Siembra

Great instrumental performances. Horns are killer but laid back at the same time. Good vibes but vocal lines weren’t really hitting for me.

Latiño vibes- like it

Latin/salsa music - I really enjoyed this. My rusty Spanish helped me a bit to understand some lyrics, particularly in "Plastico". The whole album made me dance in my seat. Lots of fun beats!

I always have a little trouble with the foreign language albums. But I thoroughly enjoyed all the music in the instrumentation on this. I thought it was really cool. I don’t know if it’s called salsa or bossa nova or whatever but it’s just easy to listen to it kind of makes you feel good.

A decent album. Very mellow and easy to listen to. It was a little repetitive. I'd be happy to listen to it again but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to seek it out.

Ok I've been through few salsa and samba albums now. I listened to every one of them all the way through. And I've concluded that - yeah this shit is not for me.

Latin, Salsa & Trombone No Thank You

fun as hell - the clash album wasn't a 3, this one was. THREE point FIVE

Après la semaine que j’ai eu, cet album encapsule tout ce que je pouvais rêver: groovy, dansant, joyeux et totalement salsa sur le moineau. Masterpiece, je le veux en CD!

Mmmmm really not my thing. Maybe it wasn’t the right time of day or right time of the year for listening to this album. I’ll have to try it out again.

Never really listened to salsa intently before. Pretty good.

Very danceable, will return when im mote fluent

Not my normal cup of tea, but actually a really great listen. I could play this in the background while drinking in the summer sunshine.

My ear is not trained to distinguish the quality of this from any other salsa music I have heard. I like it, but I'm not gonna put it on unless I'm trying to set a very specific mood.

Turned this on, and started looking around for my sideburns and disco pants. But then someone started singing and I had the urge to light a cigarette and slam a Caipirinha. Several more songs followed and then it was done. Overall, this was a perfectly nice salsa album of the sort that I would happily listen to while having a drink at a bar with friends. I won't, however, be voluntarily searching it out to listen to again.

It was a cool, grey, damp week in Chicago, so this warmed me up at the end of it. I have no frame of reference for this music and I don’t speak the language, but enjoyed the experience. The disco to salsa transition in the first song was pretty sweet and I liked Maria Lionza a lot.

4/5 - I don’t listen to salsa music. After this album, I still don’t listen to salsa music, but now I have a go to record for when I start listening to salsa music. I will play this at all my moonlit, backyard pool parties. We will dance the night away and have a fucking great time, until we realize we were laughing and ignorantly enjoying the story of a tragic double murder. Then everyone will go home.

It’s fun and danceable, but it has a bossanova-adjacent boringness for me I can’t quite put my finger on. The whole time, I felt like I should be liking it more.

I don't know much about salsa (and Latin American) music in general, but this was very enjoyable - especially in a rainy, grey and cold November day, where my mood was lifted immediately. It's complex, the musicianship is excellent, and it's just a really fun album. The disco-y vibe at the beginning and the last song was a bit surprising. Overall a really cool album!

Fun joyful music.

129 Ay, y si pongo dos 5s seguidos? Es que no se puede contra esto. El primer track lo dio todo para mi, esa letra es chef's kiss, ese inicio tan inesperado para un disco así. Tiene al menos uno de los clásicos de siempre (Hola Pedro Navaja, tanto tiempo) pero igual es super variado, con una producción, cambios de tempo, no esperaba amarlo tanto como lo amé.

it’s good dance music i think

Good music just not my cup of tea.

More fun than the endless 80s rock bands.

Listened in an early morning daze at 5am on the way to a bus that took me to East Rutherford for the fifth time to shoot a Jamie Foxx movie for Netflix.

Salsa feels like a pretty solid intersection of the Buena Vista Social Club record I reveiwed last week, and the classic Bossa Nova records that I'll sadly never get to review for this list. I don't speak enough spanish to understand what they're talking about, except the part of "Pedro Navaja" where he says "La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la I like to live in America". Overall, a fun record to fill the salsa sized hole in your collection.

Definitely think there are better latin albums out there but I really enjoyed that! 3.8

Genuinely enjoyed this

not really my type of music but it was interesting :))

Favorite track(s): Plastico, Pedro Navaja, Siembra

It’s good but not my cup of tea

I don’t know. Just not for me. Felt like a totally different language.

Caliente

Pretty good, uplifting and make you want to move your body

very nice vibes

It’s fine background music for a restaurant or hanging out at a fair or something but this definitely didn’t need to be on this list

Which came first: Salsa the dance? Or Salsa, the stuff you get with crispy tortilla chips at a Mexican restaurant? What does it say about me culturally that I think of the latter when I hear this type of music? I mean, I immediately started getting hungry for fajitas and a frosty marg the very second the horns and bongos kicked in. I feel like pavlov's dog, but if dogs could feel existential shame.

So so fun!!! So much life in the music.

i actually didn't mind this, smooth listening 3.5

*1978. Panama and Puerto Rico. *Sounded like cool samba music, but a little goes a long way for me. RATING - 4/10

I wasn't expecting the best selling salsa album in the history of salsa to be this funky. But it is. I feel like this would hit different on a barmy summer's evening. Unfortunately I am listening from the office on a grey mid December afternoon. Still, I'm having fun. Maria Lionza is my favourite track, the opening is almost Waitsian, which was a surprise. The horns sound so fine.

I haven't heard of Willie Colón and Rubén Blades before, and I know almost nothing about salsa, so this was another album where I was starting from scratch. I enjoyed it even as it started to blend together for me, probably because of the language barrier. But this was pretty enjoyable.

This was fantastic. I don't have enough Salsa in my life. And I like the disco element.

It’s rare for a salsa record to make me want to do a deep dive on the lyrics, but this was so so good. The production is impeccable, but it’s the songwriting and flow that really shines here. This is one to revisit not just because it’s a perfect genre slice but because it elevates above the genre and takes some fun twists and turns.

