[sp4cetiger]

Okay, we just made it to the 1950s. Now I'm looking for recs for the period covering 1950-1954 (pre-rock).

Here's what we have so far:

1950
-------
Miles Davis (Birth of the Cool)
John Lee Hooker (Alternative Boogie)
Thelonious Monk (Blue Note Recordings)
Charlie Parker (Charlie Parker with Strings)
Muddy Waters (The Best of Muddy Waters)

1951
-------
Red Foley (Souvenir Album)
Bud Powell (The Amazing Bud Powell)
The Four Aces (Four Aces Greatest Hits)

1952
-------
Anthology of American Folk Music [This actually consists of much earlier recordings, but it was extremely important for the folk revival, so I'm putting it here.]
Billy Holiday (Billy Holiday Sings)
Lefty Frizzell (If You've Got the Money)

1953
-------
Tom Lehrer (Songs by Tom Lehrer)
Fred Astaire (The Astaire Story)
Peggy Lee (Black Coffee)
Jay Johnson (The Eminent Jay Johnson, Vol. 1)
Jazz at Massey Hall
Dave Brubeck Quartet (Jazz at Oberlin)

1954
-------
Eartha Kitt (That Bad Eartha)
Dinah Washington (Dinah Jams)
Something Cool (June Christy)
Thelonious Monk (Thelonious Monk Trio)
Little Walter (His Best 1950-1959)
Sarah Vaughan (Sarah Vaughan)
Clifford Brown & Max Roach
The Genius of Art Tatum
Frank Sinatra (Songs for Young Lovers)
Stan Getz (Stan Getz Plays)
Ruth Brown (The Queen of R&B, vol. 1)

[Bork]

You may want to add:
Stan Getz - Stan Getz Plays (1954)

Not sure what albums (if any) but these essential artists made their most important contributions in the period from 1951-1954:
Lefty Frizzell (Country)
Big Joe Turner (R&B/Pre-Rock&Roll)
The Four Aces (Trad. Pop)
LaVern Barker (R&B)

Then of course Bill Haley, Elvis, and Carl Perkins cut their first records in '54, but I'm assuming you didn't want to venture into that era just yet.

[sp4cetiger]

[Bork]

I have a Lefty compilation from 2005 called If You've Got the Money that is highly recommended.

[sp4cetiger]

[sp4cetiger]

So we're almost done with the pre-rock era. Bunch of things to note at this point:

- We're loosening our restrictions on international recordings, so long as its influence was felt in the US.
- In 1955, the album is quickly becoming one of the dominant mediums for popular music, so the list of recordings on our list is increasing quickly.
- From now on, I'm going to give a short justification for each album and please try to do the same with your recs. Remember the purpose here is slightly different from the "Best Ever" lists, since we're focusing on historical impact, as opposed to purely subjective measures quality. Of course, there is still some subjectivity in judging historical impact, but that's unavoidable. The point is just to talk about and think about the impact of albums/recordings on the development of music.
- Remember, we're not writing a thesis here. If you have detailed references, that's great, but they're not necessary. Opinion is fine.

Here is our current list for 1955 (w/some rock recordings from 1954):

In the Wee Small Hours (Frank Sinatra) - Sometimes considered to be the first concept album.
Les and Mary (Les Paul and Mary Ford) - The most famous recording from the duo, known for their studio experimentation and Les Paul's unique electric guitar sound.
Rock Around the Clock (Bill Haley) - The rock n' roll record that pushed the genre into the mainstream.
Elvis at Sun - A collection of Elvis' earliest recordings.
Concert by the Sea (Erroll Gardner) - The most famous recording from noted jazz/swing pianist, Erroll Gardner.
Satch Plays Fats (Louis Armstrong) - One of the last two highly regarded recordings from Louis Armstrong.
Lennie Tristano - One of the earliest and most well known uses of overdubbing on a recording.
Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers - An early classic of the "hard bop" genre.
Chet Atkins in Three Dimensions - Representative work from a country legend, known for helping create the "Nashville Sound."

[nutso42]

If you're not sticking strictly to the time periods, try some Big Bill Broonzy. Old blues stuff, ranging from 1920's to 1950's.

https://play.spotify.com/search/big%20bill%20broonzy

[sp4cetiger]

[sp4cetiger]

Here's 1956:

Brilliant Corners (Thelonious Monk) - most famous album from Monk
Ellington at Newport - concert that revived Duke Ellington's career
Ella Sings Cole Porter - album that revived Ella Fitzgerald's career
Saxophone Colossus (Sonny Rollins) - awarded a crown by the Penguin guide to jazz
Pithecanthropus Erectus (Charles Mingus) - Penguin guide core collection
Odetta Sings Ballad and Blues - early influential recording from pivotal folk figure (also inspired Dylan)
Elvis Presley - debut album from Elvis
This is Fats Domino - representative recordings from major rock and roll icon
Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio - representative recordings from a major rockabilly act
Lonnie Donegan Showcase - representative skiffle recordings, most successful UK artist before the Beatles
Singin’ the Blues (B. B. King) - representative recordings from a blues legend
Tragic Songs of Life (Louvin Brothers) - country concept album, Country hall of fame artist
Calypso (Harry Belafonte) - first LP to sell over 1 million copies

Plus:

Songs for Swingin' Lovers (Frank Sinatra) - grammy hall of fame, etc.

[Guest]