The 25 Greatest Dub Reggae Albums of All Time

Dub reimagined Jamaican music as a sonic landscape where bass, echo, and reverb became instruments. From King Tubby's mixing board magic to Lee Perry's Black Ark experiments, vote for the dub album that changed everything.

1. 1
   East of the River Nile

   Augustus Pablo's 1977 instrumental album of melodica-led, echo-soaked rockers rhythms, a mystical roots set regularly named among the finest dub records ever made.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Super Ape

   A psychedelic dub journey produced by Lee Scratch Perry at Black Ark studio, pushing the genre's sonic boundaries into uncharted territory.
   835pts
3. 3
   Scientist Heavyweight Dub Champion

   A landmark of the dancehall dub era featuring Scientist's precise and punishing soundsystem-ready mixing board productions.
   762pts
4. 4
   Pick a Dub

   Keith Hudson's 1974 set of stripped-down versions of his own productions, often cited alongside Blackboard Jungle Dub as one of the first true dub albums.
   734pts
5. 5
   LKJ in Dub

   Dennis Bovell's 1980 dub reworkings of Linton Kwesi Johnson's tracks from Forces of Victory and Bass Culture, a landmark record of British dub.
   659pts
6. 6
   Kamikaze Dub

   Prince Jammy's 1979 album mixed at King Tubby's studio, the protégé's sharpest early showcase of punchy, crisp dub before his digital dancehall era.
   659pts
7. 7
   A New Chapter of Dub

   Aswad's 1982 dub reworking of their New Chapter album, showing the London band's mastery of heavyweight roots rhythms and horn-laden mixing.
   659pts
8. 8
   Blackboard Jungle Dub

   The Upsetters' 1973 record often cited as the first true dub album, pioneering the stripped-back, effects-laden sound that defined the entire genre.
   659pts
9. 9
   I Wah Dub

   Dennis Bovell's 1980 album released under his Blackbeard alias, a showcase of the Matumbi founder's inventive studio craft and a cornerstone of UK dub.
   659pts
10. 10
    King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown

    An instrumental roots-dub masterpiece by Augustus Pablo and King Tubby that defined the rockers rhythm and showcased revolutionary mixing board genius.
    659pts
11. 11
    Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires

    An inventively crafted classic where Scientist's wild mixing techniques made dub feel like a horror movie soundtrack.
    659pts
12. 12
    In the Light Dub

    The 1977 dub companion to Horace Andy's In the Light, produced by Everton DaSilva and mixed at King Tubby's studio into spacious, echo-laden versions.
    571pts
13. 13
    The Dub Factor

    Paul Groucho Smykle's 1983 dub remix of Black Uhuru tracks powered by Sly and Robbie, a sharp, modern record that pushed dub toward the dancefloor.
    571pts
14. 14
    Slum in Dub

    The 1978 dub version of Gregory Isaacs' rhythms, mixed at King Tubby's studio, a cult favourite among dub collectors for its heavy, hypnotic bass lines.
    571pts
15. 15
    Revolution Dub

    Lee Perry's 1975 Black Ark dub album, studded with television dialogue samples and phased effects, one of the producer's most playful and inventive mixes.
    571pts
16. 16
    African Dub All-Mighty Chapter 3

    Joe Gibbs and engineer Errol Thompson's 1977 dub set, famous for its sound effects and heavy Professionals rhythms, the most celebrated chapter of their series.
    571pts
17. 17
    Garvey's Ghost

    Burning Spear's 1976 dub companion to Marcus Garvey, reworking that roots classic into a brooding, bass-heavy instrumental album released by Island Records.
    467pts
18. 18
    Africa Must Be Free by 1983 Dub

    The late-1970s dub version of Hugh Mundell's roots album, produced by Augustus Pablo and mixed at King Tubby's studio into one of the era's deepest dubs.
    343pts
19. 19
    Scientist Meets the Space Invaders

    Scientist's 1981 Greensleeves album with the Roots Radics, one of his comic-book-covered dub battles, ranked among MOJO's 50 greatest reggae albums.
    343pts
20. 20
    Dub Me Crazy

    Mad Professor's 1982 debut on his own Ariwa label, launching the long Dub Me Crazy series that made him the leading figure of British dub.
    343pts
21. 21
    Aquarius Dub

    Herman Chin Loy's 1973 album from his Aquarius label, widely credited as one of the very first dub LPs ever released in Jamaica.
    343pts
22. 22
    Dub from Creation

    Creation Rebel's 1978 debut, produced by a young Adrian Sherwood, which launched the UK dub lineage that later grew into his On-U Sound label.
    343pts
23. 23
    Commandments of Dub

    The 1982 first chapter of sound-system king Jah Shaka's long-running dub series, built for the massive bass of his legendary London dances.
    0pts
24. 24
    King Tubby's Prophecy of Dub

    Yabby You's 1976 dub album mixed by King Tubby, setting the producer's dread, spiritual rhythms against Tubby's deep echo and sudden dropouts.
    0pts
25. 25
    No Protection

    Mad Professor's 1995 dub remix of Massive Attack's Protection, which carried classic dub mixing techniques to a new trip-hop audience across Britain and beyond.
    0pts

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