This page was created to help people attending dance classes at the University of Maryland, College Park (hence the references to Karen Trimble, who teaches dance there). You can buy the music online from amazon.com. The titles below are linked to amazon.com for purchase. Alternately, you can use the menu on your left to return to music for the genre of your choice (don't worry, items that you place in your shopping cart will not disappear).
If you want to use the material here, please do provide a link to this site acknowledging the original source. Although many of the titles can be difficult to find in terrestrial stores, you can usually get them on special order. Most online stores provide discounts which usually make it cheaper to shop online even after you factor in shipping costs. But if you're nervous about buying online, you could print this list and take it to your favorite store.
rec.arts.dance (RAD) is a friendly community that you can check out when you need tips and for discussions on music to practice to. They are quite helpful and you might even be able to find a practice partner in your area depending on your skill level. If you're in the Washington DC area and are looking to take dance classes, check the Ballroom at Maryland (popularly known as BAM) website.
I am no longer maintaining this page, but the lists here may still prove useful to you.
WEA/Atlantic/Rhino has a 2 disc set titled "Let's Dance! Best of Ballroom Dancing". One disc is on Foxtrots and Waltzes, and the other has Swing, Lindy, Jitterbug and Jive. Excellent stuff. Both are used by Karen in her classes.
Pretty much everything from the disco era works if you want to hustle. Here is a good sampler of music to try out:
See Swing.
See Swing.
See Swing.
There's tons of Swing music out there - most rock n' roll songs are fine. Here's a sampler:
I like classical waltzes by Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Lizst. A good way to select from the large number of titles is to look for a good label, such as EMI Red Line, PGD/Deutsche Grammophon and RCA Victor. RCA Victor also has some greatest hits collections for various composers which may serve as a good introduction to their music.