Arkology is the definitive overview of Lee “Scratch” Perry’s pre-1990 work as a producer and as a solo artist. Unlike most best-ofs, this one is a beautifully curated mix of tracks both familiar and obscure, and it comes accompanied by outstanding liner notes. Here you’ll encounter Max Romeo’s very dread “One Step Forward” (followed immediately by its dub version), the Heptones’ “Mr President,” and the Meditations’ “No Peace,” along with deeper vault cuts like the Upsetters’ “Bird in Hand” and the dub version of Perry’s own “Roots Fish and Cornbread.” All of this material was recorded and mixed at Perry’s Black Ark studio (hence the title) and partakes of that studio’s uniquely weird and swampy ambience.

– Rick Anderson