Portrait Of A Legend 1951-1964
by Sam Cooke
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Sam Cooke bestography
Portrait Of A Legend 1951-1964 is ranked 4th best out of 28 albums by Sam Cooke on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Sam Cooke is Night Beat which is ranked number 1309 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 1,318.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
Listen to Portrait Of A Legend 1951-1964 on YouTube
Portrait Of A Legend 1951-1964 track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 79 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Portrait Of A Legend 1951-1964 rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 6 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  Romanelli | My Overall Chart: 2401-2500 | 56/100 | - |
| 2026 |  junodog4 | Top 20 Music Albums of 2003 | 5/20 | 4 |
| 2026 | Romanelli | Top 61 Music Albums of 2003 | 50/61 | 1 |
| 2026 |  CharlieBarley | My Next 100 Favourite Songs 101-200 | 7/100 | - |
| 2026 |  Glitterboiii | Top 50 Music Albums of 2003 | 10/50 | 4 |
| 2026 | Exist-en-ciel | Top 100 Music Albums of 2003 | 24/100 | 4 |
| 2026 |  neilgee | Top 26 Music Albums of 2003 | 10/26 | 3 |
| 2026 | Glitterboiii | Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | 53/100 | 10 |
| 2026 | PurpleHazel | Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | 94/100 | 1 |
| 2026 |  JR | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 39/100 | 62 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 54 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 271 | |||
Portrait Of A Legend 1951-1964 collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 69 members
Portrait Of A Legend 1951-1964 ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 3 ratings for this album. | Show all 132 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 06/01/2026 13:11 | Exist-en-ciel | 16,070 | 70/100 |
| ! | 04/29/2025 18:55 |  MagicSix | 1,120 | 60/100 |
| ! | 11/26/2024 11:19 |  VictorVale | 3,901 | 81/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album is rated in the top 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 82.0/100, a mean average of 82.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 82.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.1.
Portrait Of A Legend 1951-1964 favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 20 members
Portrait Of A Legend 1951-1964 forum mentions
BestEverAlbums 08/25/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5415): By JR Romanelli 07/28/2026 18:54 in What album are you listening to? (cont.) CharlieBarley 07/31/2025 17:33 in The Romanelli Music Diary: The Greatest HitsPortrait Of A Legend 1951-1964 comments
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Sam Cooke was the first black R&B artist to have creative control over his career. (Curtis Mayfield also did because he was a producer at the black owned Okeh record label) This was in the early Sixties long before Marvin Gaye's legendary battle with Barry Gordy to get "What's Going On?" released in 1970. Sam knew how to play the game because his singles had crossover appeal to white audiences but he still cut loose like Otis Redding when playing before black audiences on the chittlin' circuit clubs. If you listen to Sam's "Live at the Harlem Square Club 1963", you'll discover the grittier, more soulful side of Sam Cooke. Both Aretha & Otis worshipped Sam's voice and you'll see why if you listen to the Harlem Square Club album.
9999 TOP 100 COMMENTER 09/17/2015 00:12 | #149899 | TOP COMMENT
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If I allowed myself to include compilations in my charts, this one would rank high. I mean, really high. After all, Sam Cooke is, at least for me, the best soul singer-songwriter of all time. Don't give me wrong, I love Marvin and Otis as much as the next guy. But Sam Cooke, come on...
Probably my favorite soul singer of all time, and this album contains his best work. Highly recommended.
junodog4 TOP 100 COMMENTER 03/17/2012 19:27 | #38545 | TOP COMMENT
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I know it's a greatest hits album. Sam Cooke was a singles artist, and you can't argue with the quality that is present here. He's a three-way tie with Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding for best soul singer ever. Modern singers need to tap into the soul that he pours out into every track. Even better live.
Like many, my first experience of Cooke was "wonderful world", and thought this was merely the highly of a motown popster. This was my intro to a genius. To listen to Cooke is to feel free.
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