BeTraveler

For those of you who want to discover World Music without having to travel all around the world, there is a very good alternative: the Rough Guide to Music series.

The Rough Guide to Music releases are always nicely packaged and moderately informative. These samplers promise their listeners a solid introduction to a particular artist's, genre's, or country's musical wealth. Previous outstanding examples are many. For individual artists, try the early works of Youssou N'Dour's Etoile de Dakar, or the Congo's Franco; for a particular genres, Highlife or Klezmer; and for countries, Senegal and Gambia. Furthermore, Rough Guide compilations provide an affordable alternative for those who can't afford to wildly plop down $25 a pop on unfamiliar imports or, at least, allow you to figure out which specific import to later dedicate that hard (or hardly)-earned cash.

Some favourite records of ours include:
- The Rough Guide to the Music of the Balkans
- The Rough Guide to the Music of China
- The Rough Guide to Music of Greece