Madness - One Step Beyond: 7.5 (high B+)

I like this a hair better than Too Much Pressure by the Selecter. Of course I have the necessary albums by the Specials, and would add this and Too Much Pressure, but they are strangely not available. The Specials' albums are all in print and available at reasonable prices, which confirms my choices. In the end, I will add This Are Two Tone to the collection to help fill some of the gaps. I thought about the more comprehensive The 2 Tone Collection: A Checkered Past, but it's a fatbox. #ska/2tone. Update (January 2026): I saw this beautiful box set, 2 Tone: The Albums, for a ridiculously low price and snagged a copy. So of course I then had to get a copy of this as well, which was not on the 2 Tone label but is a necessary part of any complete 2 Tone collection.