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What is the best Toots and the Maytals album of all time?

By YPB Team

Spanning ska roots to soulful reggae peaks and Grammy-winning collaborations, this catalog captures the raw power of Toots Hibbert's unmatched voice. Classic or deep cut — which wins? Cast your vote!

  1. Funky Kingston — ranked #11
    Funky Kingston
    The 1973 international breakthrough blending ska, rocksteady and soul, widely considered the definitive Toots album.
    1000pts
  2. Flip and Twist — ranked #22
    Flip and Twist
    The 2010 album on D&F Music, the band's last set of new songs before Toots Hibbert was injured by a thrown bottle on stage in 2013.
    898pts
  3. Toots in Memphis — ranked #33
    Toots in Memphis
    The 1988 tribute to classic Memphis soul, revealing the deep American soul influences behind Toots's style.
    835pts
  4. Pass the Pipe — ranked #44
    Pass the Pipe
    The 1979 album released through Island and Bob Marley's Tuff Gong label, built around the extended title song 'Pass the Pipe'.
    800pts
  5. Sweet and Dandy — ranked #55
    Sweet and Dandy
    The 1969 rocksteady classic featuring the title track that became one of the most iconic Jamaican songs ever.
    734pts
  6. Toots Presents the Maytals — ranked #66
    Toots Presents the Maytals
    The 1977 album issued on Chin Randys and State Records, a set of new songs released between 'Reggae Got Soul' and 'Pass the Pipe'.
    659pts
  7. True Love — ranked #77
    True Love
    The 2004 Grammy-winning collaboration album featuring duets with artists like Keith Richards and Bonnie Raitt.
    659pts
  8. Recoup — ranked #88
    Recoup
    The 1997 album on the independent Artists Only! label, the reformed Maytals' first studio record of new material in nearly a decade.
    659pts
  9. From the Roots — ranked #99
    From the Roots
    A 1973 Trojan release of sessions recorded in 1970 with producer Leslie Kong, capturing the Maytals' raw early reggae sound at Beverley's.
    571pts
  10. Ska Father — ranked #1010
    Ska Father
    The 1998 album whose title salutes Toots Hibbert's role as a ska pioneer, released on Artists Only! a year after 'Recoup'.
    571pts
  11. Monkey Man — ranked #1111
    Monkey Man
    The 1970 Trojan album produced by Leslie Kong, named after the single 'Monkey Man', which became the group's first hit on the UK Singles Chart.
    571pts
  12. Just Like That — ranked #1212
    Just Like That
    The 1980 Island album released months before the famous 'Live' LP, which was pressed and in London shops the day after the band's Hammersmith Palais concert.
    571pts
  13. Light Your Light — ranked #1313
    Light Your Light
    The 2007 Fantasy Records album, released in Toots Hibbert's 45th year as a recording artist, which peaked at No. 9 on Billboard's reggae chart and earned a Grammy nomination.
    467pts
  14. World Is Turning — ranked #1414
    World Is Turning
    The 2003 album released on D&F Music, arriving a year before the Grammy-winning 'True Love' brought the band back to wide international attention.
    467pts
  15. Got to Be Tough — ranked #1515
    Got to Be Tough
    The 2020 album financed and co-played by Zak Starkey, released two weeks before Toots Hibbert's death and later awarded the Grammy for Best Reggae Album.
    467pts
  16. Knock Out — ranked #1616
    Knock Out
    The 1981 album showcasing Toots at his live-wire best, full of energy and raw Jamaican soul.
    343pts
  17. In the Dark — ranked #1717
    In the Dark
    The 1974 raw and energetic album continuing the momentum of Funky Kingston with equally strong material.
    343pts
  18. Roots Reggae — ranked #1818
    Roots Reggae
    A 1974 Jamaican release on Dynamic Sounds from the Maytals' busiest period, recorded in the same stretch that produced 'Funky Kingston' and 'In the Dark'.
    343pts
  19. The Sensational Maytals — ranked #1919
    The Sensational Maytals
    The 1965 ska album made with producer Byron Lee for his BMN label, released shortly before Toots Hibbert's 1966 jail term that later inspired '54-46 That's My Number'.
    0pts
  20. Slatyam Stoot — ranked #2020
    Slatyam Stoot
    The 1972 album on Byron Lee's Dynamic Sounds label, its odd title simply spelling 'Toots Maytals' backwards, from the run leading up to 'Funky Kingston'.
    0pts
  21. Reggae Got Soul — ranked #2121
    Reggae Got Soul
    The 1976 album that perfected Toots's soulful reggae style with infectious grooves and Hibbert's powerhouse vocals.
    0pts
  22. Never Grow Old — ranked #2222
    Never Grow Old
    The Maytals' 1964 debut LP for Coxsone Dodd's Studio One, gathering early ska and gospel-charged sides led by the title song 'Never Grow Old'.
    0pts

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