3.6

I’m really enjoying this record. It’s sounds like a film sound track in the 70s at places, but it’s really good.

Ikke min sjanger. Forglemmelig.

C’était vraiment super ! Je m’attendais pas à de l’espagnol

Salsa! Nice

Very smooth samba jazz listening. If you enjoy world music or not this is a very cool album.

Ovo je leglo ne samo meni nego cijeloj kući. Uživancija čista. Nevjerovatno pozitivno iznenađenje. Divan bass na momente, sve veselo, živahno, interesantno, bez statičnosti. Samo je album art vrlo upitan.

dit was terug een nobele onbekende.. wat een verrassing!.. mooie zomerse nummertjes die je direct naar zon en cocktail doen verlangen...

Pleasant Latino stuff. Will listen again

Maybe cause I listened to this night after New Form but what else do you even need out of music other than this

Not as good as buena vista social club but very close

This was a new and easy listen for me. It flowed perfectly and kept my energy up and moving while i worked this morning. it made me wish I spoke more Spanish and danced better. i especially enjoyed the groovier moments and breakdown segments such as in Maria Lionza.

From the opening bass line on the first song I was already sold. Incredible salsa album, felt like it had hints of jazz and even disco in some of the bass work. Infectious album. The varied instruments with the horns and different percussive's kept everything fresh throughout. Every song had me moving

A fun if repetitive album. Full of bright sounds and great instrumentation.

Listened in the morning for a good vibe. Wouldn’t have listened to this album on my own volition but really good.

Salsa is pretty legit. Not sure what’s going on with the babies on the cover though.

6/10 Brightened up a wet commute in SW England. Repetitive, but cool

lovely

What a fun album. Ihad lever listened to a whole salsa album before and it was great. The instrumental is great the brasa section is so detailed and infectious thay it is impossible to not stand still. I loved the lyrycs as well "Pedro Navaja" tell a story like a country song full of details 4/5

Salsa! Even spieken waar dit vandaan komt, Panama en Puerto Rico blijkbaar. En het best verkochte salsa-album aller tijden, of zelfs de 'Sergeant Pepper van de salsa'. Euhm ja, maar het klinkt als alle andere salsamuziek: energiek, ritmisch, en (voor degenen die het in zich hebben) dansbaar. Erg leuk dus, maar het écht bijzondere hoor ik er niet aan af.

Het album begroet ons met pakkende discoklanken. Na een minuutje start onverwachts een zonnig zuid-amerikaanse / caribische zang. (Het komt uit Puerto Rico, wiki ik). Het is een switch, maar geen vervelende switch. Gelukkig maar, want dit blijkt de basis voor het album. Het geeft een vakantie-gevoel, maar tegelijk staat het ver af van een bandje dat je zomaar op straat zou kunnen aantreffen. Het komt over een vrij geproduceerd en uitgedacht geheel. Enigszins richting de zuidelijke klanken die rond de eeuwwisseling ook wel eens onze hitlijsten versierden. Maar dan iets minder catchy, of wellicht beter geformuleerd: muzikaal wat interessanter. Waar de latere varianten toch vervlogen in lekkere achtergrondmuziek, verdient dit album het meer om aandachtig te luisteren. Een ontdekking die ik graag beloon met 5 sterren!

Het eerste nr begint als een soort Bastian 00s elektromuziek, en dan met een discosound eroverheen. Als hij dan begint te zingen, komen de caribische toeters en blazers erbij. Dat het veel op disco lijkt is wel te begrijpen, want het komt precies uit de discoperiode. Uiteindelijk is het wel gewoon veel Buena Vista Social Club. Het stemt net als die muziek lekker vrolijk. Je ziet die mannen op zo'n Caribisch eiland buiten op de stoep of op de veranda zitten met hun instrumenten, lekker een beetje spelen en een dominootje leggen. Zolang je dit niet te vaak hoort, is het echt prima om tussendoor als album te krijgen. Zoals ik bij de Social Club ook al zei, het is net alsof je op vakantie bent. En dat stemt vrolijk. Dus kunnen we ook best wederom een vrolijke 4 geven.

Truly joyous, wish I knew what they were saying. Anything with this great of a brass section will keep me coming back forever

Salsa ain’t my jam. Now if this was queso that would be a different story.

Not really my thing, but it wasn't too bad. I liked the music.

Good, but not my vibe. I can tell it has some great elements and wanted to get me to move and dance, but Salsa is not my type of music.

What a treat!! A salsa-y treat!

Ich esse lieber Salsa und höre Mexican Rock als dass ich Tortillas esse und Salsa höre. 1/5

This had me up out of my chair while eating breakfast, hips moving without thinking. The energy is infectious; it's vibrant, joyful, and impossible to sit still through.

What a fun record. Starts off with a misleading disco vibe, then quickly transcends into beautiful Caribbean/Latin music. The flow of the album is so nice and kept my attention throughout. The music is thoughtful, well-produced and wonderfully composed. This is a really nice piece.

I liked it! Which is not surprising as I think this is a lot of the same personnel that wound up on David Byrne’s REI MOMO. Say what you want about cultural hegemony, but my Byrne fandom opened me up to a lot of music I’d not become familiar with otherwise.

I don't know if I'm honestly qualified to understand how great this album is, but even as someone with no knowledge of salsa or latin music, it's easy to hear the beauty of the songwriting and arrangements on this album.

A nice change of direction in my first taste of salsa & my first taste of Spanish in this project. The music is bright & shiny and warm, very inviting initially. I just wish I spoke Spanish as the lyrics are clearly a key part of this, there to be learnt & sung along to but I can’t understand them so all that is lost on me. The salsa music sets a wonderful atmosphere but if you can’t understand the lyrics then it soon becomes directionless. After a while it becomes showbizzy and starts to grate. To be clear though this is not the LPs fault that I do not speak Spanish that is my fault & problem & a reminder of how anglicised culture has become. I can see how important this music & these lyrics must be to so many people but I have to mark it low based on how it makes me feel. And I feel I really want it to end as it’s going around in circles but I see if you’re dancing then salsa would be tribal trance. But for me salsa is just one of the worst musical genres.

