One of the burning questions for first-year students is "What music should I buy?"  Way back when, before the Net and the plethora of magazines with music reviews, we used to go by the album cover - a photo of a "real" bellydancer was a good clue that it would be "real" bellydance music. We were also in the situation of "beggars can't be choosers".  But nowadays, there's SO MUCH music out there it's  confusing if you don't know what you're looking for. 

  If you're just starting your music collection, ask your teacher what her favorites are or what she recommends for you in particular; or decide what dance style you're interested in and go from there.  You can choose from American, Egyptian, Greek, Turkish, and Lebanese. 

  My own recommendations in each category are: Desert Knights, and Desert Wind (American); Jalilah's collection of Raks Sharki re-releases (Egyptian); Conchi's Bellydance Explosion (Greek); Sulukule (Turkish Rom); and Emad Sayyah's music (Lebanese). I feel these are most typical of each style and a good place to start developing your musical ear. 

  There are also many artists in each category whose music is more "accessible" (i.e., "Westernized") to beginning dance students, for instance: Raja, George Abdo, Eddie Kochak, Hossam Ramzy, Brothers of the Baladi, Sirocco, Omar Tekbilek and others. Just be aware that their music is often more suitable for fusion bellydance than authentic styles.

  I learned long ago that Arabic music is considered standard ("generic", if you will) for Oriental Dance, and when in doubt, it's accepted more readily than anything else.  I remember how confusing it was when I was backstage at a Greek restaurant getting ready for my first live band gig - and my dance friend Nadira told me the Greek band was actually playing Arabic songs....And the set they played for me also included music from "Lawrence of Arabia", and the Turkish 9/8 "Rompi Rompi" - my first clue to how complex the world of bellydance was going to be!

Next: You've found music you want to use, now what?