The 100 best reggae albums are selected and voted on by the staff at WMV, based on their impact during their respective eras. To make it digestible, we start with the top ten.
The internet has revolutionized music consumption, from CDs to downloads and into the streaming era. Reggae music albums have been unbundled, and because fans can pick and choose their favorites without listening to the entire project, artists are struggling to find their best singles to spark interest, rather than making and marketing a full body of work for cohesive listening.
Today, newly released reggae albums sell fewer than 3,000 equivalent units per week in the US, which is not enough to make the weekly Billboard 200 chart. Historically, reggae music has some of the best albums in music that never made a significant impact on the US or UK Charts.
For instance, Bob Marley’s “Catch A Fire” now regarded as a classic only sold 6,000 copies in its first week and 14,000 by the end of 1973.
Therefore, we can agree that reggae is more than album sales and is known as message music. It is a wonder that a reggae artist is yet to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Tarrus Riley says that an album must have a message to be truly considered reggae, a sentiment echoed by Junior Reid.
Bob Marley with his predications for the genre said in an interview, “this music will get bigger and bigger and bigger until it finds its rightful people.”
Considerations were given to several objective criteria, such as the originality, cultural impact, including how the album has influenced reggae music and other artists, as well as the significance of its themes and messages in the social and political context of its time and beyond.
On the other hand, commercial success was not a primary factor, but we highlight album sales, certifications, and chart data for greater context.
While on the business side of the 100 Best Reggae Album-ranking, we found that Island Records has released some of the best reggae albums in history and overall, Universal Music Group owns the most albums on this list through various acquisitions of smaller labels.
- Two Sevens Clash – Culture (1977) Label: Joe Gibbs Music/VP Music Group
The debut album Two Sevens Clash by Culture, comprised of lead singer Joseph Hill (who later took on the name Culture), Albert Walker, and Kenneth Dayes, is a roots reggae classic carrying Marcus Garvey’s message of social upheaval and liberation on D-Day 1977. The title track and songs like “See Them a Come” reflect the political and spiritual climate of the time. Culture sings:
“My good prophet Marcus Garvey prophesy say
St Jago de la Vega and Kingston is gonna meet
And I can see with my own two eyes
Is only a housing scheme that divide”
Inferring that he had a vision that in 1977 there would be judgment. On July 7, 1977, many people in Kingston, Jamaica, stayed home in anticipation of these predictions. A 40th-anniversary edition was reissued in 2017 with liner notes from film director Don Letts.
- Chronology – Chronixx (2017) Label: Soul Circle Music/Virgin EMI
The last classic reggae album is Chronology by Chronixx, reggae’s golden boy, who was poised to revive the genre. The artist’s debut album stands out as the best reggae album from his generation and was nominated for Best Reggae Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards but lost to Damian Marley’s Stony Hill. It captures the contemporary spirit of Rastafarian brand reggae with inspiration from traditional roots on songs like “Skankin’ Sweet” and “Selassie Children.” “Likes” is a riddim-driven track about the trappings of social media in the industry, taking jabs at his fellow craftsmen saying, “Marley still a lead pon iTunes, simple mean we nuh ready yet.” The album released independently via soul Circle Music, a label created by Chronixx, his then manager Barnes and Kiki has sold 100,000 units in the US since it’s released on July 7, 2017 and peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart for two weeks and charted for 45 weeks.
- Welcome To Jamrock – Damian Marley (2005) Label: Tuff Gong/Universal
Welcome To Jamrock is Damian Marley’s hard-hitting third studio album that addresses social issues in Jamaica and the world. The title track, which was a spin on the hip hop track “Welcome To Atlanta,” became a global hit, blending reggae with hip-hop influences. Damian said he learned of the song’s appeal after getting a call from his grandmother while touring Africa that the track was picking up steam in the UK.
The album won Best Reggae Album at the 2006 Grammy Awards, and the title track won Best Urban/Alternative Performance and peaked at number 7 on the US Billboard 200.
Welcome To Jamrock sold 86,000 units in its first week and has so far racked up sales of more than 1.2 million album-equivalent units in the US, according to Luminate. The brand has been immortalized in the form of a cruise ship festival every year, with guests listening to reggae music, watching reggae performances, and visiting Jamaica over a five-day period.
- Black Woman & Child – Sizzla (1997) Label: VP Records
At just age 21, Sizzla released his sophomore project Black Woman & Child on September 16, 1997, and it has become a seminal reggae product with passionate and conscious lyrics littering every song. The album was produced by Robert “Bobby Digital” Dixon and the title track, as well as songs like “Give Them The Ride” and “Love Is Divine,” tackles themes of love, empowerment, and Rastafarian faith.
