Salsa Music - What

This compilation was put together by Henry Knowles a World renown DJ.
A nice mix of tracks by some of the top Latin artists including Jose Alberto, Eddie Palmieri and Oscar D'león. With not one filler track on the whole album it's hard to pick favourites but of note are the classic tracks; Baila Que Baila by Jose Alberto and Malaguena Salerosa by Eddie Palmieri.

An excellent collection of New York/Puerto Rican based Latin music on a 2 CD compilation put together by UK renown DJ Lubi.
The first CD is a collection of 70's classic Salsa including Hector Lavoe's Soy Vagabundo and La Musica Es Mi Vida by Johnny Zermot.
The second CD contains tracks from the last 5 years. The opening track, 'A La Hora Que Me Llamen Voy' a Jose Alberto classic is worth the price of the whole compilation! Package that track up with tracks from George Delgado, Jimmy Bosch, Los Soneros Del Barrio and many more you've got a treasure trove of tracks to start your collection.
For less than £7 (Amazon.co.uk) + P&P you can't go wrong.

Again a compilation by the UK's own DJ Lubi(actually based in Leeds!). This was his first attempt for Nascente, and what a fine attempt it was. A 3 CD compilation which in theory is split into categories; Warming Up!, Getting Hotter! and Dance Meltdown! I say in theory because you'd expect the Warming Up! cd to be filled with slower tracks - not quite! Across the 3 cd's are a variety of artists both old and new. A nice range of tracks including modern day artist such as Jimmy Bosch - La Cacharra and The Spanish Harlem Orchestra - La Música Esa Mi Vida along with Old School Classics such as Las Parabolas by Louie Ramirez and Mi Gente by Hector Lavoe. Again this is available from Amazon.co.uk for a measly £8 + P&P.

This compilation is getting a bit long in the tooth (first released 1996). However it's still worthy of a place in a start up collection if for nothing else other than the timeless classic, Pa' Bravo Yo by Pupy Santiago
Many of the experienced dancers in the UK were brought up on the tracks contained on this CD. How many times did we hear tracks such as Lluvia - Eddie Santiago and Bailando - Frankie Ruiz played as we struggled to put together basic steps?

One of the first albums I ever purchased. I play it more today than ever, a timeless classic which the artist seems unable to match with his subsequent work. All killer with no filler as the expression goes. Tracks include the all time classic Otra Oportunidad and Padre Soy. Any collector without this album isn't a real collector simple as that!

The Orquestra led by Oscar Hernandez consists members consist of some of the top recording artists currently on the scene including Trombonist Jimmy Bosch, George Delgado on Congas and the superb Frankie Vasquez on Vocals. 'Un Gran Dia' is their debut album and what a debut. The album consists of covers of classic 70's tracks such as 'Mama Guela' and 'Pueblo Latino' and are finely executed. The Orquestra regular tour and have visited the UK on several occasions, if you get the chance to see them live then jump at it - awesome performances.