I like really fast, dark, and aggressive dancehalllike bounty killer and old school Capleton. I used to be one of those reggae fanatics who really despised dancehall, but now I really like it, although I'm having trouble finding really good dancehall that fits my particular tastes. any suggestions?

Old Jamaican dancehall=good
Sean Paul,Bounty killer=crap

I think Lee 'Scratch' Perry`s Arkology collection is pretty much essential listening.

old Shaggy as in "mr. lovalova" was good but most that is coming out in american has been really sucky as of late

just listen to some calypso and you'll see what i mean

I think its sad when reggae has been turned into endless threads about shaggy and sean paul.

^ well to be fair there was only one post about shaggy and sean paul respectively.

my all time favs are also my recommendations-
Burning Spear
Peter Tosh
Bob Marley
Jimmy Cliff
Lee Perry
Mad Professor

And if Shaggy and Sean Paul were truly representative of the whole dancehall genre I would hate it just as much as Dinah does

Dont get me wrong I looove old dancehall reggae and even lots of current stuff(Dr. ring Ding, king Django, Hepcat) But this craze of pop/ragga americanized "dancehall" is just an excuse for whit kids to grind on eachother. Traditional dancehall reggae was much much more rooted in acctual reggae/ska with musicians like Dodd(probobly the most famous ska Mc/producer/dancehall owner) MC ing over dub tracks. Nowadays the mainstream wants you to belive that dancehall is rap with steel drums.

Seriously, I used to feel EXACTLY the same way for EXACTLY the same reason. Contemporary dancehall ( and they really should call it something other than dancehall) is just as much a product of Jamaica as Trad. Dancehall/reggae. Just as American music has evolved so has Jamaican music. Yes, there's some real garbage in the genre and I'm in the process of sifting through it which can be a long and arduous process, but for me just to a have a handful of albums I like is worth it.