Mingus Ah Um (studio album)
by Charles Mingus

Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus
Year: 1959
Overall rank: 224th   
Average Rating: 
84/100 (from 731 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top 5 albums of 1959 (2nd)
Award Top 10 albums of the 1950s (2nd)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (224th)

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Charles Mingus Mingus Ah Um (Vinyl) 12" Album Coloured Vinyl
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Charles Mingus ~ Mingus Ah Um [#’d/500 Clear with Orange Splatter Vinyl]
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Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um - Columbia Records LP 6-eye 1959 1D
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Charles Mingus bestography

Mingus Ah Um is ranked 2nd best out of 54 albums by Charles Mingus on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Charles Mingus is The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady which is ranked number 92 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 12,998.

Charles Mingus album bestography « Higher ranked (92nd)
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady
This album (224th)
Mingus Ah Um
Lower ranked (224th) »
Mingus Ah Um

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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Mingus Ah Um track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 84 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Average Rating: 88 (160 votes)Comments: View 3
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Average Rating: 88 (158 votes)Comments: View 0
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Average Rating: 85 (137 votes)Comments: View 0
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Average Rating: 82 (119 votes)Comments: View 0
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Average Rating: 82 (122 votes)Comments: View 0
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Average Rating: 84 (129 votes)Comments: View 1
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Average Rating: 80 (116 votes)Comments: View 0
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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Mingus Ah Um rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 224th | 1950s rank: 2nd | 1959 rank: 2nd

Mingus Ah Um collection

Mingus Ah Um ratings

Average Rating: 
84/100 (from 731 votes)
   Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
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 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 731 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
45/100
 !
3 days ago Destro1k   3086/100
 
80/100
 !
12/10/2025 23:09 Exist-en-ciel   4,79870/100
 
100/100
 !
12/10/2025 12:24 Borislav   7100/100
 
85/100
 !
10/20/2025 15:33 LukasAntoine00s   37480/100
 
90/100
 !
10/10/2025 08:08 melisandre   15188/100

Rating metrics: Help 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 84.4/100, a mean average of 83.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 84.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.8.

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Mingus Ah Um comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 40 comments |
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Rating:  
95/100
From 12/21/2023 22:42 | #300581
Tracks 2-7 are exceptional. "Fables of Faubus" is particularly memorable. 9.5/10!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 08/07/2022 04:43 | #288226
Fave songs: Better Git It In Your Soul, Fables of Faubus, and Boogie.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 05/21/2022 09:58 | #285589
This album is immense and the quality that is presented for us is nothing short of astounding. Every time I listen to this record I am just waiting for it to become dull but that time never comes. Mingus maintains this infectious energy the whole way through which has you toe tapping without you even realising you are. The record really explodes onto the scene with one of my favourite ever pieces by Mingus which is Better Get Hit In Your Soul. The performances we get on this track are phenomenal with my favourite being the drum solos we get near the close of the song. They are vibrant and fun whilst never losing the flow or feel of the music they are going for. This standard is then continued throughout the rest of the release with every performer being given their time to shine and all of them take that moment and sound amazing. Overall, this is a masterpiece in jazz music and adds to the already very strong argument that 1959 is the best year for jazz music.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 04/05/2022 15:47 | #283838
A great album in variety, ability, sound, and accessibility. Classic status, A+
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 02/09/2022 17:23 | #281032
One of my favourite jazz album of all time.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 02/04/2022 18:05 | #280727
Absolutely solid
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 11/10/2021 19:44 | #276114
One of my favorite toe-tappers to get into.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/01/2021 16:38 | #273169
A breath of fresh air after listening to a lot of Miles Davis. Love Miles Davis, but his flavor of jazz is really dark, bordering on evil. Mingus Ah Um is light and vibrant and makes you tap your toe the entire time.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 01/18/2021 20:57 | #264621
Sounds great, but having been exposed to Black Saint in college, I was surprised by how comparatively conventional this feels, released only four years prior.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 10/22/2020 09:56 | #259562
The greatest Ive heard from him yet. Im ready to say that it's more mature than Clown or Erectus, who sometimes go all over the place for bass solos. For me, theres a point where trying to be too inventive ruins the music, Mingus Ah Um does NOT do that.

Masterpiece.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1959
1. Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis
2. Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus
3. Time Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet
4. The Shape Of Jazz To Come by Ornette Coleman
5. Berry Is On Top by Chuck Berry
6. Moanin' In The Moonlight by Howlin' Wolf
7. Little Girl Blue by Nina Simone
8. The Genius Of Ray Charles by Ray Charles
9. Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs by Marty Robbins
10. Chega De Saudade by João Gilberto
11. N° 4 by Jacques Brel
12. What'd I Say by Ray Charles
13. Porgy And Bess by Miles Davis
14. Ritchie Valens by Ritchie Valens
15. Jazz In Silhouette by Sun Ra And His Arkestra
16. Go Bo Diddley by Bo Diddley
17. Chet by Chet Baker
18. Workin' With The Miles Davis Quintet by Miles Davis Quintet
19. Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George And Ira Gershwin Songbook by Ella Fitzgerald
20. I'm John Lee Hooker by John Lee Hooker
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