on Future Retro, has returned with Revolution of the Heart (Koch). As well known for his distinctive period haircut as he is for his electronic dance tunes (“What is Love?”) and ballads (“No One is to Blame”), Jones wisely worked both ends of that spectrum on the new disc. For the purposes of dancing, “Celebrate Our Love,” “Stir It Up” and the title track can’t be beat.