Bob Marley and The Wailers: Rastaman Vibration (1976)

Oddly, none of the tracks from this record showed up on Legend. So, most people would probably not recognize many of these songs

Wikipedia has details I never knew:

Although the album's liner notes list multiple songwriters, including family friends and band members, all songs were written by Marley. Marley was involved in a contractual dispute at the time with his former publishing company, Cayman music. Marley had not wanted his new songs to be associated with Cayman and it was speculated, including in his obituary in The Independent, that he had put them in the names of his friends and family members as a means of avoiding the contractual restrictions and to provide lasting help to family and close friends.

Vincent Ford, a childhood friend from Jamaica, is the songwriter for "No Woman, No Cry" on the 1974 album Natty Dread, as well as the songs "Crazy Baldheads" (with Marley's wife Rita), "Positive Vibration" and "Roots Rock Reggae" from Rastaman Vibration, along with "Inna De Red" and "Jah Bless" with Marley's son, Stephen.

Marley's widow and his former manager Danny Sims sued to obtain royalty and ownership rights to the songs, claiming that Marley had actually written the songs but had assigned the credit to Ford to avoid meeting commitments made in prior contracts. A 1987 court decision favored the Marley estate, which assumed full control of the songs. [source]

Bob Marley and The Wailers: Natty Dread (1974)

Natty Dread is the first Bob Marley and The Wailers record, and it comes after the departure of Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston. According to Allmusic, this is the best reggae album ever: "Natty Dread is Bob Marley's finest album, the ultimate reggae recording of all time." [source]  That's high praise, and I find it difficult to disagree. My copy is a Canadian repress, probably from the 1980s, the decade in which I bought most of my records. 

The Wailers: Burnin’ (1973)

Peter Tosh left after this record, and then the group formally took the name Bob Marley and the Wailers. When I was much younger, I though that the band was Bob Marley and the Whalers. I never questioned why a Jamaican band would take its name from the whaling industry. It made no sense, but it didn't really bother me.

It seems that everyone knows the song I Shot the Sheriff, but I think it's probably still true that most people know the Eric Clapton version, which is OK with me. Clapton really helped to spread the word about Marley. This LP also contains the great Marley classic, Get Up, Stand Up.

Bob Marley and the Wailers: Catch a Fire (1973)

Early pressings of this release were credited to The Wailers, but later pressings -- such as my Canadian pressing -- credit the LP to Bob Marley and the Wailers. The huge hit from this record was Stir it Up. There's some pretty significant sexual innuendo in that song:

I'll push the wood (stir it, stir it, stir it together),
then I blaze ya fire

and

Quench me when I'm thirsty;
Come on and cool me down, baby, when I'm hot. (ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
Your recipe is, - darlin' - is so tasty,
When you show and stir your pot. (ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)

That's rather overt. No one would doubt what "pot" means.

The other thing that changed with later releases was the cover. The original pressing's sleeve was cut in the shape of a hinged Zippo lighter. Later pressings just show Bob lighting a massive joint.

But, look at the price on the cover. Today, I'm guess my copy would fetch around $25. Needless to say that the early pressings sell for big money.

Everyone should have some Bob Marley in their collection, even if its a collection of his most well-known tracks. I find that kids love his music.

Phil Manzanera: Primitive Guitars (1982)

"On all these pulsing, groove-centered instrumental tracks, Manzanera is backed only by a drum machine and, on one tune, John Wetton on bass. Otherwise all the diverse sounds, noises, melodies, and rhythms have been created on guitar, linking Manzanera to another progressive virtuoso, Adrian Belew. In between tracks, Manzanera inserts snatches of dialogue recorded at various rehearsals, making this a successful, very personal album." [source]

Let me just say that I agree with that.Once again, I find it truly astonishing that there are two Canadian pressings. May records released in Canada had only one pressing. Maybe the first run was a low run. Anyway, It's good.

Phil Manzanera / 801: Listen Now (1977)

I should mention that Phil Manzanera, when he was not part of Roxy Music, lent his guitar skills to some really interesting records by the likes of John Cale, Brian Eno, and Nico. This is a fine LP, though perhaps not as good as the previous Live release.

A huge number of people appear on this record, including Eno, Godley and Creme, etc.

Phil Manzanera, [Brian] Eno, Bill MacCormick, Francis Monkman, Simon Phillips, Lloyd Watson, 801: 801 Live (1975)

There were two Canadian pressing so this LP, which I find curious. The first was on Editions EG and the second was on Polydor. I have the latter. The LP recorded in the Queen Elizabeth Hall on September 3rd, 1976. It's an odd collection of tunes, ranging from a few Brian Eno originals - Baby's on Fire, Sombre Reptiles, Third Uncle - mixed in with a Beatles cover, a Kinks tune, and some originals, etc. It's a very interesting record, to say the least. I give it five stars. Perhaps the only thing that could have made the record was better would have been Fripp.

