# The 8 Best Bossa Nova Tracks of All Time

Samba reduced almost to nothing in the beach apartments of Rio at the end of the fifties: a whispered vocal, a guitar playing a rhythm that implies the percussion rather than stating it, and jazz harmony underneath.

- **Origin:** Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1958
- **Tempo:** 110–140 BPM
- **Also known as:** bossa, new wave, joão gilberto
- **Tracks:** 8
- **Updated:** 2026-08-30
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/genre/bossa-nova/

## The list

### 1. [João Gilberto](https://waxonia.com/artist/joao-gilberto/) — [Chega de Saudade](https://waxonia.com/track/joao-gilberto--chega-de-saudade/)

*1958 · Odeon*

The record everyone agrees started it. Gilberto's guitar and voice sit so far back in the mix that the engineers thought something was wrong, and Brazilian music changed in two and a half minutes.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Jo%C3%A3o%20Gilberto%20Chega%20de%20Saudade) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=kMQFLcyoXm0)

### 2. [Antônio Carlos Jobim](https://waxonia.com/artist/antonio-carlos-jobim/) — [Garota de Ipanema](https://waxonia.com/track/antonio-carlos-jobim--garota-de-ipanema/)

*1962*

Written at a bar table about a girl walking to the beach, and now perhaps the second most recorded song in existence. Familiarity has not damaged the harmony.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Ant%C3%B4nio%20Carlos%20Jobim%20Garota%20de%20Ipanema) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=RY1t3IqpWVI)

### 3. [João Gilberto](https://waxonia.com/artist/joao-gilberto/) — [Desafinado](https://waxonia.com/track/joao-gilberto--desafinado/)

*1959 · Odeon*

A song about singing out of tune, which is a defence of the whole style against the critics who said exactly that. Jobim's joke, delivered deadpan.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Jo%C3%A3o%20Gilberto%20Desafinado) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rhq53sCfRU)

### 4. [Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz](https://waxonia.com/artist/astrud-gilberto-and-stan-getz/) — [Corcovado](https://waxonia.com/track/astrud-gilberto-and-stan-getz--corcovado/)

*1963 · Verve*

Astrud had never recorded before and was in the studio because she was married to João. The unschooled flatness of her delivery is exactly what the song needed.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Astrud%20Gilberto%20and%20Stan%20Getz%20Corcovado) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=VEMWhrfFVDc)

### 5. [Antônio Carlos Jobim](https://waxonia.com/artist/antonio-carlos-jobim/) — [Insensatez](https://waxonia.com/track/antonio-carlos-jobim--insensatez/)

*1961*

A descending line borrowed from Chopin, and the most desolate thing Jobim wrote. Vinicius de Moraes's lyric accuses the listener directly.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Ant%C3%B4nio%20Carlos%20Jobim%20Insensatez) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=PHIe9B5plDI)

### 6. [Elis Regina and Antônio Carlos Jobim](https://waxonia.com/artist/elis-regina-and-antonio-carlos-jobim/) — [Águas de Março](https://waxonia.com/track/elis-regina-and-antonio-carlos-jobim--aguas-de-marco/)

*1974 · Philips*

A list of objects — a stick, a stone, the end of the road — and the two of them audibly delighted with each other. Frequently voted the best Brazilian song ever written.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Elis%20Regina%20and%20Ant%C3%B4nio%20Carlos%20Jobim%20%C3%81guas%20de%20Mar%C3%A7o) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=E1tOV7y94DY)

### 7. [João Gilberto](https://waxonia.com/artist/joao-gilberto/) — [Samba de Uma Nota Só](https://waxonia.com/track/joao-gilberto--samba-de-uma-nota-so/)

*1960 · Odeon*

One note, held while the chords move underneath it. Jobim demonstrating that the harmony was always doing the work, and doing it as a pop single.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Jo%C3%A3o%20Gilberto%20Samba%20de%20Uma%20Nota%20S%C3%B3) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=AcgoxJ9mUp8)

### 8. [Baden Powell](https://waxonia.com/artist/baden-powell/) — [Berimbau](https://waxonia.com/track/baden-powell--berimbau/)

*1963*

Bossa turning back towards Bahia and capoeira rather than towards jazz. Powell's guitar is percussive in a way Gilberto's deliberately is not.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Baden%20Powell%20Berimbau) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=rrK7oRrARV8)

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