004. BUENINVENTO
Sony International, 2000

Bueninvento is one of those few masterworks so transcendent they defy music’s formats by living through them, the kind of classic endurance that doesn’t even consider the iPod’s upgrades because it knows it’s got a life of its own. While we embrace Julieta’s shift to pop we can’t deny this as her most precious moment. To this date, it’s hard to believe it was only her second album. Aqui was phenomenal and had people comparing her to Fiona Apple, Bueninvento arrived to own her personality and reaffirm her artistry. The songs are confident lyrical daggers, a bunch of anthems functioning with a sense of urgency and nicely glazed by alt-rock strings. Gorgeous. JSB

015. MTV UNPLUGGED
Sony International, 2008

Utilizing the Unplugged format as well as pretty much any other performer, she didn’t merely perform all of her hits by replacing electric with acoustic, she re-imagined every single one, with dozens of instruments and classical arrangements, changing many of their meanings in the process (Example: “Lento” was no longer an innocent plea to romance, but rather an acknowledgement of a relationship that has probably run its course). And the new songs, particularly “Algún Día,” were her strongest set of fresh compositions since Bueninvento. This album was easily her best since that masterpiece—and in fact, one of the best POP albums of the past 5 years—regardless of language. AC

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