5/10

Great album. Lots of interesting samba beats.

This is some fun music, I’m a fan. First time listening to salsa, and I really like it

Like it 3/5

Don't know a single thing theyre saying but I really love the vibe and music. The very first track started with a bit of disco sound? Wish I heard more of that through the album

3.5/5

Good!

Alright, but not my style and mostly blended together

Pretty good

Not my cup of Caipirinha.

I think I maybe on a nother day I'd have enjoyed this more. But for today it was background music at best

I didn't even notice when this ended and went to shuffle. Like Phyl, on a different day I may have taken this in more.

Spanish discoish?

First moments on this start hella disco funky and it sounds great. It quickly changes to Salsa and stays on Salsa. I don't know what to do with Salsa music, but this isn't bad.

Lively and fun

Some seriously good Salsa

Very far from my musical taste, but listenabl, well written and performed. I think the album shows its age, it's quite laid back and old fashioned, also like for other listeners, everything kind of blends in for me, I think due to the vocals and instruments being pretty much the same throughout. I think it wouldn't do amazing if it was released today, and I definitely am not going to go back and relisten to this voluntarily, but definitely deserves a place on the list due to its historical context, importance and overall production.

2.75

I'm just not into Cubano music. It's not offensive at all, and the instrumentation and vocals appear to be well done, but I just don't jive with the musical style. Unfortunately I don't speak Spanish, so I can't relate at all to the lyrics. And the musical style elicits dancing, which is not in my blood. To my ears, all the songs sound the same. I didn't make it far into the album before I had to give up. Will not finish and probably will not go back.

moderately impressive for four babies.

Fun with something that stand out on the list! Enjoyed this, it has a nice atmosphere to it, and gets you in a good mood when listening to it - more than you can say about many of the albums on this list, sadly. I read that this was one of the best selling salsa albums of all time. Quite a feat. If I knew that before listening to this I would have expected a bit more somehow. Like many other genres like jazz, blues etc, and albums we've had on this list, I don't think I'm in a position to give this a fair review since I don't know what distinguishes this from a regular salsa album. Nevertheless, it was good, but not anything I will remember as "the best salsa in the world".

Only knew “Maria Lionza” and that was only due to a sample used in the Major Lazer song “Watch out for this”. On I side note I think it’s really cool how a throwaway trumpet line on that song can become a big hit 40 years later. This was a breath of fresh air from the generator who has been giving me 60s folk rock lately. I enjoyed the all the songs, and it felt both relaxing and energetic. No particular song stood out that much but enjoyed it as a whole. Weak 4.

It's fine. I don't know.

I have no basis to judge this against.

Made me feel like dancing, thoroughly enjoyed

Couldn't understand the language but rhythm is fine

(65/100)

Spanish language music would be a huge upgrade to the Superbowl Halftime Show and I have no idea why Turning Point USA is throwing a fit over it

Pedro Navaja

I've never listened to this album (32). Really great! Groovy, soulful, all that I love.

Salsa !

Wow. Musicianship is fantastic. Love the horns.

I don’t enjoy this kind of music so I’ll just leave it there.

Did you know that there are only two salsa albums on this entire list? No, really. And on top of that, I think they're the only genre that gets only two albums. I don't know how many rock n' roll albums there are, but I know my group's gotten four, at least. So, according to the list, the entirety of salsa music you need to hear is one Tito Puente record and this. Though I suppose they're not bad picks, if you had to pick only two. Sure, I assume there's more to salsa than just these two albums can demonstrate (and that's true of all genres), but, I mean, from what I've read, this **is** apparently the greatest salsa album of all time. And how could you say "no" to listening to the greatest? And is it? Well, given that my exposure before now has been that one Tito Puente album and "Señor Burns", of course I wouldn't be able to say for sure. But did I like it enough to believe that it is? Yeah, sure. To me, salsa seems like a very "groove" based genre. As long as the music has a great one and you can lock right into it, you're bound to have a good time. It **is** why I liked 'Dance Mania!' as much I did: it's a nonstop, consistent party groove, and it's a great time. You can say it gets old because it never stops running on that energy, but, hey, again, if you lock in... That sort of groove is present on this album, too, but it's less "party" focused. From the translated lyrics I've read, it seems it's trying to be a bit more serious — and good on it for that, of course. But if I can be 100, the exact words and seriousness of it doesn't entirely matter to me? I'm not gonna let them go unacknowledged, but one more time: the **groove**. It's here in spades, with some R&B flavoring thrown in on top for good measure. And it's just a fun listen; it's really not anymore complicated than that. Some songs may drag on a bit long, and like a fellow group I do think this thing could've stood to have a bit more 'Dance Mania!' energy, but those are really my only complaints. If you like salsa . . . well, this is apparently the best there's ever been, so I can't see any reason why you wouldn't enjoy it. The same basic principle goes for if you don't like salsa — and lucky for me, I do. Nothing on here exactly gets me bounding out of my seat, but I had a real good time, and that's all I could reasonably ask for. And while I still think it's weird that there are only two salsa albums on this list, I guess I can confirm that they did make some solid picks. Can't front on 'em for that.

