Island Reggae Greats is a series of reggae compilation albums, released by Island Records in 1985. The series showcases selected Island reggae artists and three reggae styles (DJ, lovers and rockers), plus there was also a sampler featuring selected tracks from the series. The albums were compiled by Trevor Wyatt, contain extensive liner notes and the covers were painted by artists based on photos.
The series, initially offered at a "special price", was intended to create new interest in reggae. It saw CD release in the late '80s and early '90s, as part of the Island Masters and Reggae Refreshers series.
In America the series was released on Island's subsidiary label Mango, and some of the titles were released with different covers.
The latest reissue of the series, which rebranded it Island Reggae Greats Collection, was in 1997 on Universal's UK budget label Spectrum. The cover art was slightly reworked, and the liner notes either altered or omitted. Also, Aswad were added to the series, while the Pablo Moses, Wailers and various artist albums were deleted.
