(Call it) Reggae (if you must)
by 
Jimmy Dread 
Ska, rocksteady, roots, dub, dancehall, ragga... Using the term 'reggae' to describe virtually all Jamaican music amounts to sacrilege, hence why I've decided to club together a stash of essential JA albums (with a couple of others from around the globe) to let anyone interested embark on their own journey deeper into the genre commonly referred to by the 'R' word. No 2-Tone revival here - just original nuggets, old and new (with compilations generally eschewed, unless it's essential (Scratch, Marcia) or there's no alternative as with Don Drummond - Jamaica was always more about the 45 than the LP). If you're new to it all, I've added some hints as to what to expect with each album, so pick a style and enjoy. And don't be surprised at how low down the order Bob Marley is - there's a lot more to 'reggae' than getting caned to a copy of Legend. Hopefully this chart will steer you in the right direction. Irie vibes and one love - Jimmy, January 2021
- Chart updated: 01/09/2021 17:45
- (Created: 11/21/2013 11:09).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 27 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and (Call it) Reggae (if you must) has an average rating of 94 out of 100 (from 42 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 58,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
ROOTS/VOCAL HARMONY. Nothing compares.
[First added to this chart: 11/21/2013]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,741
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
SKA/ROCKSTEADY/VOCAL HARMONY. Studio One's finest half-hour, and an LP that even the great Sugar Minott said was his favourite, and rightly so. Peerless, effortless rocksteady. Also try their S/T debut on Studio One (aka Fattie Fattie)
[First added to this chart: 11/21/2013]
EARLY DANCEHALL/SOUL. Jamaica's King of early Dancehall, an absolute legend few non-JA aficionados have discovered. Also try 'Fally Lover' or 'Folly Ranking'
[First added to this chart: 11/21/2013]
COMPILATION: DUB, ROOTS, REGGAE. Tons of other Scratch available (DUB - Super Ape seems to the one most people head towards, although I'd go for Revolution Dub or Megaton Dub myself. ROOTS - Roast Fish, Collie Weed & Corn Bread) - but this is an absolute gem of a compy and the best place to start.
[First added to this chart: 04/28/2014]
DUB. Tubby's finest hour, a cornerstone of dub and justifiably hailed by all and sundry. Also try 'East of The River Nile', 'Original Rockers', "Ital Dub', "...Meets Rockers Inna Firehouse" and many more...
[First added to this chart: 11/21/2013]
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
584
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
ROOTS. Stellar set. If you like this you definitely need to seek out "Deliver Me From My Enemies". Also try 'Jesus Dread' compy on Blood and Fire, which includes virtually all the tracks from this LP. Also check out "King Tubby's Prophesy Of Dub", which is essentially the dubwise cuts of this album. One of the best Dub LPs ever.
[First added to this chart: 11/21/2013]
COMPILATION: INSTRUMENTAL - ORGAN. Essential compilation of his golden years with Coxsone. Start here, then try 'Macka Fat', 'Showcase' (on Studio One, rare as the hills), 'In Cold Blood' or 'The Keyboard King'.
[First added to this chart: 04/28/2014]
Year of Release:
2000
Appears in:
Rank in 2000:
None
Rank in 2000s:
None
Average Rating:
Comments:
DANCEHALL. Her one and only LP. It's a belter.
[First added to this chart: 11/21/2013]
ROOTS. Always sounded his best here, or on Open The Iron Gate (aka Revelation Time). Of course you could go for his 'Wet Dream' era stuff too.
[First added to this chart: 11/21/2013]
DUB. So many alternatives to pick from with the man Hopeton Brown. 'Vampires' and Heavyweight Dub Champion (also from the same Greensleeves series) are also well worth a listen, as is his Dub Landing set on Starlight.
