Known for his mariachi-inspired easy listening sound, trumpeter Herb Alpert is one of the most successful instrumental performers in pop history. He is also one of the entertainment industry's canniest businessmen, having co-founded A&M Records – a label that ranks among the most prosperous artist-owned companies ever established – with partner Jerry Moss. Collection includes: The Lonely Bull (1962); South Of The Border (1964); Whipped Cream & Other Delights (1965); !!Going Places!! (1965); What Now My Love (1966); S.R.O (1966); The Beat Of The Brass (1968); Rise (1979); Fandango (1982); Bullish (1984); Keep Your Eye On Me (1987); Classics, Volume 1 (1987); Steppin' Out (Featuring Lani Hall) (2013); In The Mood (2014); Come Fly With Me (2015).

The question that must be confronted for those familiar with the breadth of her work is, "Is it even possible for Celia Cruz to record a bad album?" With elements such as producer Emilio Estefan, Jr., executive producer Angel Carrasco, and of course, la guarachera del mundo herself converging to create 2000's Siempre Vivire, the answer to that question seems clear. Celia's first album for Sony certainly captured those elements that uniquely belong to Cruz, and discriminatingly avoided any influences of the day that might adulterate those qualities or date the project. In conceiving this record, the creative team walked a very fine line by deciding on a project that could both stand among its contemporary peers and yet sound classic. It is hard in modern salsa to find the tres, a sultry bolero, or to hear plena played well. In a genre that continues to narrow its stylistic scope, it's refreshing to come across a record that can simultaneously be a citizen of the present, and reach to the past.

In early 1990, when she was one of the biggest pop stars in the world, Gloria Estefan suffered a broken vertebrae when her tour bus was struck in an accident, and her miraculous recovery from that near tragedy greatly informed her successive album, Into the Light. Though often noted as a "comeback" album, that descriptor is misleading. Yes, Into the Light is a comeback – a comeback from her accident, that is. It's not a comeback in the sense that her previous album, Cuts Both Ways, had been a failure or even a disappointment. No, Estefan hadn't fallen off, so to speak, with that album. Quite the opposite. It was a monster hit, breaking into the Top Ten and scoring a couple of high-charting ballads: "Don't Wanna Lose You" and "Here We Are." It also marked a drastic shift away from the unabashed dance-pop of her Miami Sound Machine output toward a more respectable adult contemporary appeal. This shift affected not only her image but also her audience as a result, and that shift is even more apparent on Into the Light. In fact, the shift seems complete, as this is full-fledged adult contemporary album with serious themes and toned-down production.

Having recently declared that he's in far better voice than he was in his '70s/'80s heyday, romantic crooner Julio Iglesias gets to put his money where his mouth is on this alternative greatest-hits collection, Vol. 1. His first studio release since 2007's Quelque Chose de France sees Spain's most successful musical export revisit 15 of his most cherished songs from his enduring 40-year career, with tracks spanning from 1973's Un Canto a Galicia (the title track) right up to 2006's Romantic Classics (a Spanish-language version of Elvis' "Always on My Mind"). But other than the inevitable maturity in Iglesias' voice and a slightly glossier production, there's little variation between the originals and the new recordings, which, with the exception of the breezy Gallic lounge-pop of "As Vezes Tu, As Vezes Eu," stick to his trademark orchestral and flamenco-tinged chansons.

The 2006 release of The Essential Gloria Estefan satisfied a long unmet need for a career-spanning English-language retrospective, one that includes the singer's popular hits with Miami Sound Machine in the mid-'80s as well as her subsequent solo recordings. For years, Estefan fans had few best-of choices to choose from – the Spanish-language Exitos de Gloria Estefan (1990), the two-volume Greatest Hits series (1992, 2001), and the latter-day Amor y Suerte: Exitos Romanticos collection (2004) – with no alternatives, not even budget-line knockoffs. The long-overdue release of The Essential Gloria Estefan thankfully resolved this gripe, for it includes the highlights from all aspects of Estefan's varied output, spread generously across two jam-packed discs.

It should come as no surprise that Enrique Iglesias' 2008 Greatest Hits begins in 1999, when he made the leap from the Latin market into the mainstream. All his very successful '90s albums on Fonovisa are bypassed, written off as prehistory, so the spotlight shines only on his English-language singles of the new millennium: the club tracks and syrupy slow songs that gave him a significant number of crossover hits. With the exception of a couple of minor blips on the charts like 2000's "Sad Eyes," all these are here, starting with 1999's "Bailamos" and "The Rhythm Divine," running through 2000's "Be with You" and 2001's "Hero," stopping for 2004's "Not in Love," winding up with 2007's "Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)" and wrapping up with two new duets, "Away" with Sean Garrett and "Takin' Back My Love" with Ciara. While this approach may lop off half of his career, it also does exactly what hits collections should do: it gives the casual listener the hits they want to hear and nothing else.

Mexican superstar Luis Miguel followed up his immensely successful ballads collection, Romance, with the aptly titled Grammy-winner Segundo Romance (meaning second romance). The album, of course, is a first-rate collection of timeless Latin American standards. Miguel, one of Latin America's reigning superstars, has a wonderful, passionate voice, and the songs were exquisitely produced by the artist himself. The album opens with a romantic accordion leading into the first song, "El Dia Que Me Quieras," setting the tone for the rest of the set. Other highlights include his lush version of "La Media Vuelta," one of the album's biggest hits, complete with horns, strings, and Spanish guitars.

Enrique Iglesias made a big splash with his first album, released in late 1995. The son of Latin superstar Julio Iglesias, Enrique's debut is devoted to polished, romantic pop tunes and power ballads, all with a contemporary pop/rock feel that shies away from many common clichés of Latin pop. The album was a major commercial success in Latin America and earned a gold record in the United States; it also won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album.

For years, Manu Chao has been travelling the world to meet his fans in unusual venues, villages and small festivals. Elusive, but always accessible to those who cross his path, Manu now presents his new studio album Viva Tu, a collection of songs written at the heart of daily lives and struggles, and a fresh take on the state of the world, singing sunny, universal songs in Spanish, French, English and Portuguese, painting an unforgiving picture of social imbalances. The lead song ‘Viva Tu’, a heartfelt rumba dedicated to the daily life heroes, has already made its mark. The second single, ‘São Paulo Motoboy’, is a colourful, sunny ode to the two-wheeled delivery people venturing the Latin American metropoles every day. The album also features some memorable collaborations, including ‘Heaven's Bad Day’ with country legend Willie Nelson and ‘Tu Te Vas’ with rising French rapper Laeti.

The Andalusian singer’s debut brushes electronic beats and R&B melodies over a flamenco canvas. It is a masterful meditation on ancestral struggle that looks back to find a way forward.