How To Build a Good Reggae Collection Without Spending a Fortune
From those of you who are trying to build a decent digital reggae collection I'd suggest you buy the songs I've listed as single MP3 @ 99 cents at Amazon or Rhapsody. I'd avoid purchasing entire albums which often have filler in them. That way you can gradually build a top ranking collection of these 100 crucial songs. Jamaican reggae has always been more focused on the sales of 12" and 7" singles rather than album sales.
Many of these songs are unavailable at any music sevice and were posted by reggae music fans like myself who convert their out of issue reggae singles and albums into the digital format and post them on YouTube.
Most of the YouTube videos I've posted can be converted into high quality digital MP3 files if you have the free YouTube Downloader software. It isn't illegal to convert avi format videos into the mp3 format, as long as you do so for your own personal use and don't repost the music for others to download. I'd say that around 50% of the songs I've posted on this thread are out of issue anyway.
There are important reggae albums which every reggae fan should own but purchasing singles is the best way to get started because you'll get a broad exposure to the various artists and you can decide which ones you like well enough to spend money on album. The first 5 years I listened to reggae I only purchased singles and didn't even purchase a proper album until I broke down and bought
Jah Son of Africa by U-Roy in 1978.
If you're interested only the the long playing album format check out Bulldog and Jackhammer's crucially crucial
guide to reggae albums.