Los Temerarios, which comprises brothers Adolfo and Gustavo Angel, is No. 1 on the year-end Top Latin Album Artists chart and Top Regional Mexican Album Artists recap, thanks to several top-charting titles, including "Tributo al Amor" and their most recent studio album, "Veintisiete."

A newly released compilation, "Regalo de Amor," featuring a duet with Julio Iglesias , will likely keep the brothers selling strongly into the new year.

Solis has the top-selling Latin album of the year, the compilation "La Historia Continua" (Fonovisa/UG) in CD and CD/DVD format.

The Solis album is also No. 1 on the year-end Top Latin Pop Albums chart, underscoring his status as an artist who performs equally well in the regional Mexican and pop arenas. In fact, his new album, "Razon de Sobra," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart in November, while his single "Mas Que Tu Amigo" also topped the Hot Latin Tracks chart.

Both Solis and Los Temerarios were pushed heavily across radio formats nationwide. Their success helped place their label, Fonovisa, at the head of the year-end Top Latin Albums Imprints chart, unseating longtime leader Sony Discos.

Fonovisa is also No. 1 on three other year-end charts: Top Regional Mexican Albums Imprints, Hot Regional Mexican Airplay Imprints and Hot Regional Mexican Tracks Labels.

MARKET DOMINANCE

By the same token, for the second year in a row Fonovisa's parent label, Univision Music Group, claims the No. 1 spot on the Top Latin Albums Labels chart, the most important recap as far as Nielsen SoundScan-monitored sales are concerned.

The position points to not only Univision's roster of regional Mexican stars but also its savvy in developing such new talent as Akwid and Jennifer Pena, and to the success of the CD/DVD format, which constitutes the bulk of the label's releases.

Last but not least, all Univision-owned labels, including Disa, are distributed by Universal Music & Video Distribution, which is decidedly established as the top distributor of Latin music in the United States.

All these elements came together this year to create a vastly different Latin musical landscape than in 2003. Back then, the wealth, so to speak, was more evenly distributed among labels.

This year, Univision and Sony handily dominate the scene, with the latter coming in at No. 1 on four recaps: Top Latin Pop Albums Imprints, Top Latin Pop Albums Labels, Top Tropical Albums Imprints and Top Tropical Albums Labels.

Last year, pop acts dominated the top chart positions, even while regional Mexican music was the best-selling genre.

This year, only pop/rocker Juanes , whose Latino album "Un Dia Normal" was the best-selling Latin title of 2003, returned to claim the No. 1 spot on the Top Latin Pop Albums Artists chart. He did so thanks to continuing sales of "Un Dia" combined with those of his new album, "Mi Sangre," which Juanes will support with a world tour in 2005. Both titles are on Surco/Universal.

RADIO ROMANCE

The radio charts, however, were dominated by Sony Discos artist Chayanne, a longstanding romantic pop icon who topped the Hot Latin Tracks Artists and Hot Latin Pop Airplay Artists charts. Chayanne says he plans to release a new concept album next year.

Sony is also No. 1 on the Hot Latin Pop Airplay Imprints and Hot Latin Pop Airplay Labels charts, while Leonel Garcia -- one half of Sony pop duo Sin Bandera -- is the No. 1 Hot Latin Tracks Songwriter of the year.

Garcia also penned tracks for various other artists, including Alejandro Fernandez .

While it was mostly a year of veterans, two newcomers close 2004 as established stars. In the regional Mexican realm, Grupo Climax claims the No. 1 spot on the Top Regional Mexican Albums recap with "Za Za Za." Released via indie Musart/Balboa, it is bolstered by a low price and a catchy single.

In the tropical realm, another indie act, Daddy Yankee, tops the year-end Top Tropical Albums chart. Surprisingly, Daddy Yankee's "Barrio Fino" (El Cartel/VI) bests veterans like Juan Luis Guerra and Marc Anthony. Yankee is also a guest on "Oye Mi Canto," the mainstream radio hit by N.O.R.E. His success underscores the growing popularity of reggaeton, a genre to watch in 2005.