Good salsa, but not much to say on my end. Solid 4 Stars.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5. There’s only two salsa albums on the list; this one & Tito Puente’s “Dance Mania”, which we got in April of this year. There’s a 20 year gap, so it’s certainly an interesting look at the difference in production, instrumentation, & the boldness of the lyricism, all while maintaining a pretty similar core. “Dance Mania” does feel like it’s constantly pushing upwards, trying to lift its energy up with a mostly musical showcase, though it certainly hit some stagnant points, with not a lot of space given to the vocals. This album, while a little more “stagnant” in the sense of really sticking to a particular groove / beat, makes up for that with some soul / R&B-infused horn sections & vocal stylings, with some more political / “life”-driven lyrics, partially influenced by Stevie Wonder to some degree (“Siembra”, in particular, feels like it’s trying to channel a little bit of “Another Star”). As with “Dance Mania”, most of the rating boils down to “how much can you tolerate 43 minutes of salsa music”, as it’s very easy to ignore the lyricism here; I certainly did, given the language barrier – I only skimmed them after translating to get the vibe. I do think this isn’t as energetic as “Dance Mania” is, & I do wish it had infused just a bit more into some of the instrumentals after they settle, but there’s still a total groove that a lot of these tracks hit, and even with the longer runtimes occasionally making tracks feel like they’re dragging, I never found myself actively bothered by anything. It’s a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5; it’s not as danceable & not the breeziest runtime, but it’s still damn good salsa music, and I just had a really fun time.

It's fine, but having not grown up on this kind of music, it's very hard for me to tell one song from another, or from the Buena Vista Social Club album. My apologies.

I do love a non English language album. This is very good.

this album surprised me with its listenability...even though I didn't know what he was saying

Great, chill vibes from the instruments. Didn't look up the lyrics so they might say otherwise, but pretty relaxing. Liked the length and structuring of the songs, even the longer ones. 7/10

Quite consistent Latin dance music. Nothing too exciting

Loved it. I could even understand some of the spanish.

Pretty fun.

ja ganz nices salsa album aber gibt bessere. 3.5.

ay cabróóóóón

Fundamental, imprescindible, uno de los mejores discos (latinos) de la historia. Desde esas mágicas cuerdas y ritmo funky de plástico, hasta el clásico Pedro Navaja... todo es esencial. Buscando Guayaba transita por ritmos cubanos más clásicos. María Lionza, es imponente con ese ritmo. Marc Anthony se la sabe de memoria. Siembra cierra de forma magistral con una instrumentación fabulosa. Fania, Nuyorican salsa, música para disfrutar. Salsa urbana que puso banda sonora a historias que se han instalado en la memoria colectiva.

Fun

Прикольно, но специфично стильно.

Sounds like generic salsa and basically means nothing to me unfortunately due to the language barrier.

I had so much fun with this! Maybe I like salsa? The reason I love this site, discovering genres I didn't know I liked.

3.3 I thought Willie Colon played for the J-E-T-S. Must be pretty talented

I don’t know if this is a great example of samba or not, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I really admire salsa music, and have a little playlist for dancing, but 42 minutes of on one go without changing artist or style much feels like a lot. Maybe if I'd have danced through the whole thing it would be fine. An album for the right context for sure, which puts it at four for me.

Usually it takes me a few listens to get into music from genres that I am not familiar with. However, from the opening funk bassline of Plastico I was all in on this one. The musicianship is great and I am a sucker for a good horn section.

Finally something different.

buenisimo

No idea what’s being said but I love the vibe 💃🏼

Never really listened to Salsa, but this was quite good. Not sure I'd necessarily come back for a second serving.

Musicianship is on point, the songs are long and fully formed but never feel like they’re lugging along, and it’s awesome lyrically considering the seemingly light and fun arrangements.

This was pretty fun, but I don’t think I’d listen to again

Savamment construit et orchestré, des arrangements capiteux et somptueux. Beaucoup de plaisir à l’écoute

My favorite moments in this album were when the bass decides to just get absolutely FUNKY out of nowhere. I need to learn to dance. Just an absolute blast and something I never expected I would love listening to.

This is pleasant background music, I am definitely dancing in my chair a bit. I did lose it a bit, with the bing bing bing part of Buscando Guayaba, cracked me up.

One of the songs, Plastico, is an absolute classic for me because my parents played it so much at home The whole sound of this album, just very raw salsa is nostalgic because I heard it so much as a kid, I didn't think much of it but now I'm really seeing why it was such a hit among, well, every adult I knew. It's danceable, it's joyous, it's dramatic, it's fun, it's got storytelling, what else could you want? This is awesome

7.5

Get it.

I rocked along to this and enjoyed it. I didn't know the trombone could be so good, I always thought of it as more of a side instrument with the trumpet taking center stage so it was cool to see the trumpet shine. The music all had the same Samba beat but each was different and unique. I don't know what he was saying but it was all enjoyable and different. Maria Lionza and Ojos were my favorite.

This is such a fun celebration of Latin culture. All the layers of instruments and vocals create a really rich soundscape, and it's just a party! The country shout-outs at the end of the first track made me smile. Enjoyed this a lot!

I can't dance for shit, but I thought this was some sweet salsa.

The sound of vacation. A salsa celebration that includes a surprising amount of musical variation within the relatively tight-knit constraints of the genre. Even if it’s not your thing, it’s hard not to both appreciate and enjoy what’s been put together here.

This was a good time, and it also led me to read about the history of Salsa on Wikipedia. Interesting stuff, more contentious than I would have guessed. Not weighing in on that though, I’m just hear to listen to some tunes and say “Oh ya”

Makes you want to dance! Nice music but I don’t really know the genre so it all sounds the same to me. Would be great to see live.

It's fine, I guess. Wish I had a drink with little umbrella in it, maybe some guayaba. Or maybe I'd be in a crime movie from the 70s where I have a really big lapel. Decent variety here, but nothing for me to pick this out of a lineup of similar stuff because I don't know what I'm listening for. Cool that it had some samples, though!

