Various Artists - Latin Classics 3 / Various - Latin Pop - CD

CD. For any Latin music lover who got anywhere near a radio during 2006 it will be little to no surprise who ended up as Billboard Latin Music Awards 2006 finalists. From track to track the artists represented go from well known to stars to legends. Considering that the Billboard awards are not compiled by music critics but in large part by the chart-maker s numbers there s no guarantee of the music s quality just its success. Though oftentimes musical excellence and the charts don t agree this 2006 compilation has some really great music that one might not find together in another context. Artists like Brenda K. Starr Laura Pausini and Eddie Palmieri offer rays of brilliant musical sunshine. Reggaeton s presence on the charts these days is not something to be overlooked as is evidenced by the genre s four tracks on the compilation two of which feature vocalist Don Omar (a good year for Don). The only real weak point is the hole punched in the album by RBD s really terrible Rebelde. All said 2005 must have been a good year for Latin music. Just look at the finalists. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez Rovi