It’s tough to pick, but I can give six types of music as a tour of the variety of Latin American music. These are chosen because they are influential throughout the Americas and world, but still recognized as of a certain place. All Brazilians embrace samba as their national sound, for example, and likewise tango in Argentina or merenque in the Dominican Republic.

So the six types of music are: reggaeton from Puerto Rico, salsa from Cuba, merengue from the Dominican Republic, Andean music from the entire Andes region from Chile up to Colombia, Cumbia, originating in Colombia (but performed in this case by the late Texas singer Selena, and Samba from Brazil.

The playlist player gives an example of each of the six types I am featuring. Click on the button for a pop-out player.

For a much broader survey, see this Website  that also locates each of the myriad styles in his home region and links to some samples.