Bob Marley & the Wailers: Every Studio Album, Ranked (Part 1)
Discussing every record from this legendary group.
No musical legend has become as globally unassailable as that of Bob Marley.
He’s the biggest reggae act of all time, with over 75 million records sold worldwide. As of January 2024, his ubiquitous compilation album, Legend, has spent a jaw-dropping 818 consecutive weeks on the US Billboard 200 chart and over 1100 weeks in the Top 100 of the UK equivalent. His trademark “one love” ethos has become cultural shorthand for bringing people together, regardless of their background or political leanings.
Long after his death, Marley’s influence continues to shine through.
With a new biopic rekindling well-deserved interest in his music, I thought this would be a great opportunity to go through his studio albums, piece by piece, and see which ones were the cream of the crop. The results, as the clickbait saying goes, may surprise you.
First, a couple of quick caveats:
I only included LPs he released as part of the Wailers on this list. Earlier singles and EPs, many of which are hard to track down on streaming platforms, weren’t part of the listening exercise, mainly because I wanted to keep the time commitment manageable. Live albums and other compilations were also nixed.
As with other discography explorations, just because an album is ranked at or near the bottom of this list doesn’t automatically make it awful. Someone of Marley’s talent was incapable of making a record with absolutely no redeeming qualities.
Last bit of preamble: If you haven’t subscribed to this newsletter, I’d love it if you clicked the following button and joined one of the most engaging music communities on the internet. Lots of great chatter and anecdotes await in the comments and Notes.
Let’s begin, starting with the lowest-ranked Bob Marley & the Wailers record:
13. Confrontation (1983)
Confrontation is the only album on this list that was released posthumously. Assembled from various demos and other studio scraps recorded during Marley’s lifetime, it also feels the most separated from his core legacy.
Multiple tracks have background vocals and layered harmonies from the I-Threes added to give everything a bit of sonic consistency. Unfortunately, that approach occasionally makes this record feel like a Bob Marley tribute instead of a proper collection of unreleased gems. The overtly 80s production elements, including gated drums and overbearing synths, don’t help.
Still, there are a handful of strong moments here. “Jump Nyabinghi” and “Blackman Redemption” bubble over with sunny, soulful energy, while “Buffalo Soldier,” with those opening horn blasts and 80s drum sound, is easily the best cut on the LP, as well as its only single of note.
12. The Best of the Wailers (1971)
Despite its title, The Best of the Wailers is not a compilation, but rather an inflection point in the group’s rise to superstardom. The main reason was the man who oversaw the recording process: Leslie Kong. A famed Kingston hitmaker who’d helped other talents like Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker, and Toots and Maytals break through to mainstream audiences, Kong was tasked with pulling the Wailers out of a creative slump. To my ears, he mostly succeeded.
A big part of the winning formula here is Kong’s house band, then called the Beverleys' All Stars. The group, headed by Gladstone “Gladdy” Anderson on piano, framed the Wailers with bright, vaguely Motown-esque instrumentals and harmonies. You can really hear the latter shine through on the uplifting “Soul Shakedown Party” and the blissfully romantic “Do It Twice.” There’s also “Stop The Train,” one of Peter Tosh’s most powerful lyrical contributions to the group.
Interestingly, the Wailers weren’t thrilled with the results (they sought out Lee Perry to produce the group’s next record). Kong passed away a week after this album’s release at age 37, effectively closing the loop on any possible collaborations that would’ve made good on a similar sound.
11. The Wailing Wailers (1965)
There’s an alternate universe where, with more infrastructure and immediate global exposure (or at least more than they enjoyed at the time), Marley, Tosh, and Bunny Wailer could’ve been Jamaica’s answer to Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.
This 1965 release is primarily a showcase for those three voices, putting them through Westernized paces that include, among other things, a cover of “What’s New Pussycat?” You can hear the influence of groups like Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and the Temptations on tracks like “I Need You,” “Ten Commandments of Love,” and “I’m Still Waiting,” where vocal harmonies soar above jangly guitars and jukebox-ready grooves. There’s also an early version of “One Love/People Get Ready,” one of Marley’s trademark songs, which he’d re-record in 1977.
