Best Albums of the 1950s

« View best albums of the 1940sView best albums of the 1960s »

Listed below are the best albums of the 1950s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1950s decade summary

Year	Albums The number of albums from each year featuring in the greatest album charts.	Score Total rank score for each year (made up of the total rank score from all albums in that year)	Top Ranked Album The top ranked album from each year and where it ranks in the overall chart.
1950	124	5,303	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,067th)by Yma Sumac
1951	141	4,236	Genius Of Modern Music (2,766th)by Thelonious Monk
1952	150	6,941	Bird & Diz (1,981st)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	194	6,723	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,822nd)by Peggy Lee
1954	230	11,160	Chet Baker Sings (670th)by Chet Baker
1955	326	14,934	In The Wee Small Hours (381st)by Frank Sinatra
1956	435	32,536	Elvis Presley (365th)by Elvis Presley
1957	567	45,579	Blue Train (306th)by John Coltrane
1958	570	41,554	Lady In Satin (563rd)by Billie Holiday
1959	613	81,797	Kind Of Blue (38th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,350	250,761

The best artists of the 1950s were Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Frank Sinatra, Charles Mingus, Elvis Presley, Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Billie Holiday and John Coltrane.

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991.

Angola Prison Spirituals
Compilation

Various Artists

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

992.

This Is Johnny Tillotson

Johnny Tillotson

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

3 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

993.

Sing The Best Of Irving Berlin

Billy Eckstine & Sarah Vaughan

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

8 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

994.

Galloping Fingers

Ethel Smith

Year of Release:

1951

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1951:

Rank in 1950s:

994

Overall Rank:

35,004

Average Rating:

70 (3 votes)

Comments:

995.

Julian "Cannonball" Adderley

Cannonball Adderley

Year of Release:

1955

Appears in:

12 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1955:

Rank in 1950s:

995

Overall Rank:

35,030

Average Rating:

72 (10 votes)

Comments:

996.

Café Continental

Ruth Welcome / Dick Marta

Year of Release:

1950

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1950:

Rank in 1950s:

996

Overall Rank:

35,035

Average Rating:

70 (3 votes)

Comments:

997.

The Weary Blues With Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

998.

Lili Marlene

Marlene Dietrich

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

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Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

999.

The Pajama Game

The Original Broadway Cast

Year of Release:

1954

Appears in:

10 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1954:

Rank in 1950s:

999

Overall Rank:

35,077

Average Rating:

70 (5 votes)

Comments:

1000.

Saudosa Maloca

Os Demônios Da Garoa Nos Sambas De Adoniran Barbosa

Year of Release:

1955

Appears in:

3 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1955:

Rank in 1950s:

1,000

Overall Rank:

35,089

Average Rating:

71 (3 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 100 of 100

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year	Albums	%

1950	40	4%
1951	40	4%
1952	58	6%
1953	62	6%
1954	77	8%
1955	86	9%
1956	116	12%
1957	152	15%
1958	173	17%
1959	196	20%

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	19	2%
Billie Holiday	18	2%
Miles Davis	16	2%
Frank Sinatra	15	2%
Sonny Rollins	15	2%
Ella Fitzgerald	13	1%
Elvis Presley	11	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	780	78%
	40	4%
	32	3%
	26	3%
	20	2%
	12	1%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	942	94%
Yes	58	6%

Live?	Albums	%
No	963	96%
Yes	37	4%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	23	2%

« View best albums of the 1940sView best albums of the 1960s »

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Best Albums of 1961
1. My Favorite Things by John Coltrane
2. King Of The Delta Blues Singers by Robert Johnson
3. Sunday At The Village Vanguard by Bill Evans Trio
4. Free Jazz by Ornette Coleman Double Quartet
5. Olé Coltrane by John Coltrane
6. The Blues And The Abstract Truth by Oliver Nelson
7. Africa/Brass by John Coltrane Quartet
8. Eastern Sounds by Yusef Lateef
9. Showcase by Patsy Cline
10. The Genius Sings The Blues by Ray Charles
11. Someday My Prince Will Come by The Miles Davis Sextet
12. Two Steps From The Blues by Bobby Bland
13. This Is Our Music by Ornette Coleman
14. West Side Story (The Original Sound Track Recording) by Various Artists
15. Djangology by Django Reinhardt
16. Lonely And Blue by Roy Orbison
17. Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane by Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane
18. Out Of The Cool by Gil Evans Orchestra
19. Time Further Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet
20. A Night In Tunisia by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers