Ragga Ragga Ragga! 8 (Greensleeves, 1996)

This is the first volume I listened to from "the world's best-selling ragga compilation" (as the cover states, so take that for what it's worth), and it represents fairly well.  From what I've heard, the series seems solid, but it tends to repeat the same old artists over and over again.  Beenie Man, who seems to perform 1 out of every 3 songs on every dancehall (or "ragga") compilation, here contributes 3 tracks, the best of which is the old-fashioned horn-riffed "Blackboard" (a take on the Skatalites' "Eastern Standard Time").  The true star here, though, is actually the relatively obscure Chuck Fender, who contributes the solid "Gal Dem Wining" and the outstanding "It's Me It's Me."  Bounty Killer adds his usual quality touch with "Model" and his version of Heavy D's "You've Got Me Waiting," featuring Nitty Kutchie and Angel Doolas.  Many of the others -- particularly near the end of the album -- are pretty much standard fare, but with the glut of dancehall albums out there, you have to get used to hunting and scavenging.