If your reggae collection is going to include only one UB40 album, this one wins out over all the others hands down. Virgin released two 10-track "best ofs" in the mid-90s, but this 2000 release duplicates 15 of those tracks and adds "Cherry Oh Baby" from 1983's landmark LABOUR OF LOVE album, "Tell Me Is It True" from 1997's GUNS IN THE GHETTO, and the previously unreleased cover of the Door's "Light My Fire."

While most American listeners only recognize UB40 for their covers of songs that hit the Top 40 like Neil Diamond's "Red Red Wine," Elvis's "Can't Help Falling in Love" and Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe," the band had hits in the U.K with original material like "Food for Thought" (No. 4, 1980), "If It Happens Again" (No. 9, 1984), "Don't Break My Heart" (No. 3, 1985), and "Rat in Mi Kitchen" (No. 12, 1987).

While UB40 may be viewed merely as a populizer of reggae music, they do it exceedingly well. This album is a joy from start to finish. [Running time: 66:59] HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

In perusing this review thread for "The Very Best of UB40 1980-2000", it appears there may be some confusion over two versions of this outstanding album. If you run a music search on Amazon for UB40, you'll find a number of UB40 albums including two versions of this particular album (each has the same identical album cover and album name.. on the surface, they appear identical in all respects.. but are not). My speculation is that a some reviewers unwittingly received the import version, whereas most of these reviews relate to the US version. Each has a somewhat different song mix. The differences are as follows:

US Version: released Sept 2001 (orig. Nov 2000) $11 New ($10 used)contains 18 songs beginning with I Got You Babe. It has two songs not included on the British Import version (both very good songs IMHO):

1. Here I Am (Come and Take Me)

2. The Way You Do the Things You Do

Unfortunately, the US release has "short" versions of four songs (all key songs IMHO and noted as short in several reviews with a degree of frustration) whereas I think (I'm not sure) the Import has "full" versions of these songs:

1. Bring Me Your Cup

2. Red, Red Wine (can you believe they shorted us on this one)

3. Rat In Mi Kitchen

4. Sing Our Own Song

UK Import version: released Mar 2007 (orig. Oct 2000) $17 new ($7 Used) contains 20 songs (2 more than the US version). It starts with the full version of Red Red Wine and includes four songs not found on the US version:

1. King

2. The Earth Dies Screaming

3. Watchdogs

4. Many Rivers to Cross (great song IMHO)

The other 16 songs are the same on both versions, except for the four "short" songs noted above on the US version. So it's a mixed bag, both excellent choices, but I'm sure preferences will vary.

Of greater concern to me, I noticed reviews elsewhere that report the sound quality to be notably better on the US version across the entire album, and most apparent with the older songs (Kingston Town, Cant Help Falling in Love, I Got You Babe to name a few). This is highly peculiar given the 2007 release date on the import vs 2001 on the US version. I'm not sure of this myself, but some differences do indeed seem apparent (in favor of the US version) just using Amazon's Music Sampler (admittedly a dubious comparison method.. especially given my low-end PC speakers)

I'm hoping someone may have more direct knowledge of an A/B comparison and will post a comment here to better clear this up. I hope this was helpful to those who were confused about varied song mixes noted throughout this review thread.

By the way, I also feel if you have but one UB40 album in your collection, this is a hands down slam dunk best single CD to own. I also prefer the US version song mix. I just can't see sacrificing "Here I Am" and "The Way You Do the Things You Do" for those other four songs; if only it had the long version of Red Red Wine (ouch.. hence 4.5 stars). Otherwise, I love this album! Highly recommended. Peace to all :)

just got back from the Caribbean...crew on a cat played reggae non-stop...I'm an "over 50" middle aged woman who absolutely fell in love with the sound....UB40 (as on this CD) isn't Bob Marley...doesn't have the spiritual context of rasta... but The Very Best of UB40 is a great CD and adds another dimension to what I encountered in the West Indies. I can't imagine a reggae lover being disappointed in this CD. If I were to lose this CD I wouldn't hesitate to replace it with a brand new one.

It might not be roots, but UB40 has mellow pop reggae down to a T. This hit-packed compilation includes one of their early ska-based songs Food For Thought, plus all their later successes. Most of their biggest hits were covers of older classics, but they always did a good job in the interpretation. Red Red Wine, for example, is absolutely brilliant and the same can be said for Kingston Town, Cherry Oh Baby, Can't Help Falling In Love and I Got You Babe with Chrissie Hynde on guest vocal. I also love the humorous Rat In Mi Kitchen and their excellent interpretation of The Doors' Light My Fire. Although not completely comprehensive, this compilation offers excellent value for money in that these tracks really were their greatest hits from a 20-year career. There's not one filler track and every song is catchy and hummable. If you like your reggae melodic and mellow, this album is a must.

I knew nothing of UB40's music except for Red Red Wine, which I thought was great. A friend bought me this CD, and I just love it. I find myself going back to it again and again. What a terrific album!!! I'm definitely a UB40 fan now.