The album is considered one of Sizzla’s best works and remains one of the most influential albums in reggae and global music, with artists like Drake and DJ Khaled drawing inspiration from it. The album also features collaborations with Capleton, Edi Fitzroy, Determine, and Morgan Heritage.
- Inner Heights – Buju Banton (1997) Label: VP Records
Refining his destiny as a bonafide reggae artist, Buju Banton’s fifth studio album Inner Heights lands at No. 6 on the list of 100 Best Reggae Albums. With powerful spiritual themes, the album released on November 18, 2007 starts off with an unusual rendition of the Our Father Prayer. Buju recalled that the tracks “Destiny” was penned at a pivotal moment in his career when he was considering whether to leave the music business or to press on. “Hills and Valleys” are among the best reggae songs ever made, and Buju’s raspy voice flexes musical tones to deliver a vibrato that adds comfort and warmth to heinous subjects. The album received critical acclaim and solidified Buju Banton’s reputation as a versatile and influential reggae artist.
Inner Heights is Banton’s only album to peak at No. 1 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart where it remained for 8 weeks and spent a total of 79 weeks on the chart. It was nominated for Best Reggae Album at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards but lost to Sly & Robbie’s “Friends.”
Other tracks like “African Pride” speaks to a renewed way of thinking to grow the global African mind. Buju’s breathy delivery on “Cry No More” is a tearful pleading and admission to his wrongs, a hard subject to find in reggae nowadays. His vulnerability is further exemplified on “Give I Strength” featuring Ras Shiloh and “Close One Yesterday.” “54/46” features Toots Hibbert, a remix of the 1968 classic. No other reggae album has been so open and vulnerable at the height of an artist’s career. The album was re-mastered and re-released for its 10th anniversary in 2007.
- Mama Africa – Peter Tosh (1983) Label: EMI Records
Mama Africa was the album Peter Tosh used to take his career and reggae into the U.S. after Bob Marley’s death. Charting his own course, it was a tribute from the Rastafarian artist to the African continent and its people at home and abroad. Songs like “Mama Africa” and “Glass House” blend reggae rhythms with messages of unity and resistance. The album was a commercial success, reaching No. 59 on the Billboard 200 and top 50 in the UK, his only album to do so. Carlton “Santa” Davis and Lebert “Gibby” Morrison, along with Sly & Robbie, provided musical direction. Tosh swings the pendulum with the updated Wailers’ “Stop That Train,” taking jabs with “Maga Dog.”
The album’s lead single was a cover of Chuck Berry’s 1958 song “Johnny B. Goode,” released by Chess Records. Chuck’s autobiographical hit peaked at No. 8 in the Hot 100’s founding year on a pre-Hot 100 chart.
Finding parallels with Berry’s original, which was about a country boy who played the guitar, Tosh himself was famous for walking around with a guitar in the shape of an M16 ands rendition reached No. 84 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 48 on the UK Singles Chart.
- Half Way Tree – Damian Marley (2001) Label: Motown
Five years after his debut with Mr. Marley, Damian Marley found success with his second album, Half Way Tree, released by Motown Records. This album immediately resonated with fans globally, largely due to the single “Still Searching” featuring Yami Bolo, which was frequently played by DJ Khaled on Miami’s 99 Jamz.
Half Way Tree blends reggae, reggae fusion, and dancehall, and features guest appearances from rappers and reggae-dancehall artists. The album was co-produced by Damian and his brother Stephen Marley. It includes tracks like “More Justice” and “It Was Written,” with contributions from Stephen Marley, Capleton, and Drag-On, which bridged hardcore reggae and hip hop. Other notable tracks are “Educated Fools,” featuring Bounty Killer, Yami Bolo, Treach, and Bunny Wailer, “Where Is the Love,” featuring Eve, and “Stand a Chance.”
The album also features standout tracks like “Catch a Fire” with Stephen Marley and “Paradise Child” with Mr. Cheeks and Jimmy Cozier.
Half Way Tree won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 2002 and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart, second to One Love: The Very Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers, which had a 20-week run at the top. Since its release on September 11, 2001, Half Way Tree has sold 248,000 units in the U.S., including 194,000 pure sales and 59.6 million on-demand streams, according to Billboard sales tracker Luminate. Globally, the album has over 90 million streams on Spotify.
The album’s title reflects Damian’s mixed social class, with his beauty queen mother Cindy Breakspeare from upper-class Jamaica and his father Bob Marley growing up in rural St. Ann and inner-city Trench Town. The cover features Damian standing between a Clock Tower with the bust of King Edward engraved, symbolizing this blend of backgrounds in the commercial district in Kingston.
