European or Castilian Spanish spoken in Spain is the most distinct and formal. And with the lisp “th” in lieu of “c” and “z” sounds...Also use of of the “vosotros” pronoun.
Consensus in polls like these usually lead to Colombian and Argentinian Spanish being voted as the most melodic and pleasing to the ears. Argentinian Spanish has a bit of an Italian accented twist.
And that standard Mexican Spanish seems to be the clearest and most straightforward to understand.
The Venezuelans on the street try to move up 5 wpm every time they speak from the last time. Their news lady was closer to reality.
“And that standard Mexican Spanish seems to be the clearest and most straightforward to understand.”
I’m far from an expert on it but seems that way to me, too. Maybe just most familiar?
I know that Costa Ricans pride themselves on the purity of their way of speaking Spanish. I’ve heard that Caribbean Spanish is pretty much looked down upon by other Spanish speakers.
I used to fly from Monterrey, MX to Miami then Puerto Rico.
The different dialects (Norteno, Cubano, PR) are vividly different. It got to the point I could imitate all 3 pretty well and used to entertain the folks at the AA lounge in Miami doing them.
I can tell you PR Spanish is the worst. It is guttural and they chop 1/3 of the words out. And they have NO INDOOR VOICE! EVERYTHING IS YELLED!!
I find that Colombian and Bolivian Spanish is the clearest and most pure, at least to my ear. The worst, by far, is a Spanish accent from Gibraltar.