Best Albums of the 1950s : Best Ever Albums

Best Albums of the 1950s

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Listed below are the greatest albums of the 1950s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 9,600 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

View by decade:	1930s	1940s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s
View by year:	1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

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	15	1,264	Chansons Des Cafés De Paris (2,837th) by Edith Piaf
1951	12	549	Genius of Modern Music: Volume 1 (4,679th) by Thelonious Monk
1952	17	1,641	Hank Williams Sings (2,458th) by Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys
1953	16	1,431	Ellington Uptown (3,345th) by Duke Ellington
1954	26	2,055	Sarah Vaughan (1,833rd) by Sarah Vaughan
1955	34	3,166	In The Wee Small Hours (615th) by Frank Sinatra
1956	53	10,782	Elvis Presley (363rd) by Elvis Presley
1957	84	11,568	Here's Little Richard (604th) by Little Richard
1958	94	8,518	Lady In Satin (1,020th) by Billie Holiday
1959	96	34,139	Kind Of Blue (44th) by Miles Davis
Total	447	75,113

The best bands of the 1950s were Miles Davis, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Charles Mingus, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Little Richard, Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, Chuck Berry and Ornette Coleman Trio.

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Rank

Album

Band

11.

Songs For Swingin' Lovers!

Frank Sinatra

Year of Release:	1956	Appears in:	51 charts
Rank in 1956:	3	Rank Score:	1,154
Rank in 1950s	11	Overall Rank:	929
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12.

Lady In Satin

Billie Holiday

Year of Release:	1958	Appears in:	48 charts
Rank in 1958:	1	Rank Score:	1,043
Rank in 1950s	12	Overall Rank:	1,020
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13.

Chuck Berry Is On Top

Chuck Berry

Year of Release:	1959	Appears in:	53 charts
Rank in 1959:	5	Rank Score:	1,009
Rank in 1950s	13	Overall Rank:	1,050
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14.

Ella & Louis

Ella Fitzgerald And Louis Armstrong

Year of Release:	1956	Appears in:	32 charts
Rank in 1956:	4	Rank Score:	953
Rank in 1950s	14	Overall Rank:	1,102
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15.

Brilliant Corners

Thelonious Monk

Year of Release:	1957	Appears in:	49 charts
Rank in 1957:	4	Rank Score:	883
Rank in 1950s	15	Overall Rank:	1,177
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16.

Moanin' In The Moonlight

Howlin' Wolf

Year of Release:	1959	Appears in:	47 charts
Rank in 1959:	6	Rank Score:	843
Rank in 1950s	16	Overall Rank:	1,233
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17.

The "Chirping" Crickets

Buddy Holly

Year of Release:	1957	Appears in:	57 charts
Rank in 1957:	5	Rank Score:	816
Rank in 1950s	17	Overall Rank:	1,277
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18.

Buddy Holly

Year of Release:	1958	Appears in:	48 charts
Rank in 1958:	2	Rank Score:	755
Rank in 1950s	18	Overall Rank:	1,355
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19.

Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely

Frank Sinatra

Year of Release:	1958	Appears in:	35 charts
Rank in 1958:	3	Rank Score:	752
Rank in 1950s	19	Overall Rank:	1,361
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20.

Chet Baker Sings

Chet Baker

Year of Release:	1956	Appears in:	22 charts
Rank in 1956:	5	Rank Score:	561
Rank in 1950s	20	Overall Rank:	1,707
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Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year	Albums	%

1950	14	1%
1951	9	1%
1952	16	2%
1953	15	2%
1954	24	2%
1955	29	3%
1956	44	4%
1957	73	7%
1958	84	8%
1959	85	9%

Band	Albums	%

Miles Davis	15	2%
Frank Sinatra	12	1%
Thelonious Monk	11	1%
Ella Fitzgerald	9	1%
Billie Holiday	9	1%
Elvis Presley	8	1%
Ray Charles	6	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	346	35%
	8	1%
	8	1%
	8	1%
	4	0%
	3	0%
	3	0%
Show all

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