The Genius Of Ray Charles
by Ray Charles

The Genius Of Ray Charles by Ray Charles
Year: 1959
Overall rank: 994th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 224 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1959 (8th)
Award Top 50 albums of the 1950s (24th)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (994th)

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The Genius Of Ray Charles LP Vinyl Record Ray Charles
Condition: Used


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THE GENIUS OF RAY CHARLES VINYL LP RECORD
Condition: Used


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R&B ORIGINAL: RAY CHARLES - The Genius Of VOL 1 - ATLANTIC EP 619
Condition: Used


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Ray Charles bestography

The Genius Of Ray Charles is ranked as the best album by Ray Charles.

Ray Charles album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (994th)
The Genius Of Ray Charles
Lower ranked (1,157th) »
Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music

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

Upcoming concerts

Jun
06
Sat
"Forever Ray" Honoring The Music Of Ray Charles - featuring Whitley as the voice of Ray and Former Ray Charles Raelette Angela Workman
Blue Note Jazz Club, New York, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 

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The Genius Of Ray Charles track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 79 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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The Genius Of Ray Charles rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 994th | 1950s rank: 24th | 1959 rank: 8th

The Genius Of Ray Charles collection

The Genius Of Ray Charles ratings

Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 224 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 224 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
85/100
 
5 days ago wadwicz5  Ratings distribution  87986/100
 
80/100
 
03/06/2026 15:47 classicjoe  Ratings distribution  23279/100
 
70/100
 
01/23/2026 16:39 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  8,03770/100
 
85/100
 
11/10/2025 18:14 JR  Ratings distribution  1,08781/100
 
60/100
 
09/17/2025 20:08 TonySayers61  Ratings distribution  23,91864/100

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 3% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.1/100, a mean average of 76.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.3/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.8.

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The Genius Of Ray Charles favourites

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The Genius Of Ray Charles comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 14 comments |
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Rating:  
90/100
From 02/07/2026 19:26 | #313063
The title should, by rights, have given rise to an album containing more of his own great compositions. His genius was deeply entailed in his own songwriting. Despite that, his covers are great and this is a superb record.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 05/16/2022 22:25 | #285426
There are a lot of enjoyable songs on this album and I like the way he evenly distributes his song types onto each side. Side 1 is a much more band led and jazz influenced side making it more to my preference and side 2 is a lot more ballad heavy. The feel of the first six songs is just so energetic and fun and his voice sounds even better when backed by a big jazz band. This leads to fantastic songs such as Deed I Do, It Has To Be You and Let The Good Times Roll. The second side is quite dull in comparison but has its moments when it shines such as the closing track. If you love his vocal it really does shine on side 2 and carries the songs even when the music is a bit dull. Overall, if side 1 made up the whole album this could be sensational but the slower second half lets the record down on the whole for me.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 11/11/2021 17:15 | #276169
Solid, but better Ray was coming later.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
25/100
From 01/21/2021 20:47 | #264802
big band - side one
ballads - side two
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 07/08/2020 17:32 | #255255
Really good album I hear very good R and B.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 10/17/2019 07:20 | #243843
This release doesn't really showcase the genius of Ray Charles sadly.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 12/31/2018 17:37 | #228400
Em sua maturidade o gênio mostrava o que sabia fazer.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 01/23/2018 03:13 | #206349
Nothing wrong with Ray Charles, but this album didn't really pique my interest.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/14/2016 12:51 | #171283
An enjoyable album. Not quite as great as the ridiculous title suggests. Still full of good songs though.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 03/11/2016 19:45 | #161747
Band arrangements are over the top, but his vocals here are at his best, mixing soul, rock&roll, and jazz all into one. This LP is takes "Big Band" and turns it on its arse.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 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. Jazz In Silhouette by Sun Ra And His Arkestra
15. Ritchie Valens by Ritchie Valens
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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