Billboard’s top 15 reggae albums of 2014
BILLBOARD Magazine has revealed its top 15 best-selling reggae albums of 2014. The publication did so in its year-end issue.
Each week, Billboard ranks the Top 50 reggae albums based on sales from Nielsen Soundscan. The figures are from compact discs and digital downloads.
Here are the Top 15 albums:
1 – Count Me In (Rebelution): Released in June, it is the third chart-topper for the Santa Barbara, California band. The album sold over 17,000 copies in its first week. To date it has sold over 38,000 copies.
2 – Amid the Noise and Haste (SOJA): The American band’s sixth studio release went straight to number one when it debuted in August with over 12,000 copies. To date, it has sold over 22,000 copies. Produced by Jamaican Dwayne ‘Supa Dups’ Chin-Quee, it is nominated for Best Reggae Album at the 57th Grammy Awards.
3 – Reincarnated (Snoop Dogg): The debut reggae set from gangsta rap’s most notorious act, Reincarnated was released in April 2013 and has so far sold over 100,000 copies.
4 – Fly Rasta (Ziggy Marley): Released in April, also topped Billboard’s Reggae Album chart. It is the most commercially successful album by a Jamaican reggae artiste for 2014. Fly Rasta has sold more than 16,000 copies to date and is another nominee for Best Reggae Album at the 57th Grammy Awards.
5 – Summertime Reggae (Various Artistes): This compilation has sold over 14,000 copies since its release in July.
6 – Representing (Tribal Seeds): Released in May, this is the San Diego, California band’s first Billboard number one. It features collaborations with Don Carlos and Mykal Rose, among others and has sold over 9,000 copies.
7 – Automatic (Iration): Originally from Hawaii, Iration resides in Santa Barbara, California. Their third studio album, Automatic was released in July 2013 and sold 8,000 copies in its first week. To date, it has sold just under 20,000 copies.
8 – Dread and Terrible (Chronixx): Opened at number one in April with less than 1,000 copies sold. But thanks to his performance on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Dread and Terrible experienced a surge in sales and moved over 2,700 copies the following week. To date, the album’s stands at over 7,000 copies sold.
9 – 5 Classic Albums (Bob Marley & the Wailers): Island Records’ box set focuses on the latter stages of Marley’s recording career, featuring the studio albums: Rastaman Vibration (1976), Exodus (1977), Kaya (1978), Survival (1979), and Uprising (1980). It has sold over 7,000 copies since its November 2013 release.
10 – Hawaii 13 (The Green): The Hawaiian reggae band topped the Billboard Reggae Album chart with their third album which was released in 2013, To date, has sold over 16,000 copies.
Easy to Love by Maxi Priest and Full Frequency from Sean Paul, both sold poorly.
The Billboard top 15 is completed by the compilations Soca Gold 2014, Legend Remixed by Bob Marley & the Wailers and Reggae Gold 2014.