Due to the recording conditions and the economic realities in mid-60s Jamaica, The Wailing Wailers’ sonic quality is subpar in spots. However, it’s still more than worth your time, particularly for those curious about the earlier part of the Bob Marley origin story.
10. Soul Revolution (1971)
If any album on this list epitomizes Marley’s transition from ska and roots disciple to a unique, international persona, it’s Soul Revolution. Different reissues add a “Pt. II” suffix to the record and add a few tracks, most notably “Kaya,” but for the purposes of this write-up, I’ll tackle all versions of this release as one entry into Marley’s catalog.
Produced by Perry, who was on his way to becoming one of reggae’s most successful and sought-after producers, this LP is sparse sonically, often relying on a handful of elements to carry the mix. However, I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. It doesn’t have the full, more electric feel of Marley’s peak period, but it also forces him and the Wailers to captivate with their melodies and lyrics.
A good example of this dynamic at work is “Sun is Shining,” a well-known track that he’d also cannibalize and reinterpret later in his career. But, even though there’s only guitar, bass, and harmonica supporting his vocal performance, I think it works on a different level than the later version. It’s grittier and more insistent, qualities that recontextualize his words without robbing them of their soulfulness.
9. Soul Rebels (1970)
Soul Rebels is an important release in Marley’s discography because of how many firsts there are. It was the first album crediting the group as Bob Marley & the Wailers, a distinction that would last until the singer’s death in 1981. It was also the first full-length collaboration with Perry following a string of generally well-received singles. You could also argue this was the first moment in time when the group started to toy with listener expectations of what constituted “real” reggae music.
For instance, you have the strange echo that runs throughout “My Cup,” lending an off-kilter energy to both the rhythm and vocals. “It’s Alright” showcases the group pushing the limits of genre hybridism and going almost entirely R&B. That said, there are more traditional rocksteady roots moments here too, like “Try Me” and “400 Years,” the latter being one of my favorite Peter Tosh vocal performances of all time.
It’s not the most polished or cohesive LP under the Bob Marley & the Wailers banner, but it’s arguably the first one that approaches, if not touches, greatness.
8. Uprising (1980)
Uprising is the album I had the most difficulty placing on this list, mainly due to the gulf between its highs and lows. Because it was released less than a year before his passing, a lot of the calls for spiritual and humanitarian unity are viewed through that lens, as if Marley may have known this was the last chance he’d get to express those views. Relatedly, there’s also a weariness that drags the record’s energy down in spots, possibly because the weight of being a global ambassador was finally starting to weigh on him.
In fits and starts, this LP contains some of the group’s best work. “Zion Train” folds wah-wah guitar play into a more traditional reggae track, updating sensibilities heard on “Stop The Train.” “Could You Be Loved” is an exceptional crossover effort, underpinning one of Marley’s most recognizable vocals with late-70s funk and disco vibes. The closer, “Redemption Song,” is a moment of sheer brilliance, stripping away the electric orchestration to deliver what feels, to a degree, like Marley was singing his own obituary.
And yet, for all those positives, a lot of the lyricism didn’t connect with me as much as his mid-70s period did. The messaging is not as overtly anti-establishment as his most biting protest anthems, but it’s also not as sweet and disarming as his most soulful classics. Instead, it’s caught between both those worlds, which led to it falling here in my rankings. I understand that I may be in the minority here, though.
Part 2 of this discography ranking will be released in the coming weeks. Until then, check out other record collector lists I’ve published or the deep dive I did on Coldplay’s studio albums recently.
Is there anything in these rankings you’d change? Which Bob Marley & the Wailers would you slot in at No. 1? Make your voice heard in the comments.
Yah, mon. Can't wait for more of your analysis of the Marley canon.