Rolling Stone magazine, the bible of rock & roll, has been expanding the range of its interests over the years. The publication, linked to the most Anglo-Saxon tradition, has opened up to the new styles that are emerging with force and, inevitably, the time had to come for it to deal with reggaeton.
In recent years, the Caribbean style has become the most listened to in the Spanish-speaking world and one of the most important in the world. The magazine has also wanted to deal with the quality of its fruits, which has drawn up a list with the hundred best themes of the style. These are the best songs in the history of reggaeton. There are some debatable decisions, such as relegating Don Omar’s “Dale Don Dale” to number 13 or Daddy Yankee’s “Lo que pasó pasó” to 16. J Balvin’s “Mi gente” does not appear until number 21, and “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi doesn’t appear until 43. But that’s what the lists are for, to discuss them.
At number one, Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina ,” which the magazine reviews thus: “By 2004, Daddy Yankee was already a proven talent in the underground reggaeton scene, but he was busy preparing his next big move. He had been planning an album, he wanted to call it ”Barrio Fino”, which would set the standard in the genre, and he looked for inspiration wherever he went. A stroke of brilliance came unexpectedly: he was sitting in his house, in his apartment in San Juan, when he heard a man yell at a girl on the street: “How do you like gasoline!” And that’s how they say the best song in the history of the genre was born.
In second position is “I want to dance”, by Ivy Queen , which the magazine describes as “without a doubt, the greatest feminist anthem in the history of reggaeton”. “The song was ahead of its time and deeper than the years of its creator. Ivy Queen raised her voice, despite being outnumbered in a genre full of men, and told the collective story of women around the world who wanted to celebrate their bodies and explore their sensuality while pushing boundaries and empowering themselves on the dance floor. dance”.
In third position, a legend: Tego Calderón with ““Pa’ Que Retozen”. “Make listeners dance and then think was the career change advice given to him by Tego Calderón’s father.” With Afro-Caribbean sounds while projecting social awareness, this track, produced by DJ Joe, “is most identifiable by the guitar patterns found in bachata, making the song one of the highly acclaimed early “bachatón” classics. and one that continues to inspire the genre,” the publication explains.
The fourth is for another of the greats of the genre, Don Omar. With “Dile”, which winks at the Dons of the mafia, he achieved the commercial peak of the genre at that time. “Dile” delivers smug bragging as Omar gradually convinces his secret lover to fire his man. They are followed by Zion and Lennox, a feat with Daddy Yankee on the 2004 song “Yo Voy” , a song that “burned down the clubs with its relentless track. It endures to this day as one of the genre’s most beloved staples.”
The following positions are for Wisin y Yandel, with “Rakata” and for NORE feat with “Oye Mi Canto” . Bad Bunny appears in ninth position along with Casper Mágico, Nio García, Darell, Nicky Jam and Ozuna in the well-known “Te Bote (Remix)” : “the song helped launch a young Puerto Rican shopkeeper named Bad Bunny into the stratosphere of the pop, highlighting the talent that was emerging from Puerto Rico. The song also had some political applications: During the 2018 midterm elections, Latino voters made “Te Boté” an anthem in the removal of politicians who support Trump. The list extends up to one hundred posts, although each one, as is logical, will have their favorites.