Salsa is far too underrated in the 2020s, at least outside of Latin American pop culture. It’s such an invigorating, culturally relevant genre of music that has only gotten better as it has evolved. Let’s take a look at four of the very best salsa albums that anyone new to the genre should experience at least once!
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1. ‘Indestructible’ by Ray Barretto
This 1973 record from Ray Barretto was a natural response to more or less being abandoned by his once tight-knit jazz players. Barretto transitioned from jazz to salsa and managed to put together a new group of musicians, including the incomparable Puerto Rican vocalist Tito Allen. The cover and title of this record are apt; Barretto rose from the ashes after getting done dirty by his band and put together one of the best salsa records of all time.
2. ‘Cheo’ by Cheo Feliciano
Cheo is one of the best salsa albums of all time, or at least one of the best to come out of the 1970s. Fresh out of rehab and with a new perspective on life, Cheo Feliciano worked with Tite Curet Alonso to put together one of the most elegant and positive collections of salsa works. From beginning to end, it’s a sonic wonderland made only better by the ivory-tinkling of Larry Harlow.
3. ‘Siembra’ by Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
The cover of this 1978 album might be recognizable to even non-salsa fans. Siembra is an excellent collaborative effort between Willie Colón and Rubén Blades. And it’s still considered one of the best-selling albums in the salsa genre ever. It certainly makes sense why. There are so many elements that fuse together perfectly on this record, from the foundations of salsa to disco beats to other forms of Afro-Caribbean dance music to jazz.
4. ‘Comedia’ by Héctor Lavoe
One of the best salsa albums to come out of 1978, Comedia by Héctor Lavoe boasts the perfect mix of talent and humor. Few had Lavoe’s charismatic nature, which made this salsa record all the more enjoyable. Lavoe performed the songs on this album, Rubén Blades wrote the songs, and Willie Colón produced it. In a way, it’s almost like a one-off from a supergroup.
Photo by Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images for The Latin Recording Academy
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