I must have played GTA: Vice City for over 1000 hours. I was heading for that magical 100% stat – god, I remember it so clearly – when I decided to save the game. I hit “save” for no particularly good reason, and at the exact same moment my mum cut the power in the house (while preparing to replace a bulb, if I remember correctly). And that was that. Gone. Down from 96% to 32% like that. Returned to the lobby of the Ocean View Hotel, I could scarcely believe what I was seeing. Sure, I and everyone else who’d ever played a video game that utilised an external memory card had been warned countless times that power loss during saving could lead to “something” … but this? Playing in the lobby, Unaesta with “La Vida Es Una Lenteja” – a made up band with a made up song, one that will for my whole life be the soundtrack of a very strange emotion: an appreciation of loss, with no sense of having actually lost anything. (I’m not sure my mum actually even knows it happened; feankly, I wouldn’t expect her to care either way.) I enjoyed this album, it was fine company while rambling around the kitchen preparing a couple of dinners. But I’ll be damned if it didn’t pull me back into that moment 20 years ago over and over again. A strange seed to have sown, but I guess that’s how it goes.

Fun. Ruben Blades is a man of many talents.

This guy is Petey from Mo' Better Blues.

Nah

I am happy that Spanish language albums are being included on this list. You have made me hopeful that some Caifanes, Bukis, or other great Spanish artist will appear here. This was a good album to hear. I enjoyed hearing some Salsa on the drive home. Pedro Navaja is a classic song!

Super fun! Really enjoyed this one. I’ll be back for more.

Two legends making a memorable album. Plastico and Dime were standouts. Great lyrics throughout. I’m ready to dance!

Amazing. No notes.

4.1/need to learn how to properly salsa dance

Salsa, give me some chips to down this magestic dish. Pedro Navaja is a masterpiece of well crafted parts, about Gang crimes in NYC

fun. would be amazing on trombone champ.

Plastico 3.6 Buscando Guayaba 3.4 Pedro Navaja 3.6 Maria Lionza 3.5 Ojos 3.6 Dime 3.5 Siembra 3.4 Score: 3.514285714

Interesting from note one. Fun listen.

I have to say that I don't feel qualified to rate this album as I have had minimal exposure to salsa music even having lived in Miami for several years. It has grown from and is an integral part of a culture that I am not part of. That said it was pleasant and is captivating and engaging in its rhythms and tonality. But I can't say it has moved me to explore more music of the genre.

A nice listen. If I saw this in a record store, I would pick it up. I can see this being an album I come back to and grow to love. Just feels like home

I liked this. It was a fun ride and could see myself listening again. I don’t know much about this genre but appreciated the opportunity to learn

Oddly enough, this sounded more recent than it was.

Fine enough, not for me

I'd put money on this being played at El Prado in Laleston. A real firehose of salsa with the occasional bit of disco bass.

Its decent. Salsa/spanish music that isn't my favorite but was an ok listen throughout. Would be fine to hear in a restaurant.

This is musically exciting and technical. This is great.

couldn't do it.

Not for me

Overall pretty good listen but did not match my mood today, I'm pretty sure I've heard one of these songs before. Salsa isn't my fav genre but overall a solid 3 for me today.

Not sure what the opening of the album is. Almost like they're trying to fake people out into thinking it's a disco album. Regardless, the rest of the album is solid salsa. 4 stars.

SALSAAA 💃

What a pleasant surprise! Such a fun, energetic album with great vocals and fantastic musicianship. This list should have more albums like this gem and the fact that there are only two Salsa albums (Tito Puente, Dance Mania) while we keep getting beat over the head with talentless bums like Tom Waits and Nick Cave should be criminal. 9/10

Had me dancing in the kitchen ngl

43/1089 the start is so groovy i’m hooked already i don’t have many thoughts to add about this one. It was really nice and easy listening and the music all flowed very well. i’m not well-versed enough with salsa to comment properly on the techniques or pick out influential parts that said, it didn’t feel monotonous and i’m glad i heard it. It’s certainly very evocative of a specific time/space 3 stars or 56/100

It was quite pleasant to listen, tho a little bit too repetitive for me.

Genuinely a bop. I'd love to know what they're singing about though...

I need to confess I am not only fully unfamiliar with this artist but also Salsa as a genre and Spanish as a language. So I fear my review might boil down to my feelings on the genre more than my feelings on the record. Non the less both are fairly positive. It’s great music to listen to and despite not understanding the vast majority of the lyrics I could understand the very base line of emotions communicated. Honestly a great record and I swear I caught at least two literary references which makes this an easy 4 stars.

Didn't understand it obv but it was good

nah

So pleasant to listen to. Enjoyed every moment.

Salsa music isn't my thing.

meh

This is a discovery for me. Unexpectedly, but I'm even ready to listen to it again later!

very fun album! sometimes it's funky, sometimes it's got a classic salsa feel. this is the kind of stuff i love this project for. i will definitely come back to this one!

The first track is a bit of a false start as I am going wow! The disco/salsa album we have all been waiting for. This is not quite followed up in the rest of the album which is a very fine salsa album and has astonishing levels of musicianship wihtout being quite my thing. Still, 3 stars.

Fine? This wasn’t bad, and I get why the best selling salsa album should be on this list, but also this just washed over me. Fantastic background music, but to listen to with purpose, this fell flat.

Haven’t had a great string of albums lately. He’s clearly skilled and I’ve heard some good Nick Cave. But this one is so absurdly Vaudeville that it’s comical. Trying to get every “shocking” line in that he can is too much for me. Edge lordy

🗯 Salsa’s biggest-selling record ever — essential for certain dance floors, less so for my turntable. There’s no denying the influence here: a landmark in Latin music, packed with brass firepower, stories that balance politics and poetry, and enough rhythm to keep a salsa class spinning all night. But for me, as much as I can admire it and I really did enjoy the play through today, I’d probably never reach for it again outside of this context. Still, Siembra is the sound of a movement — and that’s what makes it unskippable in a project like this. Verdict: Essential (for salsa heads, not for me) For fans of: Héctor Lavoe, Celia Cruz, Buena Vista Social Club, socially conscious Latin grooves

Appreciate the musical talent, it was an enjoyable listen, just not really my musical taste.

