100 Greatest Albums of All Time

46. Legend, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Island, 1984

Bob Marley said, “Reggae music is too simple for [American musicians]. You must be inside of it, know what’s happening, and why you want to play this music. You don’t just run and go play this music because you think you can make a million of it.” Ironically, this set of the late reggae idol’s greatest hits has sold in the millions worldwide. In a single disc, it captures everything that made him an international icon: his nuanced songcraft, his political message (and savvy), and ”“ of course”“ the universal soul he brought to Jamaican rhythm and Rastafarian spirituality in the gunfighter ballad “I Shot the Sheriff,” the comforting swing of “No Woman, No Cry” and the holy promise of “Redemption Song.”