- Catch A Fire – Bob Marley and the Wailers (1973) Label: Island Records
it has been more than 50 years since the release of Bob Marley and the Wailers’ career defining album with Island Records, Catch A Fire.
Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, said he invested £4,000 in the album along with the next three Wailers’ projects. He overdubbed the songs for a “rock feel,” but the album didn’t catch on right away and only sold 14,000 in the first year and 6,000 units in its first week. Despite modest early sales, Blackwell continued to support the band and the album, which has proven to be a blueprint for timeless music and an important part of the Bob Marley and The Wailers catalogue.
The album reached number 171 on the US Billboard 200 and since 1991, it has sold 584,000 units in the U.S., according to Luminate, earning a Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA).
Recorded primarily in Kingston, Jamaica, the album’s second cover was designed by John Bonis, featuring an Esther Anderson portrait of Bob Marley with a ganja spliff in mouth. The first was a light blue case with a lighter. In Blackwell’s memoir, The Islander: My Life In Music And Beyond, he said the decision to change the cover was based on a strategy to enhance the album’s appeal without losing its Jamaican essence. He admired the trio’s charisma and power, but was particularly sold on Bob Marley’s presence.
Although there were challenges in gaining airplay on Black American radio stations, Blackwell’s vision to introduce the group to the rock music scene was instrumental in their success.
- Exodus – Bob Marley and the Wailers (1977) Label: Island Records
Reggae’s most celebrated album, Exodus by Bob Marley & The Wailers, lands at No. 2 on our list. The album transcends generations and was the nucleus for the Bob Marley: One Love film. It captures the essence of reggae and Bob Marley’s transnational development in the 1970s. Released after the assassination attempts on Marley’s life, it was recorded in London and showcases a blend of religious politics and themes of love and faith.
Chris Blackwell, head of Island Records, played a significant role in the album’s production, separating the material into revolutionary and romantic themes. “We had two albums’ worth of new material,” he said. “I separated this material into two sets, with the loose idea that one set represented the revolutionary Bob, and the other the romantic Bob. Both batches of songs convey the worldwide range of emotions he had experienced after being forced out of his homeland.”
Exodus features tracks like “Natural Mystic,” “So Much Things To Say,” “Guiltiness,” “The Heathen,” and the title track “Exodus.” The B-side includes “Jamming,” “Waiting In Vain,” “Turn Your Lights Down Low,” “Three Little Birds,” and “One Love / People Get Ready.”
The album reached the top 20 in the UK and is certified Gold in the US, UK, and Canada. It was remastered and re-released for its 40th anniversary in 2017. Exodus has the highest number of tracks on Marley’s greatest hits compilation, Legend, which has spent over 800 weeks on the Billboard 200 and 235 weeks on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.
- ‘Til Shiloh – Buju Banton (1995) Label: Loose Cannon/Island
Buju Banton’s magnum opus, ‘Til Shiloh, was promoted using an a cappella version of the single “Til I’m Laid To Rest.” Producer Donovan Germain told WMV that he sent the single to Irie FM’s Big A to test the market response in 1995. Big A played the song no less than 20 times during his three-hour shift on Jamaica’s seminal reggae radio station, and the song instantly became a national anthem, not only in the dancehall but for church choirs, school groups, and the regular man on the street. This laid the foundation for the rest of the album to be embraced by the masses and for Buju to make his transition from a hardcore dancehall act to reggae’s new face. A cover of the song is featured on Sinéad O’Connor’s seventh studio album Throw Down Your Arms.
‘Til Shiloh blends reggae with dancehall and hip-hop influences, offering a diverse yet cohesive musical experience.
There were three other singles released from the album. “Murderer,” released in 1994, was an ode to Buju’s friend Pan Head who was shot and killed in Kingston while Buju was on tour in Japan. “Wanna Be Loved” and “Champion (Remix),” both released in 1995, kept Buju in the sight of international audiences. The latter was certified Gold in Canada last year for selling 40,000 units in streams and sales.
“‘Til I’m Laid to Rest,” was another anthem with Buju’s syncopated singing, inviting us into his spiritual journey and conversion to Rastafarianism. This personal transformation and the sincerity of his faith added another layer to reggae’s development.
‘Til Shiloh, meaning “forever” according to Donovan Germain, peaked at number 148 on the US Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart where it stayed for 104 weeks. His longest charting album to date, it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, for selling over 500,000 copies in the United States on its 25th anniversary.
“A generational masterpiece, Buju Banton’s ‘Til Shiloh is the greatest Jamaican album of the last forty-five years, and one of the greatest ever in any music genre,” remarked Wayne Chen about WMV‘s No. 1 pick.