Certainly an enjoyable record, but I didn't really understand how much I was actually enjoying it until the very end, that is, when the title track came around. I think the nuances in the instrumentation here are easy to miss underneath the general salsa sound the record aims for - it all went over my head. So I decided to listen to this album twice for that exact reason. And while I do think that closing title-track is the best song overall, some other highlights included 'Ojos' and 'Buscando Guayaba' - the former of which may be the catchiest thing on here. A super lavish album, with some incredibly catchy moments laced throughout. And obviously, the salsa grooves all over this thing are irresistible.

The whole album has a peppy feel. Even while the lyrics are about a criminal getting shot and stabbed in the street, it makes you want to dance around.

Uff, discazo. Gran sorpresa de la lista. Mi canción favorita es la primera: "Plástico". Posiblemente la primera canción que haya escuchado de Rubén Blades (no me acuerdo si este disco o Buscando América fue lo primero que escuché). Una canción MUY actual para escuchar en la Argentina de Milei, en el Brasil de Bolsonaro o en cualquier otro de nuestros países tan vapuleados: "Era una ciudad de plástico De esas que no quiero ver De edificios cancerosos y un corazón de oropel Donde en vez de un Sol amanece un dólar Donde nadie ríe, donde nadie llora Con gente de rostros de poliéster Que escuchan sin oír y miran sin ver Gente que vendió por comodidad Su razón de ser y su libertad" Impresionante. "¿Qué falló?" Se preguntan Blades, Colon en la canción y es imposible no hacerse la misma pregunta. Los arreglos de la canción también son buenísimos. Una cosa que me encanta de Rubén Blades, pero que creo es común a la salsa, es como en las outros el tipo empieza a decir cosas, muchas improvisadas, muchas veces humorísticas. Obviamente, el disco tiene mucho más para ofrecer. Está la "mejor canción" de Blades. Al menos para casi todo el mundo: Pedro Navaja, gran personaje del inframundo. Imaginario, pero no tanto. Todo el mundo conoce este tema, así que no me voy a detener en él. Solo voy a recomendar que tiene una segunda parte, Sorpresas, que me gusta más y creo que no recibe tanto amor. Otro tema que me parece fantástico es María Lionza (la canción se refiere a una deidad venezolana producto del sincretismo religioso). Con Plástico me parece la canción más alejada de la salsa. Desconozco si la música tiene motivos musicales venezolanos. Es posible que sea así, porque la precusión es más prominente y, en mi opinión, muy afro (más allá de que en la salsa haya obviamente mucha influencia de África). La otra canción para destacar es la homónima, "Siembra", que es un temón que podría ser el soundtrack de una película imaginaria sobre la liberación de América, con unos arreglos orquestales de otro planeta. El disco se completa con unas tres canciones algo menores: dos más romanticonas: Buscando Guayaba y Dime, y una más salsera típica: Ojos. Gran disco. Aquí me dirimo entre 4 o 5 estrellas, pero me decido por CINCO porque las canciones que me gustan, me gustan MUCHO. Es un disco de 9/10 estrellitas.

Not my type of music but not awful.

Verrrry solid fun album! I could almost see it going to a 5, but I was sorta struggling to pick out which songs I'd want to listen to more regularly! Still, absolutely fantastic vibes while I was there.

Really groovy, fun, interesting album that constantly switched it up and kept it interesting. Definitely really want to return to this one!

Some absolutely CLASSIC salsa vibes, spiced up with jazz, disco, and funk influences throughout. Great stuff!

I thought it was just fine at first but I kept going back to it throughout the day and vibing and ya know what? That makes it a 4.

I never would've expected Willie Colón to show up on this list, but he's SUCH a deserving candidate. "Best-selling salsa record" is no joke! His songs are still getting played at latino functions half a century later, despite it being more of a "conscious salsa". You just can't help but dance to these thoughtful narratives and social commentary. To that point, Pedro Navaja -- a catchy tale about street violence in New York -- was a staple of my years growing up, and it’s awesome hearing it here in its original context, within an album that manages to maintain the same level of brilliance the whole way through. Hearing him call to every Latin American country at the end of the first song was a very special kind of hype -- both thematically fitting and especially powerful given the rarity of hispanic entries in this English-dominated list. Overall, it's a stellar piece of music with enduring cultural relevance and deep personal meaning to me. This is as strong a 5 as I can give. Standouts: Plástico • Pedro Navajas • Ojos • Dime

Very solid album i never would have listened to without this challenge. Definitely not my "thing" but I appreciated the variety and the skill of the artists. I have definitely heard some of these songs before so the context was appreciated.

This album was so much fun to listen to. Completely different than what I would normally listen to but I loved the whole thing, it was he's not to smile and want to dance the entire time. The horns were excellent and there were groovy bass lines throughout. Every song obviously had that salsa style, but they were all different enough that it never felt repetitive or boring. Will absolutely listen again.

That's not my taste in music - But ok - lively music

Cool listen. Personally I have to be in a certain headspace to listen to this type of stuff. Mad respect though

This was really cool. My friend is a salsa musician, and loves this album. I can see why!

I hate salsa music so much. That Aldi advert made sure I did. The vocals are great, but the music leaves more to be desired. "Pedro Navaja" can be considered to be the best track on this album. What a bad start to the week. 2 stars for "Siembra".

Great salsa/latin music. To me, nothing that stands out from other albums in this genre.

wtf is this shit? Feels like a cross from a '70's B cop movie set in Miami, a porno, and Latin music on in the background at a chain Mexican restaurant. Well done, but definitely not something I would choose to listen to on my own.

awesome

Nice enough. Sounds a lot more modern than 1978

Great. More variation than I expected. The weather is exceptionally hot today. Perfect day for this album. Favorite song: Pedro Navaja

This is an absolute jam.

