Top 12 super-producers

They don’t fight crime...but they do protect the world from bad music

Being a record producer is a lot like being a top chef: Once you gather together all the necessary ingredients, it’s up to you to create a savory masterpiece. The only difference is, some of those ingredients include whiney rock stars and singers in dire need of a little Auto-Tune.

The best producers are capable of creating the kind of musical magic that would make even David Blaine jealous (and probably lock himself in a Plexiglas box for another 44 days). And in these days of dwindling record sales, more and more top artists are turning to these super-producers (who often perform double duty as songwriters), hoping some of that magic will rub off. Here are 12 of the most talented, most innovative and most sought-after of today's super-producers. No matter your musical preference, we’re betting you’ve got at least a handful of their tracks in your iTunes library.—Leslie Simon, Special to Metromix

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