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 create an account to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 60,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
A+
[First added to this chart: 06/23/2020]
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,933
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:
5,401
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:
3,544
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:
2,932
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:
1,856
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:
6,326
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:
2,703
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:
2,923
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:
1,509
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:
6,779
Rank in 1959:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 53. Page 1 of 6
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
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 | 17 | 32% | |
| Ray Charles | 4 | 8% | |
| Frank Sinatra | 3 | 6% | |
| Charles Mingus | 3 | 6% | |
| Chuck Berry | 3 | 6% | |
| Thelonious Monk | 2 | 4% | |
| Sun Ra | 2 | 4% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 53 Music Albums of the 1950s chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
Down 1 from 12th to 13th |
Down 1 from 13th to 14th |
Down 1 from 14th to 15th |
| New entries |
|---|
Top 53 Music Albums of the 1950s similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 50 Music Albums of the 1950s | TheNowhereGuy | 1950s decade chart | 2020 |  |
| Top 55 Music Albums of the 1950s | matterhornrider | 1950s decade chart | 2026 |  |
| Top 44 Music Albums of the 1950s |  danielmuller1990 | 1950s decade chart | 2023 |  |
| Top 50 Music Albums of the 1950s | joshbrooker2001 | 1950s decade chart | 2020 | |
| Top 50 Music Albums of the 1950s |  btener11 | 1950s decade chart | 2011 |  |
| Top 50 Music Albums of the 1950s | rlang36 | 1950s decade chart | 2015 |  |
| Top 50 Music Albums of the 1950s |  covecove | 1950s decade chart | 2019 |  |
| Top 50 Music Albums of the 1950s | weston | 1950s decade chart | 2024 | |
| Top 50 Music Albums of the 1950s | Weepingguitarman | 1950s decade chart | 2024 |  |
| Top 47 Music Albums of the 1950s |  Tengachaya | 1950s decade chart | 2023 |  |
Top 53 Music Albums of the 1950s similarity to your chart(s)
Not a member? Creating an account is quick, easy and FREE!
Join 50,000+ music fans
- Join a community of over 50,000 music fans.
- Create & share your own charts.
- Influence the overall album rankings.
- Post comments in the forums and vote on polls.
- Comment on or rate any album, artist, track or chart.
- Discover new music & improve your music collection.
- Customise the overall chart using a variety of different filters & metrics.
- Create a wishlist of albums.
- Unlock Dark Mode and other member features.
- Help maintain the BEA database.
- Earn member points and gain access to increasing levels of functionality!
- And much more.
Join now It only takes a moment.
Other decade charts by Larcx13
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 85 Music Albums of the 2020s | Larcx13 | 2020s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s | Larcx13 | 2010s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | Larcx13 | 2000s decade chart | 2025 | |
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 3 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 |
Please log in or create an account if you want to be able to leave a rating
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
Showing all 4 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
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)
Please log in or create an account if you want to be able to add a comment
Your feedback for Top 53 Music Albums of the 1950s
What do you think of this chart? Leave a comment or rate it below!
Log in or create an account to rate this chart, leave comments and join the discussion.
