Bob Marley & The Wailers, the iconic reggae ensemble, has once again claimed the top spot on the Billboard Year-End Reggae Albums Artists chart and the Year-End Reggae Albums chart with their timeless compilation, “Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley & The Wailers,” marking their fourth consecutive year at the pinnacle.
Tuff Gong, the record label established by Marley in 1970, secured the No. 1 position on the Year-End Reggae Albums Imprints chart. Simultaneously, Universal Music, the major label responsible for the marketing and distribution of Marley’s music, dominated the Year-End Reggae Albums Labels chart and the Year-End Reggae Distributors chart.
Billboard’s latest rankings, released on November 21, disclosed that “Legend,” originally launched on May 8, 1984, has climbed to No. 66 (an improvement from last year’s No. 77) on the Year-End Billboard 200 Albums chart, which assesses album performance across all genres.
The Year-End 2023 music charts, unveiled today, compile data from weekly charts spanning November 20, 2022, to November 12, 2023. These metrics include streaming equivalent album units, airplay, and sales within the United States, reported by sales tracker Luminate (formerly MRC Data).
Marley’s continuous dominance of the Reggae charts comes as no surprise, given that the 15x Platinum “Legend” album consistently outsells and outstreams almost all entries on the weekly Billboard Reggae chart combined. A rule amendment by Billboard in January 2020 facilitated the album’s four-year reign, with the only exception being one week in 2022 when it temporarily yielded the top spot to Stick Figure’s “Wisdom.”
“Legend” stands as Marley’s highest-charting album in the US, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard 200. Globally, it holds the distinction of being the best-selling reggae album, boasting over 15 million copies sold in the US, 4.2 million in the UK, and an estimated 33 million worldwide as of November 16, 2023. Notably, “Legend” has spent an impressive 1108 weeks in the top 100 of the UK Albums Chart, the second-longest run in the chart’s history, and 809 weeks on the US Billboard 200 weekly chart—a feat matched only by Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.”
Turning to the Year-End Reggae Albums chart, the top 5 positions are occupied by Shaggy’s “Best Of Shaggy: The Boombastic Collection,” Sean Paul’s “Dutty Classics Collection,” Stick Figure’s “Wisdom,” UB40’s “Greatest Hits,” and Stick Figure’s “World On Fire.”
In the realm of Year-End Reggae Albums Artists, Stick Figure, Shaggy, and Sean Paul claim the second, third, and fourth spots, respectively. UB-40, Byron Messia, and Rebelution follow at No. 5, 6, and 7.
The Year-End Reggae Albums Imprints chart sees Island Records, Stick Figure’s Ruffwood, Geffen, and Hip-O securing the No. 2 through 5 positions, while the Year-End Reggae Albums Labels chart features Ruffwood, Rhino, Ineffable Records, and Prince Swanny’s Ztekk Records at No. 2 through 5.
As for the Year-End Reggae Albums Distributors chart, Independents, WMX, and Sony Music take the No. 2 through 4 spots, respectively.