Best ska band of all time?

[Sports Barf]

Was just having a heated debate the other day with a friend about this. What’s the best ska band of all time?

 

[Batman]

... And we are officially out of topics at SJ.com.

 

[garrow]

Oingo Boingo

 

[PCLoadLetter]

1) The Specials
2) The English Beat
3) Toots & the Maytals
4) Desmond Dekker & the Aces
5) Fishbone

 

[Huggy]

Tough to argue with the top three on PC’s list. The Villains were a terrific Canuckistani ska band for a few years

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

1. The Skatalites.

 

[Scout]

Madness and Reel Big Fish

 

[Brian J Walter]

Annette and Fishbone in Back to the Beach.

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

I happened to be in the UK the week when ska made a mini-comeback right before the week when Nirvana and grunge wiped the slate clean. I'd have to go with Madness and the Specials in that order. Early Police was also ska-flavored.

 

[Slacker]

And as I found out late in life when I dug deep into the Clash, that band also had plenty of ska flavoring.

 

[Slacker]

Sublime, too.

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

White Man in Hammersmith Palais is arguably the Clash's best song. Although I have objected to its production values previously.

 

[swingline]

I don’t really know what makes a song ska — 1-3 time instead of 2-4? — and I couldn’t pick one out if you asked me. They all just sound like songs to me.

 

[Scout]

Reggae mixed with rock, but, for me, there has to be a horn section.

 

[MisterCreosote]

The Specials as pioneers and the Bosstones as the most successful.

 

[Songbird]

Oingo Boingo

This is, of course, the best answer.

 

[Oggiedoggie]

This is, of course, the best answer.

If that’s ska, then are the Talking Heads and perhaps even Devo also ska?

 

[Songbird]

Is No Doubt ska?

 

[Songbird]

Ska?

 

[MisterCreosote]

Is No Doubt ska?

No, they’re posers.