Episode 126: Tropical Top 100 Part 5

Today you will be hearing the final episode in a series I’ve been doing throughout the holiday season. I’ve been counting down the Tropicology top one hundred greatest songs from Africa, Brazil, and Latin America. Today we are at the end of that journey; you will hear the top 15 songs in the Tropicology Top 100. You can find an official master list of the top 100 songs on Instagram, just look for Encyclopedia Sound, or search for the topic Tropicology. Or, of course, you can find song credits for each track on the xray website archives at xray.fm. So far I have been grouping songs by sound rather than by rank… I have covered my top sounds from country and cosmopolitan traditions in tropical countries; I’ve covered music for the dance floor, and I’ve covered deep sounds from Africa. But today the playlist is formally ranked… these are my top rated songs from number 15 through the song at the very top of the list. The tracks I’m playing today are all among my own favorite tracks of all time, but they are not necessarily at the top of my list of personal favorites. There are a few cases today of songs at the top just because I like them so much… but for the most part the songs on today’s show are here because they have achieved something significant. Some songs are here because they represent, to me, the paragon of a certain style… the best rumba, the most perfect mambo. Some songs are here because they pioneered a new style that went on to become a canonized music genre. And some songs are here because they have played a significant role popularizing tropical sounds with international audiences. I’ll be giving extensive notes to each song as we go today. Top tropical songs is my holiday gift this year… this will be the payoff espisode of the Tropical Top One Hundred.