Magic Bullets: Magic Bullets (2010)

This was a blind buy. I opted to get it because it was a brand new sealed copy for less than $10, and because Allmusic said this about the band:

"Magic Bullets draw from a shared love of post-punk/1980s alt-rock bands such as Orange Juice, the Sound, the Feelies, and Talking Heads. "[source]

That sold me. Although the album is good, I find that I rarely listen to it. I like the minimal album cover design.

MC5: Kick out the Jams (1969)

MC5 was an American rock band from Lincoln Park, Michigan, formed in 1964. The original band line-up consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson. "Crystallizing the counterculture movement at its most volatile and threatening", according to AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the MC5's leftist political ties and anti-establishment lyrics and music positioned them as emerging innovators of the punk movement in the United States. Their loud, energetic style of back-to-basics rock and roll included elements of garage rock, hard rock, blues rock, and psychedelic rock.

MC5 had a promising beginning which earned them a January 1969 cover appearance in Rolling Stone and a story written by Eric Ehrmann before their debut album was released. They developed a reputation for energetic and polemical live performances, one of which was recorded as their 1969 debut album Kick Out the Jams. Their initial run was short-lived, though. In 1972, just three years after their debut record, the band came to an end. MC5 was often cited as one of the most important American hard rock groups of their era. Their three albums are regarded by many as classics, and their song "Kick Out the Jams" is widely covered. [source]

My pressing is probably from the 80s, and definitely not from 1969. This is a band I heard about for years, before I finally obtained a copy.The band is touring under the slogan of MC50, but this is a much different band from the original.

Magazine: Magic, Murder and the Weather (1981)

To me, this is Magazine's last record. I've never heard the new one from 2011. Perhaps I should seek it out because it got great reviews, unlike this record from 1981. Anyway, Allmusic hates this record:

"Magazine's final studio album, Magic, Murder and the Weather, finds Dave Formula's washes of cold, brittle keyboards dominating the bitter and cynical music. Occasionally, Howard Devoto's weary lyrics surface through the icy mix, but it's clear that Devoto and Magazine have both had better days. It's not a graceful way to bow out, but the album has enough strong moments to prevent it from being an embarrassment as well." [source]

I don't think it's as bad as that.

M: New York, London Paris, Munich (1979)

Egads! I skipped right over M! I hated Pop Muzik the fist 1000 times I heard it, but I think I have mellowed a bot and I can now appreciate the song, to a certain point anyway. I should have appreciated it more, as it was on the early vanguard of new wave.

Magazine: The Correct Use of Soap (1980)

"I am angry, I am ill and I'm as ugly as sin"

I'd forgive any one who thought that this opening line was written by Morrissey. In fact, Morrissey covered this song, so there you go.

Look at the price on this one! Canada got a different version of this LP, entitled An Alternate Use of Soap. So, I have the US pressing. This is great. I really like it.

Magazine: Play (1980)

This LP was "Recorded live at Melbourne Festival Hall, 6th September 1980." it's pretty good. I recall paying $5 for this LP, which was probably right for the time. I think a used copy today would go for $15 - $20.

Magazine: Secondhand Daylight (1979)

I played this record no too long ago, with my kids in the room. When Permafrost came on, I jumped from my chair and lifted the stylus when I remembered the lyrics that were coming:

As the day stops dead
At the place where we're lost
I will drug you and fuck you
On the permafrost

Those lyrics would be difficult to explain to little children, I think.

This is a fantastic record, but it's not for everyone. I'd rank it as one of the best post-punk records of all time.

I remember purchasing this LP. The clerk (he may have been the store owner) told me that it's difficult to sell Magazine records. I was astonished to hear him say that. On another occasion, a record store clerk told me that no one buys Shriekback records. What?

I like everything the Magazine did, and I like this one very much. I have the Canadian pressing.

Maestro Fresh-Wes: Drop the Needle (1990)

United States United Kingdom
The rhymes I bring them spread like syndromes
T.O. mixed it, New York pressed it
All these def hits you can't test this

Five versions of Drop the Needle on one record might be useful to a DJ, but it's hard to listen to all five versions in succession. Nevertheless, I am happy to have it. Here are the tracks:

The Stylus Side
Drop The Needle (The 45 King Remix)
Drop The Needle (The 45 King Dub)
Drop The Needle (LP Version) 5:44

The Cartridge Side
Drop The Needle (Radio Edit) 4:45
Drop The Needle (The Throwdown Club Mix)

I paid about a dollar for this piece of vinyl. My copy was pressed in Canada.