Best Albums of the 1950s

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

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	5,234	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,074th)by Yma Sumac
1951	141	4,185	Genius Of Modern Music (2,815th)by Thelonious Monk
1952	151	6,927	Bird & Diz (1,991st)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	194	6,686	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,848th)by Peggy Lee
1954	230	11,109	Chet Baker Sings (671st)by Chet Baker
1955	327	14,823	In The Wee Small Hours (382nd)by Frank Sinatra
1956	435	32,196	Elvis Presley (367th)by Elvis Presley
1957	568	45,292	Blue Train (309th)by John Coltrane
1958	570	41,345	Lady In Satin (558th)by Billie Holiday
1959	615	81,408	Kind Of Blue (37th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,356	249,205

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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271.

Blues From The Gutter

Champion Jack Dupree

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

23 charts

Rank Score:

127

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

271

Overall Rank:

9,408

Average Rating:

73 (17 votes)

Comments:

272.

Thelonious Monk / Sonny Rollins
Compilation

Thelonious Monk / Sonny Rollins

Year of Release:

1954

Appears in:

37 charts

Rank Score:

127

Rank in 1954:

Rank in 1950s:

272

Overall Rank:

9,418

Average Rating:

76 (29 votes)

Comments:

273.

Nat King Cole Sings For Two In Love

Nat King Cole

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

19 charts

Rank Score:

127

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

273

Overall Rank:

9,421

Average Rating:

73 (29 votes)

Comments:

274.

The Cats

Idrees Sulieman / John Coltrane / Kenny Burrell / Tommy Flanagan

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

32 charts

Rank Score:

127

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

274

Overall Rank:

9,429

Average Rating:

75 (26 votes)

Comments:

275.

Hamp & Getz

Stan Getz / Lionel Hampton

Year of Release:

1955

Appears in:

29 charts

Rank Score:

126

Rank in 1955:

Rank in 1950s:

275

Overall Rank:

9,455

Average Rating:

74 (30 votes)

Comments:

276.

Mahler: Das Lied Von Der Erde

Bruno Walter / Wiener Philharmoniker

Year of Release:

1952

Appears in:

11 charts

Rank Score:

125

Rank in 1952:

Rank in 1950s:

276

Overall Rank:

9,528

Average Rating:

73 (6 votes)

Comments:

277.

East Coasting

Charles Mingus

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

33 charts

Rank Score:

125

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

277

Overall Rank:

9,547

Average Rating:

74 (28 votes)

Comments:

278.

Orgy In Rhythm (Volume One)

Art Blakey

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

21 charts

Rank Score:

124

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

278

Overall Rank:

9,573

Average Rating:

76 (14 votes)

Comments:

279.

Super-Sonic Jazz

Sun Ra And His Arkestra

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

28 charts

Rank Score:

124

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

279

Overall Rank:

9,574

Average Rating:

72 (30 votes)

Comments:

280.

New York, N.Y.

George Russell

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

19 charts

Rank Score:

124

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

280

Overall Rank:

9,604

Average Rating:

71 (20 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 28 of 100

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year	Albums	%

1950	41	4%
1951	40	4%
1952	58	6%
1953	62	6%
1954	76	8%
1955	85	9%
1956	117	12%
1957	150	15%
1958	174	17%
1959	197	20%

Artist	Albums	%

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

Country	Albums	%

	778	78%
	39	4%
	32	3%
	26	3%
	21	2%
	13	1%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	943	94%
Yes	57	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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