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This is all besides almost anything by Chico Buarque...Some people say his all-time best recording is the album called "Chico Buarque ao Vivo, Paris, Le Zenith." I myself am extremely fond of "Meus Caros Amigos"...Djavan is also a perpetual favorite with Brazilians everywhere; check out his latest, "Aria." My friends are in love with it. Caetano Veloso is, of course, still writing beautiful songs, but I can't say that I've been exactly bowled over by his latest recording efforts/shows. All CDs donated to our site automatically become part of the Sheila Thomson Collection of Brazilian Culture at Florida International University in Miami. That's the main reason why we keep these pages on the site, since we don't update them as often as we used to.
A note on the labels mentioned here: they are probably all gone at this point and we're not sure if the CDs are still in print under a different one.
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And here are a few more that we love:
"Caetano e Gil: Tropicália 2" on Polygram. Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil recorded this one celebrating the 25th anniversary of their "Tropicália" record (which is also available on CD now). These guys are still making the establishment raise their eyebrows, to say the least...just listen to "Haiti" and you'll understand why.
"Gal Costa: Mina d'água do meu canto" on BMG US Latin. Gal Costa sings classic compositions by Chico Buarque and Caetano Veloso. Some all-time favorites: "Odara," "Quem te viu, quem te vê," "Cajuína" (it sounds beautiful!) and Caetano's tribute to his mother tongue, "Língua." We would have liked to see some notes and the lyrics too. Next time, don't be so cheap, guys!
"Milton Nascimento: Clube da Esquina and Clube da Esquina 2" on World Pacific. We waited for years for the release on CD of these two gems Milton recorded in the early seventies. Milton himself supervised the remastering at the Abbey Road Studios in London. Give yourself or someone you love a great gift!
Bassoon and...samba? This is supposed to be about Marisa Monte's latest, "Universo ao meu redor," dedicated, as she puts it, to the "atmosphere of samba." It's a delicate, sweet, and impeccable homage to Brazil's national sound. It has a companion Brazilian pop CD called "Infinito particular." We like Marisa as a pop diva, too, but adore her when she dons her sambista hat (and heart). Anyway, here's the bassoon (featured in both discs) part: remember the heart-rendering solo at the beginning of Cartola's "Preciso me encontrar" in the movie "City of God?" That was the great Airton Barbosa. His son, 
"Elza Soares" Her wigs make you think of a lioness...and that's what she is, really. Elza has survived poverty, slander, and unbearable loss to reign supreme as the "queen of samba." This CD earned a 10++ from us. Buy it and you'll find out why. The one track where she sings accompanied only by Marcos Suzano on pandeiro is to die for! 
"João Bosco: Dá licença meu senhor" on Sony Music Epic. The man my friend Dennis Miller calls "distilled samba" has come out with a disc that made my top-ten list at first listening...love at first listening here! His guitar playing is in magnificent form and his singing reminds me of his first recordings. The selection is superb: from folk to classics by Ary Barroso and Noel Rosa. Special bonus: duets with Martinho da Vila and Daniela Mercury (this one in No Tabuleiro da Baiana by Ary). I bought this CD for my birthday...what a present it turned out to be!!
"Maria Bethania: Álibi" on Polygram Verve. Maria Bethania is Caetano's sister. Not only that, she has been for the past 40 years one of Brazil's greatest singers, a superstar in her own right. A lot of her recordings are available in the US, and almost anything she recorded is great. If you're talking torch songs, then she's at the top of my list. I'm particularly fond of this one, because she sings some of my all-time favorites: "Diamante Verdadeiro," by her brother Caetano, "Ronda" by Paulo Vanzolini and "Sonho Meu," a samba by Dona Ivone Lara, the doyenne of samba composers in Rio.
"Reencontro, Leila Pinheiro Canta Ivan Lins and Gonzaguinha" Leila has been around for a while now and is definitely one of the usual suspects now...This is one of the most wonderful CDs she's ever recorded. 
"Catavento e Girassol" Leila Pinheiro sings songs by Guinga and Aldir Blanc. This is superb...it's the one I chose for Guinga's autograph...that's how much I love it. And so does he!
"Gilberto Gil: O Sol de Oslo" Gilberto Gil gets together with a bunch of extremely talented musicians, Brazilian and non, and we get a very rootsy Brazilian CD, filled with lovely music. Thank São Paulo label Pau Brasil and Blue Jackel for catching Gil before he re-signed with Warner to record his best in a few years. It's now being released by 
"Joyce: Astronauta, Canções de Elis" on Blue Jackel Entertainment. Joyce pays homage to the singer who helped launch her career as a songwriter. Recorded in New York, with Joe Lovano, Dori Caymmi, Tutty Moreno, Mulgrew Miller, Rodolfo Stroeter and others.
"Gilberto Gil Acoustic" Produced by Gil himself on Atlantic Jazz. Gil is in top form revisiting some of his great hits: "Expresso 2222 and "Toda menina baiana" and...what a beautiful rendition of "Sampa" by Caetano Veloso!
"Caetano Veloso: Fina Estampa en vivo" on Polygram. A live performance of some of the songs from his studio CD below, but that's not all. The show includes Soy Loco por Ti, América, Você esteve com meu bem?, a bossa nova song written by João Gilberto, Haiti, and other classics from Latin America that did not fit in the first CD.