Best Albums of the 1940s

« View best albums of the 1930sView best albums of the 1950s »

Listed below are the best albums of the 1940s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1940s decade summary

Year	Albums The number of albums from each year featuring in the greatest album charts.	Score Total rank score for each year (made up of the total rank score from all albums in that year)	Top Ranked Album The top ranked album from each year and where it ranks in the overall chart.
1940	70	1,804	Dust Bowl Ballads - Volume 1 (3,656th)by Woody Guthrie
1941	75	1,355	The Midnight Special (And Other ... (4,430th)by Lead Belly
1942	75	785	Her Second Album Of Piano Solos ... (8,700th)by Hazel Scott
1943	77	602	Songs By Lead Belly: Accompanied... (8,766th)by Lead Belly
1944	76	1,294	An Album Of Outstanding Arrangem... (4,995th)by Glenn Miller
1945	79	1,112	Merry Christmas (5,401st)by Bing Crosby
1946	103	1,842	The Voice Of Frank Sinatra (6,342nd)by Frank Sinatra
1947	105	1,756	Teddy Wilson - Billie Holiday (5,218th)by Teddy Wilson And His Orchestra F...
1948	105	1,464	Chansons Des Cafés De Paris (5,928th)by Édith Piaf
1949	108	1,991	Bird Blows The Blues (6,204th)by Charlie Parker
Total	873	14,006

The best artists of the 1940s were Woody Guthrie, Nat King Cole, Lead Belly, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Josh White, Bing Crosby, Louis Jordan, The King Cole Trio and The Original Broadway Cast.

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An Album Of Outstanding Arrangements

Glenn Miller

Year of Release:

1944

Appears in:

32 charts

Rank Score:

271

Rank in 1944:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

4,995

Average Rating:

73 (24 votes)

Comments:

11.

The King Cole Trio

Year of Release:

1944

Appears in:

19 charts

Rank Score:

203

Rank in 1944:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

6,366

Average Rating:

72 (17 votes)

Comments:

26.

Up Swing

Tommy Dorsey / Glenn Miller / Benny Goodman / Artie Shaw

Year of Release:

1944

Appears in:

13 charts

Rank Score:

115

Rank in 1944:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

10,208

Average Rating:

70 (8 votes)

Comments:

36.

Woody Guthrie

Year of Release:

1944

Appears in:

13 charts

Rank Score:

101

Rank in 1944:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

11,418

Average Rating:

72 (8 votes)

Comments:

38.

Jazz Classics

Louis Armstrong

Year of Release:

1944

Appears in:

9 charts

Rank Score:

100

Rank in 1944:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

11,520

Average Rating:

69 (8 votes)

Comments:

44.

Benny Goodman Sextet

Year of Release:

1944

Appears in:

13 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1944:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

12,329

Average Rating:

70 (14 votes)

Comments:

76.

Boogie Woogie In Blue

Harry "The Hipster" Gibson

Year of Release:

1944

Appears in:

10 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1944:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

17,089

Average Rating:

73 (7 votes)

Comments:

80.

Favorites

Fats Waller

Year of Release:

1944

Appears in:

9 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1944:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

18,438

Average Rating:

69 (6 votes)

Comments:

86.

Meet Me In St. Louis

Judy Garland

Year of Release:

1944

Appears in:

7 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1944:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

19,813

Average Rating:

71 (10 votes)

Comments:

95.

New York Jazz

James P. Johnson

Year of Release:

1944

Appears in:

9 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1944:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

21,206

Average Rating:

72 (3 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 25. Page 1 of 3

Best Albums of the 1940s composition

Year	Albums	%

1940	29	3%
1941	30	3%
1942	24	2%
1943	24	2%
1944	25	3%
1945	26	3%
1946	38	4%
1947	40	4%
1948	40	4%
1949	45	5%

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	11	3%
Josh White	7	2%
Bing Crosby	6	2%
The Original Broadway Cast	6	2%
Sir Thomas Beecham / The London Philharmonic Orchestra	6	2%
Almanac Singers	5	2%
Frank Sinatra	5	2%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	250	78%
	20	6%
	14	4%
	7	2%
	6	2%
	5	2%
	2	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	303	94%
Yes	18	6%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	315	98%
Yes	6	2%

« View best albums of the 1930sView best albums of the 1950s »

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