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.

The basic criteria is that songs were chosen for some personal relevance in 2021.

It goes without saying that song selection for any list is subjective. My intention is just to share songs which had meaning to me in 2021--regardless of release date--but thorough organization seemed necessary to add meaning, unity, and relevance. However, this project was for fun, and in no way are the lists intended to be official or authoritative.

All lists will be on Spotify and Apple Music as playlists, which will update when a quarterly chart gets posted on this site.

First up is "Early 2021". This will be followed by the other charts, one at a time, until the end of the year.

I hope my selections are fun for everyone. I am certainly interested in readers' opinions too, so please share your thoughts in the comments after each chart.

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