oh come on, you HAVE to mention diwali! it's hands-down the most important and probably the best rhythm of the past few years.
cure was german - not that that's a particularly bad thing...
i'm not doing an "ever" list, though, coz it'll change next week, so i'll just stick to now.
1) Bionic Ras - Obviously!
2) Fowl Fight - Frenchie coming on strong with a tough martial beat, but melodic and synth-splashed rather than plain old stripped-down tough. The Wayne Marshall is killer on this.
3) Irob - still can't stop loving this; it's the Lean Back of ragga and the Bounty Killer version just slays.
4) Sweet Dreams - does what it says on the label, no original versions, but the remixes of Beenie Man's Picture Dis and Vybz's Sweet To Di Belly rock the houses.
5) Forbidden Dance - More didgeridoos and weird-ass thumb pianos in the dance, please!
6) Scallawah - Cracking new roots rhythm with the most punchy, churning bass guitar line. Only have one version of this so far on 7, Turbulence's Notorious, but boy is this big.
7) Rose Gold - I LOVE this rhythm, just a shame all the official Stone Love 7-inch voicings are such unmitigated bollocks. Some really good blends floating about on the interweb, though, and the version is fabulous.
8) Sleepy Dog - This is so old-fashioned, but works so well. The Buju and the Famous face cuts totally rule.
9) Chat - Cutesy Cajun-style bashment, has a real zydeco feel to it and the Mr Easy versh is top-a-top.
10) Reggaematic - Not so new and not Jamaican, coming out of Long Island somewhere on the Wild Apache label. Although the beats break no new ground, it bounces and Yami Bolo's "A Di Music" is one of the best songs I've heard in ages.