V.A. - The Rough Guide To The Music Of Hungarian Gypsies (2004) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Driven from central and northwestern India and gradually pushed into Europe by various belligerent religious, ethnic, or national groups, the people who called themselves the Roma adapted to ever-changing surroundings without ever becoming fully assimilated into established societies. Some Europeans referred to them as "Gypsies" because they thought the Roma originated in Egypt. The people of Hungary, where the Rom first appeared during the 14th and 15th centuries, called them Czigany, and as the Rom learned to speak Hungarian they also became known as Romungros. Each country, from Rajasthan to France, Spain, and Slovakia, inadvertently fostered a different set of cultural dynamics with distinctive musical attributes. In 2008 The Rough Guide to the Music of Hungarian Gypsies supplemented the world's growing library of traditional and contemporary Romany recordings. Guitars and the Hungarian cimbalom predominate along with passionately expressive voices, string bass, violin, reeds, brass horns, percussion, accordion, and anything else at hand. The music reflects the joys and sorrows of the human condition in general, and the Romani condition in particular. by arwulf arwulf  
Tracklist:
1 Romano Drom – Rovel E Luludyi 3:47
2 Parno Graszt – Odi Phenel Cino Savo/Azt Mondja A Kisfiam 2:07
3 Amaro Suno – Opre Gélem Pe Vúlica 2:48
4 Romano Drom – Hulav Tu Sej 4:40
5 Ando Drom – Pundela 7:59
6 Kálmán Balogh & The Gipsy Cimbalom Band – Calusul Dance 4:50
7 Fanfare Ciocarlia Feat Mitsou & Florentina Sandu – Duj Duj 3:58
8 EtnoRom – Áven, Áven Romále 3:51
9 Cimbali Band – Oppadirida 4:48
10 Kalyi Jag – More Shef Sabina (My Daughter Sabina) 4:01
11 Karaván Familia – Amari Familija 4:12
12 Kálmán Balogh & Romano Kokalo – Botoló 5:58
13 Khamoro – Lingrara/Csavargók 3:08
14 Romanyi Rota – T'avos Devla Barvalo 3:43
15 Besh O Drom – Cigansko Oro 4:43
16 Bela Lakatos – O Bijav 3:55

V.A. - The Rough Guide To Hungarian Music (2002) FLAC (tracks), lossless

With a population less than the size of greater New York, Hungary has produced a remarkably wide variety of music. While Marta Sebestyen and Muzikas (represented here) are probably the country's best-known musical export, there's plenty more worth hearing, not just the remarkable traditional tanchaz dance music of the Ökrös Ensemble, but gypsy and regional traditions, which remain very potent, with Zoltán Juhãsz and Mihály Halmágyi prime examples, the latter with some wonderful dance music. But there's plenty of room for the modernists, too. Romano Drom offer the contemporary end of the Rom Gypsy tradition, and they're remixed to great effect by Emil on their track. The Transylvanians seem to be very ethno-punk, with "Akasztós" sounding as if "Anarchy in the UK" had traveled to the Balkans. Kalyi Jag would seem to be strongly influenced by Dylan and Springsteen, while keeping their central European roots intact, while Fekete Vonant offer a sort of Gypsy rap that's not quite rap at all, but co-exists in the same neighborhood. Overall, incredible music and playing, and a chance to explore the many tangled strands of music that make up Hungary. by Chris Nickson  
Tracklist:
1 László Hortobágyi & Irén Lovász – Páva = Hey, Peacock 1:48
2 Muzsikás – Hajnali Nóta = Morning Song 6:02
3 The Transsylvanians – Akasztós 3:53
4 Sebő Ensemble – Hungarian Verbunk 2:15
5 Bogyiszló Orchestra – Jumping Dances 3:37
6 Emil – Deta Devla = God Bless 4:20
7 Traditional Band From Tura feat. Tibor Szénási – Friss Csárdás = Fast Csárdás 2:51
8 Ferenc Sánta And His Gypsy Band – Hungarian Songs 5:25
9 Kalyi Jag – Könyörgés = Song For Mercy 3:08
10 Kampec Dolores – A Bivaly Hátán = Sitting On The Buffalo 5:14
11 Zoltán Juhász – Pásztornóták Hosszúfurulyán = Shepherd's Flute Song 2:43
12 Mihály Halmágyi –  Kerekes = Round Dance 3:20
13 Zsigmond Székely – Danses De Lõrincréve = Dances From Lõrincréve 4:03
14 Ghymes – Tánc A Hóban = Dance In The Snow 5:56
15 Vujicsics Ensemble – Petruševo Kolo 1:45
16 Romano Drom – Szátélé Zsáv 4:11
17 Fekete Vonat – Numa Romanes 1:44
18 Ökrös – Rábaközi Karéj, Dus, Csárdás És Friss = Dances From Rábaköz 7:19
19 Tükrös Zenekar – Rákóczi Induló = The Rákóczi March 2:08