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I am no primer on reggae but if I had to choose five at this moment they would be "East of the River Nile"-Augustus Pablo, "Heart of the Congos"-The Congo's, "Hebron Gate"-Groundation, "True Democracy"-Steel Pulse, and only because you said I can skip Bob Marley your probably familiar with Peter Tosh too "Ras Mek Peace"-Midnite. If your not familiar with Tosh though as five I would put his "Equal Rights" album. Though if you are just looking to get into reggae more another thing you can do is pick up one of the Trojan Anthologies. They have multi-disc sets of different types of reggae, from dub to roots to real spiritual stuff. They are a good place to start, provide a bunch of diverse artists from the very well known to the more underground and give a nice little foot in the door into the world of reggae. Trojan Roots Set to help understand more what i am talking about. Hope this helps man and hope you dig the tunes!

I knew nothing about Prince Buster until I heard a few interviews with David Rodigan and he kept referencing him. So glad I finally discovered him.

Thanks for this awesome song OP. Have you ever seen this box set from Trojan Records? It's pretty awesome and has a lot of great rocksteady/early ska like this song. Check it out if you haven't.

I haven't read it, but reading about it makes me want to. Steffens is probably the definitive author on Marley. I d love to see his narrative in one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Especially if it broadens the perspective from the usual hagiography, and puts the person in context and perspective.

I'd definitely recommend ["a brief history of seven killings" by Marlon James](
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/10/brief-history-of-seven-killings-marlon-james-review) for a brutal account of the Jamaican context of the era. It's fiction.

And while we're on the topic of books, Helen Lee's "the first Rasta" is a must-read if you're interested in how Rasta comes into play

Thanks for initiating a conversation on here, OP!

I would probably recommend some kind of collection so you can figure out what parts of the genre you find most interesting. This is a good start.

When you find the style or kind of artist you like you can go on from there and dig deeper. Happy listening!

if you like that, then you'll love disney's reggae album released a few years ago featuring people like Jimmy Cliff, Toots Hibbert, Morgan Heritage and Steel Pulse

i really like steel pulse's version of the bare necessities

for Mutabaruka, i like the albums Check It!, Dub Poets Dub, and the self-titled Mutabaruka

as an interesting trip into the intersection of reggae music and rastafarian religious ceremony, Churchical Chants of the Nyabingi is a fun listen.

"Fire on the Mountain Reggae Celebrates The Grateful Dead" is a pretty good one.
http://www.amazon.com/Fire-On-The-Mountain-Celebrates/dp/B000000NXD

I listen to the Funky Kingston/In the Dark album at work all the time. The cover of Take Me Home, Country Roads that changes "West Virginia" to "West Jamaica" is awesome. Pressure Drop is one of my favorite songs, period.

Amazon link-
http://www.amazon.com/Funky-Kingston-Dark-Toots-Maytals/dp/B00008NRKB

Busy Signal's "The Gambler"

A lot of good stuff on VP's Reggae's Gone Country compilation

This album of Bob Marley remixes is one of my favorites of all time.

Black Uhuru - Liberation: Island Anthology https://www.amazon.com/Liberation-Island-Anthology-BLACK-UHURU/dp/B000001E1X
If you dig Black Uhuru and Don Carlos, definitely check out Michael Rose (Mykal Rose).

yep. Tougher than tough: The story of Jamaican Music

[Smile Orange] (http://www.amazon.com/SMILE-ORANGE-VARIOUS/dp/B0006N2EFA/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top)

[Third World Cop] (http://www.amazon.com/Third-World-Cop-Paul-Campbell/dp/6306004440/ref=pd_cp_mov_1)

There are a ton of movies with Oliver Samuels, such as:

[Out The Gate] (http://www.amazon.com/Out-The-Gate-Oliver-Samuels/dp/B008M6MFVQ/ref=pd_cp_mov_2)

[A Who The Don] (http://www.amazon.com/Audrey-Hoshing-Johnson-Kadeem-Samuels/dp/B00DTTJVUO/ref=pd_cp_mov_2)

[Big Yard] (http://www.amazon.com/Big-Yard-Part-Oliver-Samuels/dp/B0007YERJO/ref=sr_1_4?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1398517619&sr=1-4&keywords=Oliver+Samuels)

[Ras Noah & The Hawk] (http://www.amazon.com/Ras-Noah-Hawk-Oliver-Samuels/dp/B000BUK2UW/ref=sr_1_6?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1398517666&sr=1-6&keywords=Oliver+Samuels)

What /u/pilvy said. Also, get your your hands on the Trojan Roots Box Set.

https://www.amazon.com/Reggae-International-Coraleena-Various-Artists/dp/B0045AK7O0/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1520132700&sr=1-1-mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=moiko+records+reggae

This is the best book IMO on the subject

This version can be found on Arise Black Man, but I'm not sure where else:
Amazon link