Top 53 Music Albums of the 1950s
by 
Larcx13 
Difficult not to populate this with Miles Davis records. Jazz and Rhythm & Blues are my favorites from this decade, with artists like John Coltrane, Howlin Wolf, Thelonius Monk and Sonny Boy Williamson. Im not the biggest listener of Charles Mingus, but much respect tot he records on this list.
Miles Davis
John Coltrane
Ray Charles
Howlin Wolf
Chuck Berry
Only records I've heard at the very least twice.
A+ // A record that approaches perfection. // 100-96
A // A great record with only a couple weaker tracks. // 95-91
A- // A great record that is either over-produced, micro-marketed or just missing something to get rid of that minus. // 90-86
B+ // A very good record that sometimes flirts with the half-assed. // 85-81
B // A good record often thoroughly enjoyed by the artist's fanbase. Nothing extraordinary, but definitely decent. // 80-76
*** // Honorable Mention. For those who cherish it. // 75-76 A
B- // Has a fair few good tracks but is either too long, too repetitive, or just plain too much of something at times. // 75-71
C+ // A hackwork kind of record. Pick and choose your favorites. // 70-66
C // Professional record with seemingly no substance OR a decent try at something different. Often corny. // 65-60
C- // Honest work that doesn't quite cut it. Also often quite corny. // 59-50
✂️ // 1 or 2 good songs could be cut out and added to a greatest hits album. // 49-45
? // A grade of D, E or F lands a "dud". It fails in every way. // 44-0
- Chart updated: 03/20/2025 13:15
- (Created: 06/23/2020 13:15).
- Chart size: 53 albums.
There are 4 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 53 Music Albums of the 1950s has an average rating of 92 out of 100 (from 8 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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A+
[First added to this chart: 06/23/2020]
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
21,824
Rank in 1959:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
A
[First added to this chart: 07/02/2020]
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,575
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
A
[First added to this chart: 11/12/2020]
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,500
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
A-
[First added to this chart: 07/12/2021]
Year of Release:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,912
Rank in 1957:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
A-
[First added to this chart: 11/06/2020]
Year of Release:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,873
Rank in 1957:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
A-
[First added to this chart: 07/02/2020]
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,420
Rank in 1959:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
A-
[First added to this chart: 12/31/2020]
Year of Release:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,725
Rank in 1957:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
A-
[First added to this chart: 11/13/2020]
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,866
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
A-
[First added to this chart: 07/30/2020]
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,513
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
A-
[First added to this chart: 10/22/2020]
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,941
Rank in 1959:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 53. Page 1 of 6
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Top 53 Music Albums of the 1950s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0 | 0% | |
| 1951 | 0 | 0% | |
| 1952 | 0 | 0% | |
| 1953 | 0 | 0% | |
| 1954 | 1 | 2% | |
| 1955 | 3 | 6% | |
| 1956 | 4 | 8% | |
| 1957 | 19 | 36% | |
| 1958 | 10 | 19% | |
| 1959 | 16 | 30% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Miles Davis | 11 | 21% | |
| Miles Davis Quintet | 4 | 8% | |
| Ray Charles | 4 | 8% | |
| Frank Sinatra | 3 | 6% | |
| Charles Mingus | 3 | 6% | |
| Chuck Berry | 3 | 6% | |
| Bo Diddley | 2 | 4% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 53 Music Albums of the 1950s chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 12th to 13thCookin' With The Miles Davis Quintet by Miles Davis Quintet |
| Down 1 from 13th to 14thMoanin' In The Moonlight by Howlin' Wolf |
| Down 1 from 14th to 15thBirth Of The Cool by Miles Davis |
| New entries |
|---|
| Workin' With The Miles Davis Quintet by Miles Davis Quintet |
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| Top 85 Music Albums of the 2020s | Larcx13 | 2020s decade chart | 2025 | |
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Top 53 Music Albums of the 1950s ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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.
N.B. The average rating for this chart will not be reliable as it has been rated very few times.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 8 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09/19/2021 20:51 |  rockbluesfolkjaz | 74 | 87/100 | |
| 11/20/2020 17:53 | MikeIke99 | 10 | 97/100 | |
| 11/13/2020 19:58 |  desh79 | 1,274 | 93/100 | |
| 11/09/2020 02:04 | DJENNY | 4,338 | 100/100 | |
| 11/02/2020 23:48 | leniad | 669 | 85/100 |
Top 53 Music Albums of the 1950s favourites
Showing all 2 members who have added this chart as a favourite
Top 53 Music Albums of the 1950s comments
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From rockbluesfolkjaz 09/19/2021 20:52 | #273966
rockbluesfolkjaz 09/19/2021 20:52 | #273966
The 50s had such great jazz! Post bop excitement! Nice list!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From MikeIke99 11/20/2020 17:53 | #261144
What a perfect chart... the 50s were a beautiful time for music.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From leniad 11/02/2020 23:50 | #260106
agree with your selections
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 0129114 07/01/2020 17:17 | #254903
this list sucks lmao. you still get 100 because miles is at number 1 (obviously). you need to add charles mingus, dave brubeck, ornette coleman, art blakey, ray charles, JOAO GILBERTO (sorry i just LOVE brazilian music), chet baker, sun ra, etc. you like rock listen to ritchie valens and bo diddley, if you like blues listen to john lee hooker and lightning hopkins and sonny boy williamson and t bone walker and willie dixon. beautiful singing from ella fitzgerald, also sinatra obviously. there is also a KILLEr brazilian movie from 1959 called black orpheus and the soundtrack is literally GODSENT. also...COLTRANE. billie holiday, thelonious monk, sonny rollins, canonball adderley, buddy holly, etc etc dude there is like INFINITE good music from the 1950s (especially jazz, rock, blues, swing, etc.)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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