Really fun little jazz album in Spanish I believe 7/10

Awesome!

BANGER

Que cosa más hermosa el ritmo, sabor y sazón de mi gente. Talento y swing. 5/5

This is a good poster child for salsa music. Well produced, expertly performed. I don’t ever have a hankering to listen to this style in my day to day life, but it was enjoyable.

The album cover reminds me of a Pampers advert. That's just about the only constructive slant I can put towards this. Just light-years away from being anything I'd ever choose to listen to, although the international aspect is again appreciated.

Klassisk samba, bossanova. Hade inte hört talas om artisten. Schysst att lyssna på när man glider igenom T-centralen i rusningstrafik

Som med mat, ingen favoriträtt men variation är gott. Något lite extra fanns i de bluesiga inslagen.

Killer, very much enjoyed

One of the more enjoyable albums that I couldn't understand the lyrics to.

Music was good and enjoyable, but I always struggle with not being able to understand lyrics (completely my own issue)

I loved the first song but the album is just not my style of music but it's great!

Иногда хочется чего-то непривычного и такая жизнерадостная музыка отлично подходит для подобных случаев. 7 из 10.

I don’t know a lot about salsa music, but this is really good stuff. I found myself bobbing my head on every track. Some sick grooves on here- especially on “Buscando guayaba” and “Maria lionza.” The title track is - perfect. An extra star for that one. Good lord, guys. Saved the best for last! Another reminder I need to learn Spanish. FOUR STARS

Yeah, this was OK. Again, not my style, but sounds like a decent effort if you like salsa music.

I’m sure I’ve heard this in Mexico once….

This is absolutely top-tier. Amazing production, arrangements, it has everything. Very reminiscent of Spanish band Alameda too. Favourite tracks: Plástico, Buscando Guayaba, Pedro Navaja, María Lionza (those discordant piano chords are epic!), Siembra.

Very nice salsa music. Great energy

Flan and other delights. This is disco-influenced easy listening in a Latin music coating. I didn’t hate it because there’s a reason easy listening albums sell millions of copies, but I’m also not going to mistake this for real music. Somewhere a non-English speaking person is listening to a Barry Manilow album and praising its musical complexity because it’s hard to spot pablum when it’s not from your culture. That’s because most people merely adopted the lame. I was born in it, molded by it. I’ve seen an episode of The Love Boat where Sunny Bono plays a Gene Simmons knock off who comes to learn to love soft music. I can spot a lame-o in any language or cultural context. And these guys are lame-o’s.

What a great surprise! Salsa is not something I've been into before, but this was a very clean, and very catchy 45 minutes.

This slaps

Excellent musicians and superb songwriters

Nice.

Yeah this is a solid album. Very easy to listen to on repeat.

3.8.

Surprisingly fun! Personal enjoyment: 5/5 Relevance to this list: 4/5

I read "best selling [insert genre] album of all time" and assume it's either great or terrible, this one was definitely the former. The whole album has this incredibly dancey feel to it. Make it a challenge to try not to move around while listening to this, you'd fail in the first two songs. Not to mention those trombones, they were the best part of the album.

I mean, it’s fine for what it is, but what it is is something I can’t imagine wanting to listen to ever again

I liked it at the start, but got tired of it halfway through. Still though it doesn't last long and is a nice change of pace from the norm. Rating: 2.8

A Salsa album, but the opening track, "Plástico", starts off like a Disco album from the late 1970s. I'm not really a Salsa fan, but my favourite track on the album was "María Lionza".

Fantastic Latin grooves and some funky slap bass lines. Didn’t understand a word but sure makes you want ti dance.

A fun one I wasn’t familiar with before.

Really enjoyed this! A fan of this genre but get lost in the names and albums. This was a lot of fun

Didn't know what to expect with this one but I really enjoyed this! Really nice varied album.

It's salsa, I likes the trumpets

Great! Had me tapping my feet the whole time

I was surprised at this one. I hadn't heard it before. I enjoyed it. Not sure I'd listen again, but I'm happy to have heard once.

Terrific salsa music! It has an upbeat, breezy energy, and rhythm rhythm rhythm! There's some big band horns, along with dramatic strings on at least one track. And lots of personality. The vocal performances pop with fun choices throughout.

Really nice large scale salsa album. It's gorgeous in all areas- vocals, trombone/brass, percussion, bass guitar... I also love the random SFX you get in a track like "Pedro Navaja". I'd even argue that if I listened more, that this song could possibly my favorite salsa song ever, it's incredible, and does so much more than just provide a base for people to dance to. This is a triumph in the genre. I didn't know it until I googled the album that it's one of the best selling albums in the genre of all time. I'm not surprised- it's a joy to listen to.

Very cool. Very fun. Definitely changed my perspective on salsa.

Самба на берегу ансамбля

Interesting, jazzy, Spanish, fun

never heard of this one either

Foi um disco agradável, mas pra mim, ele se tornou som ambiente logo na segunda faixa. Dali pra frente, o álbum falhou em capturar minha atenção novamente. De certo, é um gênero animado. Músicas para festas. Como eu havia dito, é agradável. Todos os seus elementos são bem feitos e produzidos. Não há nada aqui para reclamar. A não ser pelo fato que eu não senti absolutamente nada ouvindo essas canções. São dançáveis, não irei negar. Mas eu escolheria uma trilha sonora diferente para minhas festas. 2/5

Good vibes throughout. Only thing I can say against it is that the songs started sounding pretty similar by the end. Favorite track: Buscando Guyaba

Another Latin American album, not bad but nothing special. Not my sort of thing, but done well enough.

Happy and energetic business. I can respect the musicianship, but it’s never a genre I’m going to choose to play.

