The Rough Guide To... Compilation Series
Published: 2026-09-19
Ever since buying ‘The Best Anthems… Ever!’ compilation as a teenager, I’ve found ‘various artist’ compilations to be a great way to get into music on the cusp of my tastes.
I’m currently listening to ‘The Rough Guide To Brazilian Electronica’. It’s a CD I got for dirt cheap on Music Magpie.
‘The Rough Guide To…’ is not a series I’m familiar with. On the one hand, the name “The Rough Guide…” cries out low effort content. It feels like a generic term to me. A bit like “The Dummy’s Guide To…”. Surface level stuff.
On the other hand, who’s bothering to do a half-arsed job on Brazilian Electronica music?! It’s such a niche thing that it has to be an act of love!
And to be fair it’s good. If this were called “Um guia prático de Brazillian Electronic” and I’d discovered it in some London record store, I’d be lapping it up!
The great thing is - and probably the main reason I’m writing this, other than the obvious Don’t Judge a Book By It’s Cover lesson - is there are loads of these compilations on Music Magpie, most covering incredibly niche genres and all dirt cheap! What a fantastic way it’s going to be to explore new music.
I’ve probably miss judged “The Dummy’s Guide” series all these years too.
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