Where to start with Reggaeton

Reggaeton is a genre from Panama City, Panama & San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1985–2017. Its principal artists include Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderón, DJ Playero and Ivy Queen. This issue covers 10 essential albums and 12 dated events.

Start here

1
Playero 34
DJ Playero · 1994
It's the underground origin point, where Daddy Yankee first appeared and reggaeton reportedly got its name.
2
Barrio Fino
Daddy Yankee · 2004
Original release: El Cartel Records · 545-450-639-2-IN02 · CD · Puerto Rico 2004
This is where reggaeton kicked the door down, hitting No. 1 and going global.
3
El Abayarde
Tego Calderón · 2002
It shows reggaeton's conscious alternative, proving the genre could carry weight without losing its groove.

Go deeper

4
El Cangri.com
Daddy Yankee · 2002
Original release: VI Music · CD · Puerto Rico 2002
Released in 2002, El Cangri.com was Daddy Yankee's first taste of international attention, picking up coverage in New York and Miami markets outside Puerto Rico's usual circuits.
5
Diva
Ivy Queen · 2003
Original release: Real Music · 8 809 570 130-2 · CD · US 2003
Released in 2003, Diva confirmed Ivy Queen as reggaeton's undisputed Queen and pushed the genre somewhere new by folding bachata into its rhythmic core.
6
Mas Flow
Luny Tunes (various artists) · 2003
Produced by Luny Tunes in 2003, Mas Flow was the compilation that polished reggaeton's edges without sanding down its energy, featuring Daddy Yankee's "Cógela Que Va Sin Jockey" among its key tracks.
7
12 Discípulos
Eddie Dee (various artists) · 2004
Original release: Diamond Music · CD · Puerto Rico 2004
Released in 2004, 12 Discípulos put Tego Calderón, Daddy Yankee, and reggaeton's other leading names on one record, a lineup that read like a statement of arrival.

For the obsessed

8
Playero 37: Underground
DJ Playero · 1994
Original release: Play Underground · PG-001 · CD · Puerto Rico 1994
Cut in 1994 in a makeshift San Juan studio with secondhand gear, Playero 37 captured Puerto Rico's pre-reggaeton underground at full volume: unpolished, urgent, made by people with no reason…
9
The Underdog/El Subestimado
Tego Calderón · 2006
By 2006, with reggaeton chasing crossover success on every front, Tego Calderón used The Underdog/El Subestimado to walk in the opposite direction, deeper into experimental hip-hop and Afro-Caribbean sound.
10
El Cartel: The Big Boss
Daddy Yankee · 2007
Original release: El Cartel Records · B0008937-02 · CD · US 2007
El Cartel: The Big Boss landed in 2007 and immediately set the first-week sales record for a reggaeton album, moving 88,000 copies.

The stories behind every record are in Reggaeton, a members' issue.