Best Albums of the 1950s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1950s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 58,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 5 hours ago).
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1950s decade summaryThe best artists of the 1950s were Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Frank Sinatra, Charles Mingus, Elvis Presley, Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, Billie Holiday, The Dave Brubeck Quartet and Duke Ellington.
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Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,328
Rank in 1959:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,898
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"'Round About Midnight was the first album by Davis on Columbia, where he would stay for 30 years. It features saxophonist John Coltrane, who had not yet become an icon. The interplay between the two here is great, with Davis' melodies being answered by Coltrane's energetic solos. The rhythm secti..."  [+]  Reply
- Romanelli | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (9 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,866
Rank in 1957:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Band arrangements are over the top, but his vocals here are at his best, mixing soul, rock&roll, and jazz all into one. This LP is takes "Big Band" and turns it on its arse."  Reply
- Kingturtle | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,747
Rank in 1959:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Johnny Cash stripped down to his bedrock. His career has just taken off, but he wasn't an icon. He had to deliver quality to stay on top. Did he ever. His tales of heartbreak, love, and paying his dues are highlighted by his sparse baritone voice and simple song arrangement. Country has never bee..."  [+]  Reply
- junodog4 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,691
Rank in 1957:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,667
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"I usually prefer instrumental bop influenced jazz, finding the pop influenced vocal jazz music to be lacking in much depth, bu this album is definitely an exception. The interplay between the two voices and between Ella's singing and Louis' trumpet are exceptional. As well, the backing band does ..."  [+]  Reply
- souplipton | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,644
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Average Rating:
Comments:
"Ah back when country music had some class. Songs about something other than the pap crap that passes for country today. A classic and classy record in every sense of the word."  Reply
- Coconut | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,639
Rank in 1959:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"If you're a rock fan and haven't listened to this yet, do so as soon as you can. At times, this almost sounds like a documentary on African music- just listen to "Hush Your Mouth". But this is also the origins of hard, garage, and psychedelic music we all love, and much of that has to do with McD..."  [+]  Reply
- poppmusic | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,626
Rank in 1958:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Still getting my feet wet with jazz albums, so this is an inexperienced question, but why is this not as well regarded as Davis' other albums? You can definitely tell it served as a canvas for Kind of Blue and that's regarded as the best jazz album of all time."  Reply
- BrandonC375 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,510
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 3 of 100

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

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