Reggae: Top 25 Albums

Genre: The Top 100 Albums

Reggae music emerged in Jamaica in the late 1960s. It integrated ska and rocksteady and is notable for its counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat and offbeat rhythm section. Lyrically, the songs often focus on political and social issues. This list was created by aggregating 17 best-of-reggae lists. Those albums appearing on 3 or more lists were then ranked according to their overall status on Dave’s Music Database. Check out other best-of-genre/category lists here. 1. Bob Marley & the Wailers Legend (compilation: 1973-83, released 1984) 2. Bob Marley & the Wailers Exodus (1977) 3. Various Artists (Jimmy Cliff et al) The Harder They Come (soundtrack, 1972) 4. Bob Marley & the Wailers Catch a Fire (1973) 5. Bob Marley & the Wailers Natty Dread (1974) 6. Bob Marley & the Wailers Live! (At the Lyceum) (live, recorded 7/18/75, released 12/19/75) 7. Bob Marley & the Wailers Burnin’ (1973) 8. The Congos The Heart of the Congos (1977) 9. Burning Spear Marcus Garvey (1975) 10. Augustus Pablo King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown (1976) 11. Bob Marley & the Wailers Uprising (1980) 12. Bob Marley & the Wailers Rastaman Vibration (1976) 13. Toots & the Maytals Funky Kingston (1973) 14. Bob Marley & the Wailers Kaya (1978) 15. Buju Banton Til Shiloh (1995) 16. Peter Tosh Legalize It (1976) 17. UB40 Labour of Love (1983) 18. Bunny Wailer Blackheart Man (1976) 19. Culture Two Sevens Clash (1977) 20. Mighty Diamonds Right Time (1975) 21. Steel Pulse Handsworth Revolution (1978) 22. Lee “Scratch” Perry & the Upsetters Super Ape (1976) 23. Andy Horace Skylarking (1972) 24. Gregory Isaacs Night Nurse (1982) 25. Max Romeo & the Upsetters War ina Babylon (1976) Resources and Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: other best-of-genre lists First posted 8/27/2024.

 

Dave's Music Hall of Fame: Album Inductees (August 2022)

Originally posted 8/22/2022. January 22, 2019 marked the 10-year anniversary of the DMDB blog. To honor that, Dave’s Music Database announced its own Hall of Fame. This month marks the fifteenth group of album inductees. These are the top soundtracks of all time, excluding previous inductees The Bodyguard, Grease, Purple Rain, Saturday Night Fever, South Pacific, and West Side Story. See the full list of album inductees here.

American Graffiti (1973) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

This isn’t just the soundtrack to George Lucas’ nostalgic reflection to teenage life in 1962, it’s the soundtrack to the early rock-n-roll era. It’s loaded with classics including Bill Haley & the Comets’ “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock,” Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” Buddy Holly’s “That’ll Be the Day,” the Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes for You,” Frankie Lymon & the Teeangers’ “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” Del Shannon’s “Runaway,” and the Platters’ “The Great Pretender.” Read more.

George Gershwin (music) & Ira Gershwin (lyrics) An American in Paris (1951) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

George Gershwin’s 1928 classical composition “An American in Paris” inspired this movie starring Gene Kelly. In addition to the title song, the soundtrack features Gershwin classics “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise,” “S’ Wonderful,” “Embraceable You,” “I Got Rhythm,” and “Love Is Here to Stay.” The album has been named to the Grammy Hall of Fame. Read more.

Dirty Dancing (1987) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

This tale of a young woman (Jennifer Grey) who falls for a dance instructor (Patrick Swayze) while her family is on vacation is set in 1963, but features a soundtrack of both old (The Ronettes “Be My Baby,” Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs’ “Stay”) and new (Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes’ “I’ve Had the Time of My Life,” Eric Carmen “Hungry Eyes”). It spent 18 weeks atop the Billboard album chart and sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Read more.

Footloose (1984) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

An outsider (Kevin Bacon) moves to a small town where dancing is forbidden but crusades to have the law overturned for the high school prom. The soundtrack was loaded with hits, including the #1 title song by Kenny Loggins and Deniece Williams’ chart-topping “Let’s Hear It for the Boy.” The album spent 10 weeks at #1 on the Billboard chart and sold over 16 million copies worldwide. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed it as a definitive album in 2007. Read more.

Frozen (2013) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

Disney experienced a commercial revival in the late ‘80s that saw a slew of blockbuster animated films from The Little Mermaid to Aladdin to The Lion King. Even so, the monstrous success of 2013’s Frozen wasn’t expected. The album topped the Billboard chart for 13 weeks on the strength of the top-5 sing-along hit “Let It Go” and became the best-selling album of the year. Read more.

The Harder They Come (1972) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

The movie didn’t leave much impression, but its soundtrack became a crucial entry point into the world of reggae music for most Americans. Jimmy Cliff starred in the movie as a would-be reggae singer and contributes several songs to the soundtrack. The album has been named to the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Recording Registry. Read more.

