[lonewolfny42]

Josh....

You might check out this list of 100 Greatest Reggae Albums.......then copy and paste to Amazon Music (search) for samples.......

Other lists are here......

[Mike Nomad]

Black Uhuru - Unless you are going to get into the dub side of their catalog, the "Liberation: The Island Anthology" would probably take care of you. For a single disc (and a better taste of their dub stuff than what the anthology above gives you), check out their "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner."

Israel Vibration - Another group that has two sides to their catalog, regular releases, and dub versions. If you look them up on allmusic, the ratings are pretty accurate. Personal faves are "Strength of My Life," and "On the Rock." For their dub stuff, "Dub Vibration."

If your system has a sub, make sure it eats a hearty breakfast.

Mike

[rockadanny]

For great ska music try The Slackers. The two I like best from them are "Live at Ernesto's" and "Wasted Days". Dancing is guaranteed to ensue! 

[K Shep]

Josh,

I forgot to include 311 in the list of great ska/punk groups.  I just listened to "Amber" from this album.

311 Greatest Hits
http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Hits-93-03-311/dp/B00024I2YU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1254530518&sr=1-1

[sfdoddsy]

That list of the top 100 reggae will give you a good start.

The best recorded reggae album I own, and one of the best musically, is Ras Mek Peace by Midnite.

Along with the Sinead O'Connor album mentioned above, check out Willie Nelson's Countryman. It's surprisingly good.

For ska, here's a short list:

The Specials
Madness
Bad Manners
The Selecter
The British Beat
Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Fishbone

The essential early ska compilation is Rough and Tough, and any of the Trojan box sets. Also check out a compilation called '100% British Ska' for some lesser known gems.

Have fun.