Best Albums of the 1940s

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
YearAlbums 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.
1940691,778
1941751,348
194275756
194377601
1944761,295
1945791,093
19461021,816
19471021,741
19481021,453
19491041,989
Total86113,870

The best artists of the 1940s were Woody Guthrie, Nat King Cole, Lead Belly, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Josh White, Louis Jordan, The King Cole Trio, The Original Broadway Cast and Hazel Scott.
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Collector's summary (top 319)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1942
Appears in:
Rank Score:
37
Rank in 1942:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1941
Appears in:
Rank Score:
37
Rank in 1941:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1946
Appears in:
Rank Score:
36
Rank in 1946:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1948
Appears in:
Rank Score:
35
Rank in 1948:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1946
Appears in:
Rank Score:
34
Rank in 1946:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • eBay
  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1949
Appears in:
Rank Score:
34
Rank in 1949:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • eBay
  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1940
Appears in:
Rank Score:
32
Rank in 1940:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1942
Appears in:
Rank Score:
32
Rank in 1942:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1940
Appears in:
Rank Score:
31
Rank in 1940:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1949
Appears in:
Rank Score:
30
Rank in 1949:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 319. Page 12 of 32

Best Albums of the 1940s composition

Year Albums %


1940 29 3%
1941 29 3%
1942 24 2%
1943 24 2%
1944 25 3%
1945 26 3%
1946 38 4%
1947 40 4%
1948 39 4%
1949 45 5%
Country Albums %


United States 248 78%
Mixed Nationality 20 6%
United Kingdom 14 4%
France 7 2%
Spain 6 2%
Cuba 5 2%
Switzerland 2 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 302 95%
Yes 17 5%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 313 98%
Yes 6 2%
Best Artists of 1966
1. The Beatles
2. The Beach Boys
3. Bob Dylan
4. Simon & Garfunkel
5. The Rolling Stones
6. The Mothers Of Invention
7. Frank Zappa
8. The Kinks
9. John Coltrane
10. Nina Simone
11. 13th Floor Elevators
12. The Mamas And The Papas
13. Love
14. Cream
15. Monks (US)
16. The Byrds
17. Wayne Shorter
18. Donovan
19. John Mayall & Eric Clapton
20. Ennio Morricone
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