PerfectPitch for Music Enthusiasts

You can explore Latin music by just browsing the database. And if you're purely interested in the music and don't want to miss anything, then going through it alphabetically would make perfect sense. The drawback is that you would not be able to appreciate the relatedness of songs by era, artist, label, producer, style or geography. Nothing beats complementary reading: from the web, liner notes, books, published interviews, which would help you understand how pieces of music are linked.

But while you're here, let's try a little directed learning (some artists not yet available on PerfectPitch):
 

Music Movement / Style / Era
Classic Salsa
Of around the time when the word "salsa" was used as a marketing term.
Artists: Johnny Pacheco; Celia Cruz; Ray Barretto; Hector Lavoe; Ismael Rivera; Ruben Blades; Fania All Stars; Willie Colon

Big Band Mambo
When microphones were so expensive that only vocalists had them. Bands had to be big to fill halls like the Palladium with sound.
Artists: Perez Prado, Machito, Xavier Cugat, Tito Puente.

Boogaloo (Latin Soul)
Movement in the 60's that combined Latin with soul music, then lyrics were mostly in English.
Artists: Pete Rodriguez, Blackout Allstars (single: I like it like that), Misma Gente (single: Fiebre Boogaloo), Sonora Carusseles.

Charanga
Flute and violins in the lineup, typical of chachachá bands in the 1950s
Artists: Orquesta America, Orquesta Aragon, Johnny Pacheco, Africando, Alfredo de la Fe.

Classic Merengue
By classic, I mean when tambora rolls, accordion or saxophone jaleos, and guira defined the genre.
Artists: Johnny Ventura, Kinito Mendez, Pochy y su Cocoband, Juan Luis Guerra (early)

Merengue House
Fat beats, drum machines, rap and a "take no prisoners" attitude to dance.
Artists: Proyecto Uno, Ilegales, Sandy & Papo MC, Fulanito, Sancocho, Los Generales.

Cumbia
From Colombia, and more popular in Mexico than salsa.
Artists: Best do a search by rhythm type for this one, Sonora Dinamita.

Vallenato
Accordion based music from Colombia. Legend has it that the first accordions in Colombia were originally from Germany, washed ashore when a cargo ship ran aground.
Artists: Alfredo Guttierez, Carlos Vives.
 

Geography / National Identity
Cuba
Typified by a more open rhythmic structure, massive range of rhythm types that fall under the salsa category.
Artists: Eligio Reve (changui, an early form of son from Oriente), Sierra Maestra (son revivalist group), Celina Gonzalez (less well known than Celia Cruz, sings campesina or rural stypes), Juan Formell y Los Van Van (lots of synths, originators of the songo rhythm), Compay Segundo (son in the style of itinerant troubadours), Juan Carlos Alfonso y su Dan Den (modern big hitters), Orquesta Aragon (one of the original charanga bands with none of the original members), Sonora Matancera (Celia Cruz's old group while they were still Cuban).

Colombia
Denser rhythmic patterns and a cavalier attitude to clave.
Artists: Melcochita, Grupo Niche (central Colombia), Joe Arroyo (creator of the Joeson rhythm, coastal salsa), Fruko y sus Tesos (producer for Discos Fuentes and most of Colombia's big salsa names), Orquesta Pasion Juvenil, La Misma Gente, Grupo Gale, Sonora Carruseles (the ones who broke into USA for Discos Fuentes), Luis Felipe.

New York
Cuban music played by Puerto Ricans in New York. Responsible for Latin music's revival. NY Salsa has flatter, more even sounds. The genre that inspired dancing on "street two".
Artists: Wayne Gorbea, Cuco Valoy, Javier Vazquez, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz (after she left Cuba).

Africa
Almost exclusively from the western coast of Africa especially French-speaking Senegal. They were amazed to hear their rhythms on the radio emanating from the Caribbean, took up playing it, and the rest is history.
Artists: Africando, Pape Fall, Various - African Salsa.

Dominican Republic
Merengue is still a potent symbol of national identity, although Bachata has now displaced it as music of the underclasses. You can't think Dominican Republic without listening to the music of its greatest son, Juan Luis Guerra.
 

Music Label
Stern's Africa
Based in the UK, Sterns specialises in African music.
Artists: Africando, Africando All Stars, Various - African Salsa

RMM
Acronym for Ralph Mercado Management. Salsa from RMM follows a particular formula, a cross between swinging salsa and the romantica style of the 80s. Now defunct.
Artists: Issac Delgado, Celia Cruz, Jose Alberto, Ritmo Mundo Musical, Tito Nieves, Isidro Infante, Tito Rojas.

Fania
Was responsible for marketing "salsa" (much to the chagrin of Tito Puente) that started a craze, climaxing in THAT concert… From a historical perspective, Fania stimulated many careers, so you can find early works of classic artists on this label.
Artists: Johnny Pacheco, Ray Barretto, Fania All Stars, Ruben Blades, Willie Colon

Discos Fuentes
Colombia's largest recording label, of which Fruko was an important producer. For a long time they were better known in Europe than the US. That's before Sonora Carusseles came along with "Al Son de los Cueros" (released later as "Heavy Salsa").
Artists: Fruko y sus Tesos, Joe Arroyo y la Verdad, Sonora Carusseles, Grupo Gale, Sonora Dinamita, Los Titanes, Luis Felipe.

Cutting Records
A vibrant new label that established an identity in a very short period of time. It signs merengue house artists.
Artists: Fulanito, Sancocho, Innocentes MC.

RykoLatino
Very young label, whose trademark so far is a lack of identity. They seem to sign artists who are dissatisfied with their old labels because of lack of artistic freedom. Rykolatino gives them a longer lead. Their biggest coup to date is Jose Alberto and his album "Herido".
Artists: Jose Alberto, Tribute to Roberto Clemente, Truco y Zaperoko, Plena Libre.
 

Producers
Sergio George
Keyboardist and former producer for RMM, eventually established his own company Sir George. His trademark is high-energy arrangement, a Latin Jim Steinman.
Artists: Dark Latin Groove, Orquesta De La Luz (the all-conquering Japanese band), Velas, Melcochita (single: Abusadora), Brooklyn Funk Essentials (single: Latin Boogaloo remix).

Ernesto "Fruko" Estrada
One of the greats of Colombian salsa, most famous for the classic songs "El Preso" and "Barranquillero Arrebatao". For a list of artists, see Labels: Discos Fuentes above.

Emilio Estefan
Husband of Gloria Estefan, helped to bring salsa into the US mainstream.
Artists: Cheito, Thalia (single:Piel Morena, album: Amor a la Mexicana), Gloria Estefan, "The Specialist" Original Soundtrack.

John Armstrong
Moonlights as a DJ and is probably one of London's best known. He deserves his hype. Complies CDs instead of producing other artists work. The best compilations so far, on the Nascentes label, are "Salsa Moderna" and "Salsa Clasica".