Although the country's best known for classic bossa nova and tropicalismo, in the past few years, Brazil's contingent of cutting-edge fusionistas has made it one of the most forward-thinking music scenes anywhere on the planet. The 13 servings of favela funk, South American reggae, and Portuguese-language rap on this compilation live up to its name-the sounds are both inspiring and new. Because it's Brazilian, the disc is super-melodic, kinda chill, and occasionally romantic, while tracks like A Filial's "Camila" offer an entirely fresh, globalized perspective on hip-hop-something jaded hipsters probably didn't think possible at this point.

By Eric K. Arnold