Best Albums of the 1950s

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Listed below are the best albums of the 1950s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1950s 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.
1950	125	5,291	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,074th)by Yma Sumac
1951	141	4,234	Genius Of Modern Music (2,764th)by Thelonious Monk
1952	151	6,940	Bird & Diz (1,983rd)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	194	6,699	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,848th)by Peggy Lee
1954	230	11,152	Chet Baker Sings (671st)by Chet Baker
1955	326	14,914	In The Wee Small Hours (381st)by Frank Sinatra
1956	435	32,479	Elvis Presley (365th)by Elvis Presley
1957	568	45,545	Blue Train (306th)by John Coltrane
1958	570	41,517	Lady In Satin (563rd)by Billie Holiday
1959	613	81,789	Kind Of Blue (38th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,353	250,559

The best artists of the 1950s were Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Frank Sinatra, Charles Mingus, Elvis Presley, Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Billie Holiday and John Coltrane.

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11.

Lady In Satin

Billie Holiday

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

349 charts

Rank Score:

3,159

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

563

Average Rating:

79 (362 votes)

Comments:

12.

Songs For Swingin' Lovers!

Frank Sinatra

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

307 charts

Rank Score:

2,952

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

600

Average Rating:

79 (364 votes)

Comments:

13.

Brilliant Corners

Thelonious Monk

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

362 charts

Rank Score:

2,915

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

611

Average Rating:

81 (369 votes)

Comments:

14.

Somethin' Else

Cannonball Adderley

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

330 charts

Rank Score:

2,857

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

620

Average Rating:

82 (301 votes)

Comments:

15.

Saxophone Colossus

Sonny Rollins

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

356 charts

Rank Score:

2,734

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

656

Average Rating:

81 (371 votes)

Comments:

16.

Chet Baker Sings

Chet Baker

Year of Release:

1954

Appears in:

255 charts

Rank Score:

2,679

Rank in 1954:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

671

Average Rating:

79 (241 votes)

Comments:

17.

The "Chirping" Crickets

The Crickets

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

300 charts

Rank Score:

2,632

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

684

Average Rating:

78 (315 votes)

Comments:

18.

Buddy Holly

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

293 charts

Rank Score:

2,559

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

706

Average Rating:

79 (261 votes)

Comments:

19.

Birth Of The Cool
Compilation

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

354 charts

Rank Score:

2,454

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

730

Average Rating:

80 (455 votes)

Comments:

20.

Moanin' In The Moonlight
Compilation

Howlin' Wolf

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

296 charts

Rank Score:

2,400

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

744

Average Rating:

80 (290 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 2 of 100

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year	Albums	%

1950	40	4%
1951	40	4%
1952	58	6%
1953	62	6%
1954	77	8%
1955	85	9%
1956	116	12%
1957	152	15%
1958	173	17%
1959	197	20%

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	19	2%
Billie Holiday	18	2%
Miles Davis	16	2%
Frank Sinatra	15	2%
Sonny Rollins	15	2%
Ella Fitzgerald	13	1%
Elvis Presley	11	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	781	78%
	40	4%
	32	3%
	26	3%
	19	2%
	12	1%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	942	94%
Yes	58	6%

Live?	Albums	%
No	962	96%
Yes	38	4%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	23	2%

« View best albums of the 1940sView best albums of the 1960s »

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Best Albums of 1958
1. Lady In Satin by Billie Holiday
2. Somethin' Else by Cannonball Adderley
3. Buddy Holly by Buddy Holly
4. Bo Diddley by Bo Diddley
5. Milestones by Miles Davis
6. Ascenseur Pour L'échafaud by Miles Davis
7. Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely by Frank Sinatra
8. Little Richard by Little Richard
9. Come Fly With Me by Frank Sinatra
10. One Dozen Berrys by Chuck Berry
11. The Everly Brothers by The Everly Brothers
12. Basie by Count Basie And His Orchestra & Neal Hefti
13. Jerry Lee Lewis by Jerry Lee Lewis
14. Elvis' Golden Records by Elvis Presley
15. Relaxin' With The Miles Davis Quintet by Miles Davis Quintet
16. Cool Struttin' by Sonny Clark
17. Dance Mania by Tito Puente
18. Songs By Sam Cooke by Sam Cooke & Bumps Blackwell Orchestra
19. King Creole by Elvis Presley
20. Please Please Please by James Brown And His Famous Flames