[First added to this chart: 11/21/2013]
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
(Call it) Reggae (if you must) composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 7 | 7% | |
| 1970s | 47 | 47% | |
| 1980s | 32 | 32% | |
| 1990s | 8 | 8% | |
| 2000s | 4 | 4% | |
| 2010s | 2 | 2% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Dr. Alimantado | 1 | 1% | |
| Ini Kamoze | 1 | 1% | |
| Larry Marshall | 1 | 1% | |
| Junior Delahaye | 1 | 1% | |
| Wailing Souls | 1 | 1% | |
| Dennis Brown | 1 | 1% | |
| The Heptones | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
(Call it) Reggae (if you must) chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 16 from 99th to 83rdI'm In Love With A Dreadlocks by Brown Sugar |
| Up 7 from 52nd to 45thTrenchtown Mix Up by The Gladiators |
| Up 2 from 98th to 96thDub From Creation by Creation Rebel |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 10 from 88th to 98thSchool Days by Flick Wilson |
| Down 10 from 89th to 99thDon Dada by Super Cat |
| Down 8 from 43rd to 51stGreatest Hits by Don Drummond |
| New entries |
|---|
| W/ The Artists by Rhythm & Sound |
| African Woman Abroad by Mwanamke Mwafrika |
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(Call it) Reggae (if you must) ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 42 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/20/2024 23:22 | matterhornrider | 98 | 93/100 | |
| 04/19/2019 12:54 |  ForegroundNoise | 473 | 87/100 | |
| 04/15/2019 22:21 | amassini | 21 | 85/100 | |
| 04/15/2019 15:58 |  Repo | 573 | 100/100 | |
| 04/15/2019 15:15 |  LedZep | 1,103 | 84/100 |
Rating metrics:
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(*In practice, some charts can have several thousand ratings)
This chart is rated in the top 1% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 93.7/100, a mean average of 95.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 95.6/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 6.1.
(Call it) Reggae (if you must) favourites
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(Call it) Reggae (if you must) comments
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From matterhornrider 12/20/2024 23:23 | #306594
Thanks! Amazing List.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From ForegroundNoise 04/19/2019 12:56 | #235216
ForegroundNoise 04/19/2019 12:56 | #235216
Adore your genre charts like these, so much love and care put into them. I'm an absolute novice when it comes to Jamaican music, but at least when I take the plunge I'll have the perfect diving board ...
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Graeme2 06/06/2018 19:45 | #216248
Graeme2 06/06/2018 19:45 | #216248
Sometimes Spotifying is frustrating when they don't have many of these gems to savour. Still nice.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Jimmy Dread 11/13/2017 19:37 | #201286
Jimmy Dread 11/13/2017 19:37 | #201286
Marcus Garvey's in there pal. As for Tosh, never been a huge fan of any of his albums in all honesty, although I used to own the Honorary Citizen box set many moons back. I'm The Toughest is a boss track, but the version on Bush Doctor is dire compared to the CS Dodd original, and Johnny Clarke's beats both into a porkpie hat.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Dankel 11/13/2017 19:33 | #201285
Dankel 11/13/2017 19:33 | #201285
A bit of a roll call of who's who in Reggae - impressed that Dr Alimantado is there! I may be wrong but I couldn't see Burning Spear or Peter Tosh? I used to play a lot of Reggae in my youth and am going to investigate some of the albums on here
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From LittleM1971 07/28/2017 20:59 | #195074
So I gave myself a little project towards the end of 2016 which was to listen to the whole of this wonderful chart. I'm now about a quarter of the way through and all I can say it's an absolute treasure trove of joy. Can't wait to listen to the rest. Fantastic chart and education!!!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
CharlieBarley 02/27/2017 09:20 | #186449
CharlieBarley 02/27/2017 09:20 | #186449
Great chart. I heard The Congo's album about 9/10 years ago after reading the Rolling Stone magazine list of top 500 albums. I have always liked Bob Marley's Exodus and Legend. They are really special. And I like a bit of Toots & the Maytals. I could easily get into Jamaican music more. Also we have a local ska band in Bournemouth called Rat Race. I saw them. They are excellent. Anyway thanks for the recommendations. I will be sure to check some out. Steven
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Jimmy Dread 01/26/2017 18:19 | #184333
Jimmy Dread 01/26/2017 18:19 | #184333
Fixed for you Skinnyman. Although perhaps not in the way you might have imagined. One love an'ting.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Skinny 01/20/2017 20:49 | #183631
Skinny 01/20/2017 20:49 | #183631
The lack of "Greg'raaaay" is sacrilegious. Zero other complaints.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From platus 09/02/2016 07:17 | #174040
Great chart!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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