Empress Of The Blues
by Bessie Smith

Empress Of The Blues by Bessie Smith
Year: 1940
Overall rank: 8,303rd   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
71/100 (from 24 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 5 albums of 1940 (3rd)
Award Top 50 albums of the 1940s (23rd)
Award Best albums of all time (8,303rd)

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Product Details
Availability

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eBay
Bessie Smith - Empress Of The Blues 1923-33 [New Vinyl LP] 140 Gram Vinyl
Condition: New


eBay
eBay
Bessie Smith Empress of the Blues Cassette 1992 Classic Blues
Condition: Brand New


eBay
eBay
BESSIE SMITH Empress Of The Blues Swaggie Records Lot Jazz Music Vol. 1, 2, & 5
Condition: Used


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Bessie Smith bestography

Empress Of The Blues is ranked as the best album by Bessie Smith.

Bessie Smith album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (8,303rd)
Empress Of The Blues
Lower ranked (8,708th) »
Bessie Smith Album

(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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Empress Of The Blues rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 8,303rd | 1940s rank: 23rd | 1940 rank: 3rd
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026SiromynianTop 33 Music Albums of the 1940s24/336
2026downandoutTop 100 Music Albums of the 1940s26/10015
2026Exist-en-cielTop 100 Music Albums of the 1940s34/10013
2026 junodog4Top 10 Music Albums of the 1940s10/102
2025 LeonardTop 100 Music Albums of the 1940s79/1004
2025TodFitzTop 63 Music Albums of the 1940s59/632
2025OlliTop 70 Music Albums of 19404/69 -
2025arnellarsen1940 - The Very Best Albums3/69 -
2025SiromynianTop 4 Music Albums of 19404/4 -
2025 VictorValeTop 11 Music Albums of the 1940s4/1115
2024OlliTop 100 Music Albums of the 1940s41/10012
2021 AlvaroIesusTop 7 Music Albums of the 1940s6/76
2021toast223Top 6 Music Albums of the 1940s5/67
2020 StefanR10Top 98 Music Albums of the 1940s43/9811
2020 MontpejoTop 8 Music Albums of the 1940s7/85
2020OlliTop 100 Music Albums of the 1940s19/99 -
2020 Graeme2Top 14 Music Albums of the 1940s5/1414
2020 BozoTyrannusTop 79 Music Albums of the 1940s26/7914
2020 RoundTheBendTop 91 Music Albums of the 1940s59/917
2020TheNowhereGuyTop 100 Music Albums of the 1940s96/1001
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 23
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 151
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Empress Of The Blues collection

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Empress Of The Blues ratings

Average Rating: 
71/100 (from 24 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 24 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
75/100
 
01/26/2026 17:01 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  9,75470/100
 
65/100
 
04/04/2025 07:04 Siromynian  Ratings distribution  1,62878/100
 
65/100
 
03/06/2024 00:58 EyeKanFly  Ratings distribution  8,63965/100
 
65/100
 
10/31/2022 11:37 jonny5244  Ratings distribution  8,44763/100
 
75/100
 
10/13/2022 10:47 habibi333  Ratings distribution  95573/100

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 has a Bayesian average rating of 71.4/100, a mean average of 71.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 71.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 9.2.

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Empress Of The Blues favourites

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Empress Of The Blues comments

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Rating:  
80/100
From 09/02/2020 10:56 | #257675
Pepita de ouro da lama do racismo. Ensinou como o americano a cantar o blues.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 04/08/2020 18:49 | #249675
Highlights:

Young Woman's Blues
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1940
1. Dust Bowl Ballads - Volume 1 by Woody Guthrie
2. Dust Bowl Ballads - Volume 2 by Woody Guthrie
3. Empress Of The Blues by Bessie Smith
4. King Louis by Louis Armstrong
5. Arnold Schoenberg: Pierrot Lunaire by Arnold Schoenberg / Erika Stiedry-Wagner / Stefan Auber / Kalman Bloch / Leonard Posella / Eduard Steuermann / Rudolf Kolisch
6. Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 In C Minor by Leopold Stokowski / Philadelphia Orchestra / Sergei Rachmaninov
7. Blues On Parade by Woody Herman And His Orchestra
8. Marlene Dietrich by Marlene Dietrich
9. Stravinsky: Le Sacre Du Printemps (The Rite Of Spring) by Igor Stravinsky / The Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra Of New York
10. Chain Gang by Joshua White And His Carolinians