A very different thing to what Im used to, so its difficult to score. The bass playing was great, but the drum patterns were obviously going to become repetative. The novelty wore off about half way through before it became a chore. If I could dance then I might have given it a 5. I can't, so as a less interactive listening experience its a 1. However, with one of the duo called 'Willie Colon', my imagination runs riot and have to snigger. Just for that its a 2.

did my best to get at least a cursory understanding...this is an early commercial success for salsa, which on the whole is a much more recent genre than i would have guessed, with rly strong roots in nyc jazz clubs. i think whats most interesting to me here is the combined emphasis on loose Sustained structures for improvisation and dance together with a clear spotlight on ruben blade's lyrics, wasted on me ofc but many sources helpfully provide summaries of the general content ...a lot of commonplace and aspirational latin american stories. ive also seen rumblings that blades at least occasionally improvised verses, which i cant rly confirm obviously but which does add to this interesting incorporation of a lyrical focus into music that at least on the surface doesnt seem rigid at all, considering rigidity is where language tends to Live in music. im prob missing something about how this all works lol but its a good album, predictably i enjoyed it more than anything from a jazz angle. im unsure how much salsa there is on this list generally, but i am curious about its later, more "commercial" forms...tho i suspect this configuration would remain my favorite or at least close to it, i like jazz too much

Straight up Latin music

Not bad

What nervous music!

Fine for Salsa music

★★½

Goh, dit was wel een leuke dagstart in de auto. Zeker als je jezelf waant in een goed spaans tapas restaurant. En dan bedoel ik niet La Cubanita, waar de gehaktbal nog net niet de magnetron uit rolt. Nee, dit is voor de echte Spaanse toko's. Echter, het is allemaal wel heel erg hetzelfde. Wat datbetreft is het fijn dat ze het kort hebben gehouden met 43 min. Al met al, prima om een keer te luisteren, maar niet perse het wederhoren waard voor mij. 3 reten.

3/5. Salsa has never drawn my attention fully. It is most likely because I cannot understand the vocals and that's on me, I get that, but the music doesn't make up for it. I enjoy jam bands and extended instrumentals, but it is just the vibe and energy that is not doing it for me. I can appreciate this record though, and I did find myself digging some songs, but this is not one I would put on repeat. I think I just lose myself in the track list. Best Song: Plástico, Siembra, Buscando Guayaba

Nice. Wasn't expecting it to start out with that little disco riff. faves: "Plastico", "Siembra"

"Plastico!"

It was nice Will I listen to again: 38%

Quite fun, I didn't dislike it, but not something I'd seek out again or do a closer listen to.

Probably the best a salsa album can be. The first 10 seconds gave the impression it was going to have a disco slant, but that goes out the window pretty quickly. I dont know what more I can really say. Its salsa music

Love it

not a salsa (music) expert, but this sounds pretty damn good. i like the disco bits too. i also like when the singer shushes up and lets the band work, like on “ojos.” and i like those babies.

Literally listened to this all day. The funk infusion is pretty clever. More more more please

salsa is background music for me. BG music that I like but don't really know much about. PLASTICO brought it to the FG for me with that funky ass disco beat. Really intersting. Enjoyed it all the way through, would spin it again.

Salsa isn’t my kind of music, and I’ll never listen to the album again. But I has a good time listening to this, it is nice summer weather and life is good

Great background music, Latin beats very summery, nice.

What a brilliant album, no wonder it's such a highly regarded salsa album, often making THE top spot in lists. Impeccable playing. Always groovy. That bass is insane!! Also, Willie Colón has some of the most badass album covers I've ever seen, check out those ones from 1968!

Liking me some spicy salsa!

A lot of Latin fun.

It's fun. 3.5*

Not familiar with salsa music and whether it is good or not. I did enjoy listening to it but became bored after the first two songs. I did appreciate the production which was crisp and tight.

More non-English albums like this!

Hot salsa with a bit of disco mixed in, it was the 70s after all. Some easy listening here, would be even better in a club with some spicy salsa dancers. All songs listenable- enjoyable experience. (2.75*s)

Siembra has the pep of any salsa album but does pack a little extra spice. Colon brings swag and has some weird fun on "Buscando Guayaba"...not sure what's going on but I dig. Kinda just another set of salsa tunes though. Is the cover supposed to mean Big Willie is "planting" his seed and having tons of babies? Siembra is one that may grow on you as you keep listening but this go around I'm giving it 2 stars.

Wasn't excited about a salsa album but it wasn't as bad as I thought it could be. Nothing I will ever revisit but at least I got to enjoy some Spanish vocals for 45 minutes. Not sure what makes this something I need to listen to before I die but I guess this is the best selling salsa album of all time so I guess it's good I can now check that box. 2.07 stars

Enjoyable, although I felt a bit disappointed that the opening moments made it feel like it was going to go in one, funky direction and then it didn’t

My favorites were plastico and Pedro Navaja.. it wasn’t bad. I just had to translate the songs to get a better understanding of the messages

Cannot be bothered to listen to Spanish music. Some beats are good though. 3/5

Trombones might have inspired Tiger of San Pedro? Liked it, though not my style.

Great mix of Latin and modern.

Salsa, more than a couple of songs is just too much for me. Like the love boat but in Spanish.

I know Ruben's name and his movies but I've never given his music a listen. I'm not into Latin music at all, nice in the background maybe but I don't enjoy the overall rhythms and not understanding the lyrics. This was no different, I couldn't tell you if this is good or cutting edge or influential. I was shocked by the # of listens on Spotify. People appreciate this album so I respect that. Over 168M listens for "Pedro Navaja", I didn't think that was the best track either. The whole thing sounded like part of a Latin music stars visit to Fantasy Island or that time on the Love Boat when they pull him up on stage. Background music at best. 2 stars, it did nothing for me but it may be a cornerstone album in Latin music.

strong contender for worst album cover on the list lol

How on earth did this get on the list? Here, hold my castanets 🕺💃