This Is Reggae Music (Island, 1974)

A great collection that is truly a piece of history in that it was released as reggae music was beginning to slip into mainstream America's consciousness, thanks to tunes like The Wailers' "I Shot the Sheriff," which was remade by Eric Clapton with much popular success.  This album sought to capitalize on such crossover success with this compilation of songs, many of which are now classics.  As it was aimed at novice listeners in the '70s so it is probably more valuable to such newcomers today, with tracks like "I Shot the Sheriff," "Funky Kingston," "Concrete Jungle," and "Book of Rules" being particularly familiar to seasoned listeners.  Still, there are a couple of tracks that aren't as readily available elsewhere.  For me, this album was worth the money just to get the slow, funky, atmospheric title track by Zap Pow (a group that Beres Hammond was a member of early in his career), combining great emotional vocals, groovy horns, and classical strings to form a fantastic piece of art.  Lorna Bennett's lovers-styled "Breakfast in Bed," though somewhat popular, is not quite as much of a classic in my book, but it still is a nice addition that isn't always so easy to find.  Indeed, this is reggae music.