#496: Dónde Están los Ladrones? (Shakira, 1998)

Before she became a global pop star, Shakira was basically the Spanish-speaking version of Alanis Morissette, a rockstar with a distinctive voice. However, Alanis never wrote a song as danceable as the album opener Ciega, Sodumuda. Versatility is the name of the game here with Shakira moving effortlessly from the aforementioned dance-pop opener, to dull dirges like Tú, to rockers like Octavo Día and the title track (my personal favourites) and finishing with the Arabic-inspired Ojos Así. Dónde Están los Ladrones? stands at the midpoint between the alternative rock of the early-to-mid '90s and the Latin pop explosion of Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin of the turn of the millennium, and combines the best elements of both. 4/5.