Italy
Naples · Rome · Milan · Genoa
From Neapolitan song and the records of opera singers to Sanremo canzone, film scores, progressive rock and the cantautori (singer-songwriters) — with a strong tradition of singing in dialect.
32 recordings, 1916–2025
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1916
Enrico Caruso, Canzoni Italiane
The Naples-born tenor became a worldwide star on record in the early 1900s, carrying Neapolitan songs like “’O sole mio” around the world.
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1954
Renato Carosone, The Italian Song: The Best of Renato Carosone Volume 1 - Recordings 1950- 1958
A compilation of Renato Carosone’s recordings from 1950–58, the years of his 1956 hit “Tu vuò fà l’americano” and of “Torero,” which reached No. 18 in the US in 1958 — making him, with Modugno, the first Italian on the American charts.
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1958
Domenico Modugno, Nel blu dipinto di blu
A singer from Puglia. His Sanremo-winning title song, known as “Volare,” also went to No. 1 in the United States.
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1960
Nino Rota Orchestra & Nino Rota, La dolce vita (Mono version)
Nino Rota, who scored every Fellini film from The White Sheik (1952) on, wrote La dolce vita’s music. Fellini first planned to use existing tunes; instead Rota’s originals were mixed with arrangements of “Stormy Weather,” “Arrivederci Roma” and “Patricia.”
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1966
Ennio Morricone, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo
The Roman composer’s scores for Sergio Leone’s westerns — whistles, electric guitar, even shouts — changed film music.
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1966
Mina, Studio Uno '66
Raised in Cremona in Lombardy, she became a national star on the TV music show Studio Uno.
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1972
Premiata Forneria Marconi, Per un amico
A Milan band joining classical training and Mediterranean melody with British progressive rock.
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1972
Francesco Guccini, Radici
Francesco Guccini looks back at his roots: the title song is about the family house in Pavana in the Apennines, and “La locomotiva,” about a 19th-century Bolognese anarchist, went on to close many of his concerts.
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1973
Area, Arbeit macht frei
Area’s debut, with singer Demetrio Stratos, on the independent Cramps label. The title, taken from the Auschwitz gate, framed it as a protest against fascism; “Luglio, agosto, settembre (nero),” about the Middle East, became their first hit.
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1974
Lucio Battisti, Anima latina
One of Italy’s best-loved singers, experimenting with Latin American rhythms and adventurous production after travels in South America.
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1975
Francesco De Gregori, Rimmel
Francesco De Gregori’s first big success, with “Rimmel,” “Pablo” and “Buonanotte fiorellino,” and one of Italy’s best-selling albums of 1975. Lucio Dalla co-wrote the music of “Pablo.”
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1977
Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino, Canti di Terra d’Otranto e della Grecia Salentina
The debut of the Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino, founded in 1975 by writer Rina Durante to play the traditional music of Salento. The name refers to the region’s Griko-speaking minority, and the group set off a pizzica revival.
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1980
Pino Daniele, Nero a metà
A guitarist-singer from Naples who joined Neapolitan dialect with blues and jazz — dubbed “Neapolitan blues.”
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1980
Kano, Kano
The debut by Kano, the Milan project of Luciano Ninzatti, Stefano Pulga and Matteo Bonsanto: disco and funk with synths and vocoder. “I’m Ready” was an international hit, and “It’s a War” spent five weeks at No. 2 on the US club chart.
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1981
Franco Battiato, La voce del padrone
A Sicilian who came from experimental music; this album is often cited as the first Italian LP to sell a million copies.
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1981
Giuni Russo, Energie
Sicilian singer Giuni Russo’s second LP for CGD, produced and co-written throughout by Franco Battiato. It sold modestly but became a cult record; “Un’estate al mare,” added to its reissue, became her biggest hit.
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1983
Vasco Rossi, Bollicine
Vasco Rossi’s sixth album, with “Vita spericolata,” sung at Sanremo, and the Festivalbar-winning title song. Selling over a million copies, it was the best-selling album of 1983 and made him an icon of Italian rock.
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1984
Fabrizio De André, Crêuza de mä
The Genoese poet-singer sang it entirely in Genoese dialect, with Middle Eastern and Balkan instruments, painting the world of Mediterranean sailors.
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1984
Paolo Conte, Paolo Conte
A singer from Asti who was also a lawyer: a gravelly voice and a jazz flavour, painting scenes like old films.
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1988
Ennio Morricone, Cinema Paradiso
Ennio Morricone’s score, written with his son Andrea, for Giuseppe Tornatore’s film — memories of a Sicilian cinema in a bittersweet melody.
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1994
Sangue Misto, SXM
Neffa, Deda and DJ Gruff formed Sangue Misto after the Isola Posse All Stars broke up. Marketing problems kept this album scarce at first, but it is considered a milestone of Italian rap and was remastered and reissued in 2005.
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1995
Almamegretta, Sanacore
Naples’ Almamegretta set Neapolitan song and Mediterranean melody to dub and trip-hop.
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1996
Tenores di Bitti, S’amore ’e Mama
The Tenores di Bitti sing canto a tenore, the four-voice singing of central Sardinia. Released on Peter Gabriel’s Real World, it was recorded in churches, streets, bars and open country: the solo boke over bassu, contra and mesa ’oke.
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2001
Ludovico Einaudi, I Giorni
Ludovico Einaudi’s solo-piano cycle of ballads inspired by a trip to Mali, recorded in October 2001. The title track found a new audience in 2011 when BBC Radio 1 played it, entering the UK singles chart.
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2006
Vinicio Capossela, Ovunque proteggi
German-born Italian singer-songwriter Vinicio Capossela turns myth and ancient Mediterranean sounds into theatrical songs.
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2006
Fabri Fibra, Tradimento
Senigallia rapper Fabri Fibra’s first album through a major label, Universal, produced mainly by Nesli. Lead single “Applausi per Fibra” reached No. 6 in Italy, and the album was certified platinum.
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2019
Mahmood, Gioventù bruciata
Mahmood’s debut album, featuring his Sanremo-winning “Soldi,” entered the Italian chart at No. 1; “Soldi” went on to place second at Eurovision 2019.
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2019
LIBERATO, LIBERATO
The debut by Liberato, the Neapolitan artist who hides his identity. It adds five new songs to earlier singles like “Nove maggio”; the new videos, directed by Francesco Lettieri, form one short film, “Capri Rendez-Vous.”
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2021
Måneskin, Teatro d’ira – Vol. I
The Rome band Måneskin won Sanremo and Eurovision, taking Italian-language rock to the world.
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2021
Marracash, NOI, LORO, GLI ALTRI
Marracash’s sixth album, released on Island in November 2021 and certified six times platinum in Italy and top of Rolling Stone Italia’s list of the year’s best Italian records. In 2022 it made him the first rapper to win the Targa Tenco for best album.
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2024
Geolier, DIO LO SA
Neapolitan rapper Geolier’s album includes “I p’ me, tu p’ te,” which won the public vote at Sanremo 2024, placed second overall and reached No. 1 in Italy. The album also entered the Italian chart at No. 1.
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2025
Lucio Corsi, Volevo essere un duro
Lucio Corsi’s album, whose title song placed second at Sanremo 2025, won the critics’ prize there and came fifth for Italy at Eurovision. The record topped the Italian chart and won the Tenco awards for best album and best song.