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Music Charts

With the end of the year approaching, I want to show what 2021 meant to me in terms of notable songs by adding music charts to this site. While the focus is on salsa, other genres are included, too.

The Year's Music in Review-2021


I decided on several lists featuring 5 or 10 tracks and assigned them to 4 charts: Early 2021, Spring 2021, Summer 2021, and Late 2021. The result is 140 songs across 18 lists, which will total 560 songs for the whole year...


Also chosen in each quarter are 5 DJ mixes that I found inspiring.


See below for the lists, which include a brief description. This is followed by information on context and selection criteria.



Salsa

(10 tracks in each list below)


1. CONTEMPORARY SALSA: New

2021 Releases


2. CONTEMPORARY SALSA: Recent

Still Hot from 2020


3. CONTEMPORARY SALSA: Anthems

Big Winners From the 2010s


4. CONTEMPORARY SALSA: Nostalgic

The Millennial Era


5. CLASSIC SALSA

The Golden Era


6. SONGS FOR MY FATHER

The Roots of Salsa


7. BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

Missed Gems Discovered in 2021


8. SPOTLIGHT: Cuba


Exclusively Cuban Artists



Other Latin Music

(5 tracks in each list below)


9. SPOTLIGHT: Japan


Exclusively Japanese Artists


10. SPOTLIGHT: Africa

Full Circle

11. SPOTLIGHT: Bachata


New & Recent


12. LATIN LOUNGE


Contemporary Easy Listening


13. DEEP LATIN VIBES


Classic Boogaloo, Cha Cha Cha, Son, Guajira


14. SABROSURA SIN CLAVE


Reggaeton & More



Other Genres

(5 tracks in each list below)


15. SPOTLIGHT: Jamaica


Old & New


16. SPOTLIGHT: Africa


Old & New


17. SPOTLIGHT: Club Jazz


Acid-/Nu-/Funk Jazz & Broken Beat


18. MISCELLANEA

Upbeat Vibes



Context and selection criteria

Although the music charts mention 2021, only one list is exclusively for 2021 releases (List #1).


Songs in the other lists have been chosen because they were somehow relevant to me in 2021. For example, lists 2 to 5 have salsa tracks from other years, but they were used in DJ sets this year. List 6 is a selection of songs prepared for a tribute to my late father, who passed away in 2021. List 7 features salsa discovered in 2021 but from earlier years, et cetera.


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