Top Album Every Year (Since 1955)
by PanheadWarrior

These are my favorite albums of the year, every year from 1955 to now. I try to list a runner up every year. Some years I even listed a Top 5 if there were lots of albums that seemed deserving. I had a lot of fun making this list! As always, feel free to make recommendations!
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Collector's summary (top 1,000)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
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Runner up: In The Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra [First added to this chart: 08/21/2019]
Year of Release:
1955
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,141
Rank in 1955:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Runner up: Ellington at Newport by Duke Ellington [First added to this chart: 08/21/2019]
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,604
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Runner up: Ella & Louis Again [First added to this chart: 08/21/2019]
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,544
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Runner up: Lady in Satin by Billie Holiday [First added to this chart: 08/21/2019]
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,863
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Runner up: The Genius of Ray Charles

Rounding out the Top 5:
#3 Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers
#4 Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus
#5 The Shape Of Jazz To Come by Ornette Coleman
[First added to this chart: 08/21/2019]
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
21,938
Rank in 1959:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (89/100 - 2283 votes)  89 (2,283 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Runner up: Giant Steps by John Coltrane [First added to this chart: 07/07/2021]
Year of Release:
1960
Appears in:
Rank Score:
219
Rank in 1960:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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I normally don't include compilations. However, half of this album contained unreleased material. And, according to Wikipedia, "By the time this album appeared, Johnson was mostly rumor, if known at all, except to a small group of collectors and those who had purchased the original 78s...In 2003, the album was ranked number 27 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Mojo magazine ranked it number 6 on its list of 100 Records That Changed the World (2007)." It's simply too important and influential a record to omit.

Runner up: A Night In Tunisia by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
[First added to this chart: 08/21/2019]
Year of Release:
1961
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,757
Rank in 1961:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 08/21/2019]
Year of Release:
1962
Appears in:
Rank Score:
892
Rank in 1962:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
VERY close runner up: The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan [First added to this chart: 08/21/2019]
Year of Release:
1963
Appears in:
Rank Score:
697
Rank in 1963:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Close runner up: A Hard Day's Night by The Beatles [First added to this chart: 08/21/2019]
Year of Release:
1964
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,473
Rank in 1964:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 68. Page 1 of 7
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Top Album Every Year (Since 1955) composition

Decade Albums %


1930s 0 0%
1940s 0 0%
1950s 5 7%
1960s 10 15%
1970s 10 15%
1980s 10 15%
1990s 10 15%
2000s 10 15%
2010s 10 15%
2020s 3 4%
Country Albums %


United States 51 75%
United Kingdom 9 13%
Canada 3 4%
Jamaica 2 3%
Sweden 1 1%
Ireland 1 1%
Australia 1 1%
Compilation? Albums %
No 67 99%
Yes 1 1%

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PanheadWarrior has shared 4 more custom charts with the community. Browse them all here.
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87/100 (from 1 vote)
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10/14/2019 09:42 mikepen   5893/100
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95/100
From 10/14/2019 09:40 | #243732
Great chart listing. I can't wait to get enough member points to attempt something similar. A heck of a tough challenge though! But oh dear, I knew nothing after Weezer in 1994 (our 1st lot of twins were born 1994, that's telling huh!). As I thought highly of your picks, think I will use your list to get somewhat more up-to-date. cheers.
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Recognised  Decade Charts (2020s)
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7. The Needle Drop's Top Albums Of The 2010s by The Needle Drop (2019)
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11. NME's Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s by New Music Express (2019)
12. Top 100 Albums of the Decade by Crack Magazine (2019)
13. The 101 Best Albums of the 2010s by Spin (2020)
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