Best Albums of the 1940s

« View best albums of the 1930sView best albums of the 1950s »

Listed below are the best albums of the 1940s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1940s 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.
1940	70	1,804	Dust Bowl Ballads - Volume 1 (3,656th)by Woody Guthrie
1941	75	1,355	The Midnight Special (And Other ... (4,430th)by Lead Belly
1942	75	785	Her Second Album Of Piano Solos ... (8,700th)by Hazel Scott
1943	77	602	Songs By Lead Belly: Accompanied... (8,766th)by Lead Belly
1944	76	1,294	An Album Of Outstanding Arrangem... (4,995th)by Glenn Miller
1945	79	1,112	Merry Christmas (5,401st)by Bing Crosby
1946	103	1,842	The Voice Of Frank Sinatra (6,342nd)by Frank Sinatra
1947	105	1,756	Teddy Wilson - Billie Holiday (5,218th)by Teddy Wilson And His Orchestra F...
1948	105	1,464	Chansons Des Cafés De Paris (5,928th)by Édith Piaf
1949	108	1,991	Bird Blows The Blues (6,204th)by Charlie Parker
Total	873	14,006

The best artists of the 1940s were Woody Guthrie, Nat King Cole, Lead Belly, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Josh White, Bing Crosby, Louis Jordan, The King Cole Trio and The Original Broadway Cast.

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11.

The King Cole Trio

Year of Release:

1944

Appears in:

19 charts

Rank Score:

203

Rank in 1944:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

6,366

Average Rating:

72 (17 votes)

Comments:

12.

Southern Exposure

Josh White

Year of Release:

1941

Appears in:

18 charts

Rank Score:

175

Rank in 1941:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

7,221

Average Rating:

75 (10 votes)

Comments:

13.

Guitar Solos
Compilation

Andrés Segovia

Year of Release:

1949

Appears in:

16 charts

Rank Score:

167

Rank in 1949:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

7,530

Average Rating:

73 (13 votes)

Comments:

14.

Liberian Suite

Duke Ellington And His Orchestra

Year of Release:

1948

Appears in:

18 charts

Rank Score:

160

Rank in 1948:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

7,775

Average Rating:

70 (13 votes)

Comments:

15.

The Lonesome Road
Compilation

Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Year of Release:

1941

Appears in:

12 charts

Rank Score:

153

Rank in 1941:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

8,044

Average Rating:

74 (12 votes)

Comments:

16.

Souvenir Album

Ella Fitzgerald

Year of Release:

1947

Appears in:

36 charts

Rank Score:

143

Rank in 1947:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

8,529

Average Rating:

73 (40 votes)

Comments:

17.

Her Second Album Of Piano Solos With Drums Acc.

Hazel Scott

Year of Release:

1942

Appears in:

16 charts

Rank Score:

139

Rank in 1942:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

8,704

Average Rating:

73 (9 votes)

Comments:

18.

Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five

Year of Release:

1946

Appears in:

15 charts

Rank Score:

138

Rank in 1946:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

8,750

Average Rating:

74 (10 votes)

Comments:

19.

Songs By Lead Belly: Accompanied By Sonny Terry

Lead Belly

Year of Release:

1943

Appears in:

17 charts

Rank Score:

138

Rank in 1943:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

8,768

Average Rating:

70 (10 votes)

Comments:

20.

Charlie Parker No. 3

Charlie Parker

Year of Release:

1949

Appears in:

14 charts

Rank Score:

137

Rank in 1949:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

8,840

Average Rating:

74 (10 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 321. Page 2 of 33

Best Albums of the 1940s composition

Year	Albums	%

1940	29	3%
1941	30	3%
1942	24	2%
1943	24	2%
1944	25	3%
1945	26	3%
1946	38	4%
1947	40	4%
1948	40	4%
1949	45	5%

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	11	3%
Josh White	7	2%
Bing Crosby	6	2%
The Original Broadway Cast	6	2%
Sir Thomas Beecham / The London Philharmonic Orchestra	6	2%
Almanac Singers	5	2%
Frank Sinatra	5	2%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	250	78%
	20	6%
	14	4%
	7	2%
	6	2%
	5	2%
	2	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	303	94%
Yes	18	6%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	315	98%
Yes	6	2%

« View best albums of the 1930sView best albums of the 1950s »

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