(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 26 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 53,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from the 1990s. (Remove this filter)
Buy album 
- #Sponsored
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]
1
Buy album
- #Sponsored
DIGITAL DANCEHALL. The one-riddim LP is a staple of the Jamaican long-player, and it doesn't come anymore crucial than this. 21 tracks on Jammys/Smith's landmark backing track, including the obvious (Tenor Saw, Johnny Osbourne, Wayne Smith's original) and the less so. Essential, both as a piece of history and as a compilation of ace tunes. The digital era started here.
[First added to this chart: 10/22/2018]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
COMPILATION: DUB. Ace compy on Blood and Fire.
[First added to this chart: 11/29/2013]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
COMPILATION: SKA. Tons of essential Skatalites compys but this is the best, bringing together killer after killer from their Studio One heyday. Top Deck on Wirl or the new Soul Jazz compy are equally as ace.
[First added to this chart: 11/29/2013]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
COMPILATION: DEEJAY
[First added to this chart: 06/26/2015]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
RAGGA
[First added to this chart: 11/29/2013]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
RAGGA
[First added to this chart: 05/12/2014]
Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank in 1992:
None
Rank in 1990s:
None
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
RAGGA/DANCEHALL
[First added to this chart: 11/29/2013]
Total albums: 8. Page 1 of 1
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 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Augustus Pablo | 1 | 1% | |
| Keith Hudson | 1 | 1% | |
| Steel Pulse | 1 | 1% | |
| Eek-A-Mouse | 1 | 1% | |
| The Upsetters | 1 | 1% | |
| The Abyssinians | 1 | 1% | |
| Junior Delgado | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
(Call it) Reggae (if you must) chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 16 from 99th to 83rd I'm In Love With A Dreadlocks by Brown Sugar |
| Up 7 from 52nd to 45th Trenchtown Mix Up by The Gladiators |
| Up 2 from 98th to 96th Dub From Creation by Creation Rebel |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 10 from 88th to 98th School Days by Flick Wilson |
| Down 10 from 89th to 99th Don Dada by Super Cat |
| Down 8 from 43rd to 51st Memorial Album by Don Drummond |
| New entries |
|---|
 W/ The Artistsby Rhythm & Sound |
| African Woman Abroad by Mwanamke Mwafrika |
(Call it) Reggae (if you must) similar charts
- Mannish Water by
Hayden (2022) - Reggae 1-100 by
briggs54 (2015) - Favorite Reggae Albums by
NoisyBeast (2017) - Reggae Chart by
neilgee (2023) - FAVORITE REGGAE ALBUMS by
Captain_Dude (2015) - Reggae 101-200 by briggs54 (2015)
- Children of Jah: Reggae by
Skinny (2015) - 100 Best Reggae Albums of all Time by WayneMC (2017)
- The Greatest Reggae Albums of the 1970s by slimharpo (2018)
- Dub/Reggae 360° by
pa (2015)
(Call it) Reggae (if you must) similarity to your chart(s)
Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!
Why register?
Join a passionate community of over 50,000 music fans.- Create & share your own charts.
- Have your say in the overall rankings.
- Post comments in the forums and vote on polls.
- Comment on or rate any album, artist, track or chart.
- Discover new music & improve your music collection.
- Customise the overall chart using a variety of different filters & metrics.
- Create a wishlist of albums.
- Help maintain the BEA database.
- Earn member points and gain access to increasing levels of functionality!
- ... And lots more!
Register now - it only takes a moment!
Other custom charts by Jimmy Dread
Northern White Crap That Talks Back - A Fall Top 10 by Jimmy Dread (2012)Every Favourite Album Of My Life - 1985-Present by
Jimmy Dread (2021)Don't (Don't) Stop Indie Pop! by
Jimmy Dread (2015)(Studio) One Love - Brentford Road Essentials by
Jimmy Dread (2017)Folk Off! Pastoral Perfection for Pixie People by
Jimmy Dread (2019)Collected Animals - An AC compendium by
Jimmy Dread (2020)What Does This Button Do? A noWax Electronica Compedium by
Jimmy Dread (2014)101-200, The Waiting Room (Or The Obligatory Next Ton) of Dread by
Jimmy Dread (2021)You BEAutiful People! Top Recs From Other Members by
Jimmy Dread (2021)Very Good Plus - Vital Vinyl (Collector's Edition) by
Jimmy Dread (2019)Funk Soul Brothers (and Sisters) by
Jimmy Dread (2015)The Top 100 On Vinyl Challenge by
Jimmy Dread (2017)Dubbing With Dread - from Tubby to Today by
Jimmy Dread (2019)Work In Progress by
Jimmy Dread (2019)(Call it) Reggae (if you must) ratings
94/100 (from 42 votes)
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 42 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 100/100  | 04/19/2019 12:54 |  ForegroundNoise | | 87/100 |
| 95/100 | 04/15/2019 22:21 | amassini | | 85/100 |
| 100/100 | 04/15/2019 15:58 |  Repo | | 100/100 |
| 100/100 | 04/15/2019 15:15 |  LedZep | | 84/100 |
| 90/100 | 01/24/2019 01:12 | boppare | | 90/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*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.
Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating
(Call it) Reggae (if you must) favourites
Showing latest 20 members who have added this chart as a favourite | Show all 25 members
(Call it) Reggae (if you must) comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 26 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
100/100
From ForegroundNoise 04/19/2019 12:56
ForegroundNoise 04/19/2019 12:56
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)
100/100
From 
Graeme2 06/06/2018 19:45
Graeme2 06/06/2018 19:45
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
Jimmy Dread 11/13/2017 19:37
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)
80/100
From 
Dankel 11/13/2017 19:33
Dankel 11/13/2017 19:33
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)
100/100
From LittleM1971 07/28/2017 20:59
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)
95/100
From 
CharlieBarley 02/27/2017 09:20
CharlieBarley 02/27/2017 09:20
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
Jimmy Dread 01/26/2017 18:19
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
Skinny 01/20/2017 20:49
The lack of "Greg'raaaay" is sacrilegious. Zero other complaints.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From platus 09/02/2016 07:17
Great chart!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From Rikuff 09/02/2016 05:20
Great!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment
Your feedback for (Call it) Reggae (if you must)
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.