who the hell are these people and what do they have to do with ska??? You want ska artists????? Toots & the Maytals, Prince Buster, Jackie Opel, Lord Creator, Lord Tanamo, The Original Wailers, THE SKATALITES(greatest ska band ever) Desmond Decker, Alton Ellis & Delroy Wilson(early coxsone days). There are so many more to mention

deff check out reel big fish and less than jake.. streetlights been on tour with them before.
and when i was at a concert with reel big fish and streetlight manifesto, they had an opening act called i think one pin short, they were pretty good too!

1st Wave:
The Skatalites,

3rd Wave/Ska-Punk/Skacore:
Reel Big Fish, Planet Smashers, Chief (local band, great ska), 311 (they fall under reggae too though), Streetlight Manifesto, Less Than Jake, Mighty Mighty Bosstones

The Bosstones are Third wave fella and no second wave :(

Yeah, considering there's a 26 year span between the skatalites 1st album & The Bosstones 1st, although the Skatalites are still playing and MMB aren't.

2nd wave: Madness, The Specials, English Beat, Selecter, Bad Manners

It's all about the 2nd wave for me. I'm not really into early Ska and some 3rd wave bands are truly terrible. Reel Big Fish and Big D and the Kid's Table come to mind.

I've always considered MMB first wave, no idea why. Just doesn't seem like third to me.
And yeah, I've never actually stumbled onto any 2nd wave ska-bands.

Really? Nothing beats Skatalites for me. Classic stuff. I have MoonSka Years, The Best Of, among other albums.
And I don't really have anything against Big D, definitely much better than Reel Big Fish.

There is something about the Bosstones which sets them apart from most 3rd wave, but I see no similarities between their music and 1st wave. They were in diapers when the Skatalites were playing some of their best music.

Jackhammer I'll confess I'm not a huge fan of 2nd wave. Much of it seems to have too much of a new wave element for me to like, but I certainly ike and respect it a lot more than 3rd wave.

Malta actually has a really big (well, big for Malta) ska scene...maybe check out the Riffs and Peklectrick. Peklectrick is more reggae but you still might like it.