Folksongs And Instrumentals With Guitar
by Elizabeth Cotten

Folksongs And Instrumentals With Guitar by Elizabeth Cotten
Year: 1958
Overall rank: 2,915th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 50 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1958 (25th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 1950s (89th)
Award Best albums of all time (2,915th)

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Elizabeth Cotten bestography

Folksongs And Instrumentals With Guitar is ranked as the best album by Elizabeth Cotten.

Elizabeth Cotten album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (2,915th)
Folksongs And Instrumentals With Guitar
Lower ranked (52,166th) »
Vol. 2: Shake Sugaree

(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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Folksongs And Instrumentals With Guitar track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 78 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Folksongs And Instrumentals With Guitar rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 2,915th | 1950s rank: 89th | 1958 rank: 25th
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 LedZepTop 100 Greatest Music Albums34/10065
2026pjerskeTop 27 Music Albums of the 1950s20/276
2026Exist-en-cielTop 55 Music Albums of 195812/554
2026 TamthebamTop 90 Music Albums of 195852/902
2026 bertranduTop 100 Music Albums of the 1950s22/10016
2026 Patman360Top 42 Music Albums of 19584/425
2026 HaydenTop 100 Music Albums of the 1950s47/10011
2026Exist-en-cielTop 100 Music Albums of the 1950s52/10010
2025martinthoTop 100 Music Albums of the 1950s70/1006
2025 WasinskiTop 30 Music Albums of the 1950s12/3013
2025WayneMCUncut The 500 Greatest Albums Of The 1950s (1-100)47/100 -
2025martinthoTop 40 Music Albums of 195811/404
2025ElauqsapidBest Album of 19581/15
2025 IgtonumamaTop 100 Music Albums of 195864/1002
2025henrygreen0203Top 100 Music Albums of the 1950s24/10015
2025 flamingyesdeptTop 12 Music Albums of 19584/124
2025 HaydenCatfish & Collard Greens29/100 -
2025 Patman360Top 100 Music Albums of the 1950s6/10019
2025 Norman BatesTop 37 Music Albums of 195816/373
2025ElauqsapidTop 15 Music Albums of the 1950s1/1520
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 67
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 524
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Folksongs And Instrumentals With Guitar collection

Folksongs And Instrumentals With Guitar ratings

Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 50 votes)
  Ratings distribution 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 50 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 
03/10/2026 09:56 Leginlists  Ratings distribution  3,26682/100
 
70/100
 
02/09/2026 07:16 CellarDoor  Ratings distribution  8,37779/100
 
75/100
 
12/21/2025 16:53 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  8,96370/100
 
85/100
 
11/12/2025 02:44 LedZep  Ratings distribution  4,95679/100
 
85/100
 
11/07/2025 19:34 Guigou  Ratings distribution  1,36676/100

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 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.9/100, a mean average of 76.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 79.1/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.9.

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Folksongs And Instrumentals With Guitar comments

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Rating:  
85/100
From 02/11/2016 01:32 | #159299
I'll admit the voice threw me off, so I appreciate MeccaLecca saying something about her age at the time of the recording. At first glance this is like an amateur recording from some old lady, but as you truly pay attention, it has some of the sweetest/real to life recordings I've ever heard. There's no convoluted performance. No trickery of any kind, just pure human.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 12/04/2013 19:02 | #96342
From here lies the origin of the term “Cotten-picking”, based around her unique technique of guitar playing. Recorded in the 50s, while Cotten was in her 60s, Freight Train & Other North Carolina Folk Songs & Tunes is a collection of songs that Elizabeth Cotten had originally written in the early 1900s as a young girl. Freight Train, the most famous song of Cotten’s career was written when she was only 11 years old. Dusty, intimate folk, Cotten’s aged voice cries with the wisdom of an old soul. It’s hard to imagine the songs providing such an impact when sung in her youth. The marriage of the playful songs of her youth with the weathered voice of her 60s bridges a gap that is rarely left to be returned to.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1958
1. Blue Train by John Coltrane
2. Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
3. Lady In Satin by Billie Holiday
4. Somethin' Else by Cannonball Adderley
5. Buddy Holly by Buddy Holly
6. Bo Diddley by Bo Diddley
7. Milestones by Miles Davis
8. Ascenseur Pour L'échafaud by Miles Davis
9. Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely by Frank Sinatra
10. Little Richard by Little Richard
11. One Dozen Berrys by Chuck Berry
12. Come Fly With Me by Frank Sinatra
13. The Everly Brothers by The Everly Brothers
14. Jerry Lee Lewis by Jerry Lee Lewis
15. Basie by Count Basie And His Orchestra & Neal Hefti
16. The Best Of Muddy Waters by Muddy Waters
17. Elvis' Golden Records by Elvis Presley
18. Please Please Please by James Brown And His Famous Flames
19. Relaxin' With The Miles Davis Quintet by Miles Davis Quintet
20. Dance Mania by Tito Puente