# The 9 Best Reggae Tracks of All Time Ska slowed twice over, until the emphasis landed on the third beat and the bass became the lead voice. Jamaica's national music from 1968, and the direct ancestor of everything this site publishes about low frequencies. - **Origin:** Kingston, Jamaica, 1968 - **Tempo:** 60–90 BPM - **Also known as:** roots reggae, rocksteady, one drop, jamaican - **Tracks:** 9 - **Updated:** 2026-08-29 - **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/genre/reggae/ ## The list ### 1. [Bob Marley & The Wailers](https://waxonia.com/artist/bob-marley-and-the-wailers/) — [No Woman, No Cry](https://waxonia.com/track/bob-marley-and-the-wailers--no-woman-no-cry/) *1975 · Island* The live version, because the studio take is merely very good. Seven minutes in which a man consoles a room by describing a yard in Trenchtown, and the organ line does half the consoling. Also on: [Sung to Someone](https://waxonia.com/theme/sung-to-someone/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Bob%20Marley%20%26%20The%20Wailers%20No%20Woman%2C%20No%20Cry) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=IT8XvzIfi4U) ### 2. [The Abyssinians](https://waxonia.com/artist/the-abyssinians/) — [Satta Massagana](https://waxonia.com/track/the-abyssinians--satta-massagana/) *1969* A minor-key hymn in Amharic that no producer wanted, shelved for two years and then released by the group themselves. It became the most versioned rhythm in Jamaican music. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Abyssinians%20Satta%20Massagana) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=UE3qYbB_7-E) ### 3. [Jimmy Cliff](https://waxonia.com/artist/jimmy-cliff/) — [The Harder They Come](https://waxonia.com/track/jimmy-cliff--the-harder-they-come/) *1972 · Island* The song that carried the film that carried reggae out of Jamaica. Defiant without being aggressive, which is a harder register than it sounds and one Cliff owned completely. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Jimmy%20Cliff%20The%20Harder%20They%20Come) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=pmc5H6zAi6M) ### 4. [Burning Spear](https://waxonia.com/artist/burning-spear/) — [Marcus Garvey](https://waxonia.com/track/burning-spear--marcus-garvey/) *1975 · Island* Winston Rodney sings history lessons over a rhythm that barely moves and makes them feel like prophecy. The most severe great record in this tradition. Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Burning%20Spear%20Marcus%20Garvey) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=JW0iPMG1ohc) ### 5. [Desmond Dekker & The Aces](https://waxonia.com/artist/desmond-dekker-and-the-aces/) — [Israelites](https://waxonia.com/track/desmond-dekker-and-the-aces--israelites/) *1968 · Pyramid* A number one in Britain that most of Britain could not make out a word of. Cheerful music about being broke before dawn, and the first reggae record to travel on its own terms. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Desmond%20Dekker%20%26%20The%20Aces%20Israelites) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=0wSXTN2EfRo) ### 6. [Junior Murvin](https://waxonia.com/artist/junior-murvin/) — [Police and Thieves](https://waxonia.com/track/junior-murvin--police-and-thieves/) *1976 · Island* Murvin's falsetto over a Lee Perry production of extraordinary lightness. The Clash covered it a year later and the traffic between punk and Kingston was open for good. Also on: [1976](https://waxonia.com/theme/nineteen-seventy-six/), [Dancing to Bad News](https://waxonia.com/theme/dancing-to-bad-news/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Junior%20Murvin%20Police%20and%20Thieves) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=X5Z2M3VlB8E) ### 7. [The Mighty Diamonds](https://waxonia.com/artist/the-mighty-diamonds/) — [Right Time](https://waxonia.com/track/the-mighty-diamonds--right-time/) *1976 · Channel One* Channel One's rockers rhythm — the drum doubled up and pushed forward — arriving fully formed. Three-part harmony over a beat that changed what Jamaican records sounded like for the rest of the decade. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Mighty%20Diamonds%20Right%20Time) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=HP_NSG55WAU) ### 8. [Culture](https://waxonia.com/artist/culture/) — [Two Sevens Clash](https://waxonia.com/track/culture--two-sevens-clash/) *1977 · Joe Gibbs* An apocalypse prediction so widely believed that parts of Kingston stayed home on the day. Few records have ever been taken this literally by their own audience. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Culture%20Two%20Sevens%20Clash) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=TOm558H16hg) ### 9. [Peter Tosh](https://waxonia.com/artist/peter-tosh/) — [Legalize It](https://waxonia.com/track/peter-tosh--legalize-it/) *1976 · Virgin* Tosh states his case with none of Marley's diplomacy and a much harder band behind him. The Wailers' sharpest edge, heard clearly once he was on his own. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Peter%20Tosh%20Legalize%20It) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=6cIePqdz03A) --- Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.