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	125	5,291	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,074th)by Yma Sumac
1951	141	4,234	Genius Of Modern Music (2,764th)by Thelonious Monk
1952	151	6,940	Bird & Diz (1,983rd)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	194	6,699	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,848th)by Peggy Lee
1954	230	11,152	Chet Baker Sings (670th)by Chet Baker
1955	326	14,914	In The Wee Small Hours (381st)by Frank Sinatra
1956	435	32,479	Elvis Presley (365th)by Elvis Presley
1957	568	45,545	Blue Train (306th)by John Coltrane
1958	570	41,517	Lady In Satin (563rd)by Billie Holiday
1959	613	81,789	Kind Of Blue (38th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,353	250,559

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.

View chart at point in time

Share this chart

Collector's summary (top 1,000)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!

Sort by

141.

Palo Congo

Sabu

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

55 charts

Rank Score:

267

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

141

Overall Rank:

5,048

Average Rating:

71 (67 votes)

Comments:

142.

Du Chant À La Une!...

Serge Gainsbourg

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

46 charts

Rank Score:

266

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

142

Overall Rank:

5,070

Average Rating:

72 (52 votes)

Comments:

143.

The Boss Of The Blues Sings Kansas City Jazz

Big Joe Turner

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

54 charts

Rank Score:

265

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

143

Overall Rank:

5,090

Average Rating:

72 (33 votes)

Comments:

144.

Unforgettable
Compilation

Nat King Cole

Year of Release:

1952

Appears in:

45 charts

Rank Score:

263

Rank in 1952:

Rank in 1950s:

144

Overall Rank:

5,121

Average Rating:

73 (46 votes)

Comments:

145.

Bound For Glory

Woody Guthrie

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

41 charts

Rank Score:

261

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

145

Overall Rank:

5,150

Average Rating:

72 (35 votes)

Comments:

146.

Lightnin' Hopkins

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

60 charts

Rank Score:

260

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

146

Overall Rank:

5,167

Average Rating:

73 (41 votes)

Comments:

147.

Songs Of Ireland

Mary O'Hara

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

36 charts

Rank Score:

258

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

147

Overall Rank:

5,191

Average Rating:

74 (33 votes)

Comments:

148.

Down And Out Blues
Compilation

Sonny Boy Williamson

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

62 charts

Rank Score:

257

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

148

Overall Rank:

5,225

Average Rating:

72 (38 votes)

Comments:

149.

Ahmad Jamal At The Pershing
Live

Ahmad Jamal

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

41 charts

Rank Score:

255

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

149

Overall Rank:

5,253

Average Rating:

77 (29 votes)

Comments:

150.

Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section

Art Pepper

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

53 charts

Rank Score:

250

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

150

Overall Rank:

5,345

Average Rating:

78 (40 votes)

Comments:

« prev
1
...
14
15
16
...
100
next »
Goto Page:

Total albums: 1,000. Page 15 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	85	9%
1956	116	12%
1957	152	15%
1958	173	17%
1959	197	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	%

	781	78%
	40	4%
	32	3%
	26	3%
	19	2%
	12	1%
	11	1%
Show all

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

Live?	Albums	%
No	962	96%
Yes	38	4%

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

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

If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.

A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(

We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.

Popular Charts
1. The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (2013)
2. 200 Greatest Albums of All Time by Uncut (2016)
3. The Top 100 Albums by VH1 (2001)
4. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (2020)
5. 100 Best Albums - 2024 Edition by Apple Music (2024)
6. Top 100 Albums by ABC (2006)
7. The Definitive 200 by National Association of Recording Merchandisers (2007)
8. Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (2000)
9. Mojo Readers: The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made by Mojo (1996)
10. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Melody Maker (2000)
11. 100 Greatest Albums Ever by Q (2006)
12. The Greatest Rock Albums by uDiscoverMusic (2015)
13. Die 100 Alben des Jahrhunderts by Spex (2000)
14. The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Consequence of Sound (2022)
15. Die 100 besten Alben der Musikgeschichte by radioeins (2019)
16. Greatest 100 Albums of All Time by The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums with NME (2006)
17. Die 20 besten Alben der Geschichte by Musikexpress.de (2011)
18. The 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by Absolute Radio (2012)
19. Die 100 besten Platten des Jahrhunderts by Wiener (1999)
20. 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by The Sound (2018)