There are different "styles". Here's a list of compilations, as well as individual artists and some of their suggested discs, to get you started:

 

Forro Acervo  (various artists)

Forró Legal  (various artists)

Brazil Classics 3 (series by David Byrne, various artists)   Forró

Brazil: Forró Music for Maids and Taxi Drivers

Bicho de Pé   Com Pé Nas Nuvens

Bonde do Forró   vol 2  & vol 3

Rastapé  Fale Comigo

Jackson do Pandeiro    Musicas do Seculo XX series & Raizes Nordestinas
Luiz Gonzaga

Dominguinhos

Luiz Caldos   Forro de Cabo a Rabo

Falamansa

Geraldo Azevedo

Landinho Pé de Bode  Sons de Canudos

Cavaleiros do Forró

Alceu Valença  Forró Lunar

Banda Calypso

calcinha preta her-her!

O Forró .... composto basicamente de xote, baião, xaxado, o forró também apresenta outra divisão: Forró Eletrônico, Forró Pé de Serra e Forró Universitário

as far as big forró I like Avioes do Farró and Cavaleiros do Farró.  I can´t stand calçina preta.  I like Adelmario Coelho and Estakazero as well. 

Aviões de Forró and Calcinha Preta are to forró what Avril Lavinge is to punk.

If you heard forró in Montreal it was probably more of the traditional sort, more similar to zydeco or Jamaican mento than, well, pop. If what you like is the "pop" variety, then you've been given plenty of recommendations above.

I'd recommend Jackson do Pandeiro and Luis Gonzaga to get your historical perspective. For recent music, try Mestre Ambrósio and Cascabulho. For rabeca, try Renata Rosa, Claudio Rabeca and Mestre Salustiano. Try the Samba de Latada CD from Josildo Sá and Paulo Moura for a forró+samba mix. For a group in English, try Forró in the Dark. The Gilberto Gil score mentioned above (from Eu, Tu, Eles) is good too. There's also coco de roda, bandas de pífanos, and embolada (and quite a few other styles), somewhat related to the broader "forró" genre. Forró is basically an umbrella term, sometimes used correctly and sometimes broadened to include artists that don't do justice to the label.

Try the Caipirinha Appreciation Society's Pernambuco podcasts for a wider sampling (some forró, some not, but all good).
http://cas.podomatic.com/entry/eg/2010-01-16T09_16_55-08_00
http://cas.podomatic.com/entry/eg/2010-02-09T16_38_26-08_00
http://cas.podomatic.com/entry/eg/2010-03-02T12_47_37-08_00

Enjoy.

PS: I love this reply:

Originally posted by tamashin I like the gentle typr Forro with the accordian etc where the music just lolups along. However, there is another type of Forrock which is very fast, usually sung by a scantily clad very shapely man or woman (usually the later) with sexually explicit lyrics accompanied by an accordian (token of course) and I have to say it is absolute rubbish.

Here in the Northeast there's a strong tradition of accordion players, in forró and other styles. People might point to Paraiba (justly) but Caruaru is more of a "capital" of forró. The rabeca (fiddle), the sanfona de boca (a type of harmonica) and the pifano (fife) are also sometimes used as lead instruments in forró (and related styles).

As for the scantily clad groups with explicit lyrics, I shudder to think they fall into the same record store bin as someone like Luiz Gonzaga. But no Brazilian style of music is immune. Samba (pagode) and sertaneja (country music) both also became "hybridized" with pop.


Edited by zerotres - 15 July 2010 at 14:22