High School Musical (2006) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

The Disney Channel hit gold with this made-for-cable movie that was essentially a modern day take on Grease starring Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. It launched a franchise that included two sequel films, stage musicals, books, comics, live shows, video games, and a television series. The soundtrack hit #1 on the Billboard album chart and sold five million copies in the United States. Read more.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

This soundtrack to the Coen brothers’ loose adaptation of The Odyssey caught everyone by surprise, topping the Billboard album chart and selling more than 10 million copies worldwide. It effectively kicked off a revived interest in Americana music and established T-Bone Burnett as the go-to producer for artists wanting to create roots music. The soundtrack won Album of the Year awards from the Grammys, the Academy of Country Music, and the Country Music Association. Read more.

Richard Rodgers (music) & Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics) The Sound of Music (1965) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

The cast album for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical The Sound of Music was a major hit, topping the Billboard album chart for 16 weeks. The soundtrack spent an astonishing 70 weeks atop the UK album chart and sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. It has been named to the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Recording Registry. The show featured now-iconic songs like “My Favorite Things,” “Do Re Mi,” and the title cut. Read more.

Titanic (1997) Inducted August 2022 as “Top Soundtracks.”

Film scores aren’t typically major hits, but James Horner’s score for Titanic was a major hit. The movie about the passenger liner that sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg became the biggest grossing of all time and made Celine Dion a superstar with the song “My Heart Will Go On.” The soundtrack spent 16 weeks at #1 on the Billboard album chart and sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. Read more.

The Harder They Come soundtrack released

The Harder They Come Various Artists

Released: July 7, 1972 Recorded: 1967-72 Peak: 140 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- Genre: reggae

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. You Can Get It if You Really Want (JIMMY CLIFF) (7/70, --) Draw Your Breaks (SCOTTY) Rivers of Babylon (MELODIANS) Many Rivers to Cross (JIMMY CLIFF) Sweet and Dandy (MAYTALS) The Harder They Come (JIMMY CLIFF) (7/72, --) Johnny Too Bad (SLICKERS) Shanty Town (DESMOND DEKKER) Pressure Drop (TOOTS & THE MAYTALS) Sitting in Limbo (JIMMY CLIFF) You Cant Get It if You Really Want (JIMMY CLIFF) The Harder They Come (JIMMY CLIFF) Total Running Time: 39:55

Rating: 4.625 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings) Quotable: The soundtrack that “gave much of the world its first taste of reggae music.” – author Tom Moon Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: When filmmaker Perry Henzell heard the “1969 hymn to perseverance, Many Rivers to Cross” by Jamaican singer/songwriter Jimmy Cliff, he thought it was “the perfect anthem for his tale about the class and socioeconomic struggles of a rurgal roustabout in the city of Kingston.” TM Henzel asked Cliff to contribute other songs for the film and ended up casting him as the lead as “Ivanhoe Martin, would-be reggae singer turned renegade.” TL While the movie “was a mixed bag” TL “its soundtrack served as most Americans’ first introduction to reggae;” TL in fact, it “gave much of the world its first taste of reggae music.” TM “It is a collection of consistently excellent early reggae songs by artists who went on to thrive with reggae’s increased popularity and others for whom this is the most well-known vehicle.” AM Cliff also contributed You Can Get It if You Really Want It, “which echoes the vocal intensity of early Stax-Volt.” TM It is “built on the effortless push-pull of reggae rhythm, while embracing the upbeat exuberance of American soul music.” TM “Many Rivers” and Sitting in Limbo “are solemn, hymnlike expressions of faith. And though the lyrics are simple, they are powerfully inspirational.” TM Of course, Cliff also wrote and performed the title cut. “Interestingly, the better production values of his songs actually seems to detract from them when compared to the rougher, but less sanitized, mixes of the other tracks. All the songs on this collection are excellent, but some truly stand out. Toots & the Maytals deliver two high-energy songs with Sweet and Dandy and Pressure Drop (covered by the Clash among others).” AM “Desmond Dekker & The Aces showed off reggae’s roots in ‘50s R&B on (007) Shanty Town” TL and “Scotty develops a mellow, loping groove on Stop That Train (not the same as the Wailers‘ song by the same name).” AM “Just as good are the contributions from mostly forgotten acts like The Melodians and The Slickers, whose Johnny Too Bad is a parable of the film – only far better.” TL On the latter, “the Slickers prove…that you don’t have to spout profanity or graphic violence to convey danger.” AM “The Harder They Come was only a modest success, but it opened the door for the arrival of Bob Marley, global superstar, a few years later.” TL It “is strongly recommended both for the casual listener interested in getting a sense of reggae music and the more serious enthusiast. Collections don’t come much better than this.” AM Notes: A 2003 reissue added another 18 songs.

Reviews: AM AllMusic.com review by Toby Ball TM Tom Moon (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Workman Publishing Company, Inc.: New York, NY. Pages 174-5. TL Time Magazine (11/13/2006). “All-TIME 100 Albums” by Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Links: First posted 8/11/2008; last updated 6/27/2025.