In the ‘90s, Selena Quintanilla singlehandedly revolutionized the Tejano genre, fusing her authentic Mexican roots with bold new sounds such as R&B, pop, dance and rock.
With her bubbly charm, dazzling aura and a universal appeal, which powered hits like “Como La Flor,” “Dreaming of You,” “Amor Prohibido” and “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” the artist, known as the Queen of Tejano, shattered ceilings in a genre that was predominantly dominated by men, earning a zealous fanbase both in the U.S. and in Mexico.
Well on her way to a major mainstream crossover, the Mexican-American powerhouse was tragically shot dead on March 31, 1995 at the age of 23. However, her music and legacy has stood the test of time and, along the way, she’s influenced a new generation of hitmakers, making her a bona fide Latin icon in pop culture 30 years later.
On the Billboard charts, Selena earned 24 entries on Top Latin Albums, 16 of which hit top 10 and seven No. 1’s—among them Amor Prohibido, spending 20 weeks at the top in 1994 and Dreaming of You, released posthumously, which spent 40 weeks at the top in 1995. On the Regional Mexican Albums and Latin Pop Albums charts, the late artist placed seven and six No. 1 titles, respectively. Amor Prohibido topped the former chart for nearly 100 weeks.
As a testament to her enduring legacy, the Quintanilla family released Moonchild Mixes in 2022 — an album with 10 previously unreleased songs that the superstar recorded between the ages of 13 and 16. The set peaked at No. 1 on the Latin Pop Albums chart that same year.
“We as a family had discussed this amongst ourselves that in the future, after Selena’s passing, we were going to maintain her presence through her music and we’ve done that,” A.B. Quintanilla, Selena’s dad, previously told Billboard. “I’m more than sure that the fans are going to love it because if you listen to it, it’ll move you emotionally and take you back to as if Selena was recording it this morning.”
Here, Billboard ranks the albums that make up Selena’s incomparable recorded legacy. There are also a handful of compilation and live albums released throughout her career and after her passing — including Live!, which won the Grammy award for Best Mexican-American Album in 1994 — but while some have entered the Billboard charts, we are ranking only the studio albums released since her EMI Latin label debut in 1989. See our list below.
