anyone have any experiences with any of these CDs?

I'm looking to broaden my musical horizons and delve into the music of other cultures.

As a matter of fact I LOVE this collection. I first picked up one when I visited the Chicago Museum of Art back in May and liked it so much I thought I'd have to spend a small fortune getting the rest of the releases. Luckily my library has almost all of them, so its been a lot cheaper to add them to my collection . There are quite a few good selections, and a few so-so ones. I can't recall all the names off of memory, but one entitled Latin Groove is pretty good. The other latin, salsa, brazilian etc. releases are pretty good as well. Each cd is basically a complilation of various artists, so you get quite a variety with each disc. I've found myself liking a song enough that I've gone out and purchased the CD by that specific artist. This has been a great way to get introduced to tons of new artists I'd otherwise never would have heard of. Their website is pretty comprehensive, and some places have listening stations set up to hear different titles, like I did at the museum.

I'll list some of my favorite selections when I get home and can look at the titles.
Good luck!

So far, I really, really, really love "Islands" and "Rumba Flamenco." Some of the others I heard are great, too. But I think that the first two I bought may have set an expectation that is difficult to surpass.

I liked what I've heard of the "Groove" series (Arabic Groove, African Groove, Latin Groove"), but they seem just a little pop-oriented. I like the more traditional sounds of Islands and Rumba Flamenco.

I am not familiar with that collection, but to branch out into world, you may wish to check out the Buddha Bar series' (the earlier ones are done by Claude Challe. They give a very broad range of some of the best from many different countries. I highly recommend them. You may wish to download some songs first to see if you like them, because the CD's are quite expensive.

Some of the non "groove" releases I also enjoy are:

Samba Bossa Nova
Cuba
World Lounge

I'm sure there's a lot I haven't heard yet either. There's so many, it's hard to keep track!

What do you think about "Dublin to Dakar: A Celtic Odyssey?"

it's a collection of Celtic inspired music from all over the world.

I haven't heard that one yet, but I have it on reserve at the library so I should have it soon. How is it?

pretty cool.

never thought I'd ever hear Celtic music with Italian and Spanish vocals.