I know this is a pretty random survey, but since this thread got revived I got wondering about which albums are showing up most often on these lists. Just for curiosity’s sake I added them all up.
I only counted how many times an album was mentioned, regardless of any implied order on any lists (and I skipped Dubs_West’s list from Dec. '07 entirely, just because it was so far beyond the “10 must haves” concept).
So if anyone’s curious, here’s the most mentioned, and how many times they have each been submitted…
7 The Congos - Heart of the Congos
5 Culture - Two Sevens Clash
5 The Abyssinians - Satta Massagana
4 Johnny Osbourne - Truths And Rights
4 Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey
4 Israel Vibration - The Same Song
3 Burning Spear - Social Living
3 Dennis Brown - Wolves & Leopards
and each of these have been mentioned 2 times:
Dennis Brown - Visions
Black Uhuru - Black Sounds of Freedom
Burning Spear - Burning Spear
Junior Delahaye - Reggae Showcase
Eek-A-Mouse - Wah Do Dem
The Heptones - Party Time
Keith Hudson & King Tubby - Pick a Dub
Justin Hinds & the Dominoes - Carry Go Bring Home
Gregory Isaacs - Mr Isaacs
Gregory Isaacs - Extra Classic
Barrington Levy - Bounty Hunter
Fred Locks - Black Starliner
Hugh Mundell - Arise
Bob Marley & the Wailers - Rastaman Vibration
Junior Murvin - Police And Thieves
Mighty Diamonds - Right Time
The Wailers - Catch A Fire
Hugh Mundell - Africa Must Be Free By 1983
Lee Perry/Upsetters - Super Ape
and there were 3 or 4 mentions of variations on these compilations, or the albums that make them up:
Yabby You - Jesus Dread
Steel Pulse - Sound System: The Island Anthology
also, quite a few artists like The Maytals, Peter Tosh, Scientist, King Tubby, Max Romeo, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Little Roy, The Gladiators, The Itals, Johnny Clarke, Junior Byles and Aswad all have had more than one album mentioned, while Burning Spear, Lee Perry and Yabby You have had a number of other albums mentioned as well.
And that's what I did for fun this afternoon.
