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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71.

Dance Parade

Count Basie

Year of Release:

1949

Appears in:

13 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1949:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

16,573

Average Rating:

69 (7 votes)

Comments:

72.

Billie Holiday Vol. 1

Billie Holiday

Year of Release:

1947

Appears in:

9 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1947:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

16,848

Average Rating:

73 (6 votes)

Comments:

73.

Volume 3

The King Cole Trio

Year of Release:

1948

Appears in:

9 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1948:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

16,971

Average Rating:

68 (8 votes)

Comments:

74.

Work Songs Of The U.S.A.

Lead Belly

Year of Release:

1942

Appears in:

12 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1942:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

17,030

Average Rating:

69 (8 votes)

Comments:

75.

The Andrews Sisters

Year of Release:

1946

Appears in:

8 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1946:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

17,041

Average Rating:

71 (8 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:

77.

Blues On Parade

Woody Herman And His Orchestra

Year of Release:

1940

Appears in:

9 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1940:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

17,292

Average Rating:

70 (8 votes)

Comments:

78.

Oklahoma!

The Original Broadway Cast

Year of Release:

1943

Appears in:

12 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1943:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

17,508

Average Rating:

71 (11 votes)

Comments:

79.

Starlight Serenades

Glenn Miller

Year of Release:

1949

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1949:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

17,889

Average Rating:

71 (4 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:

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Total albums: 321. Page 8 of 33

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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Best Albums of 1961
1. My Favorite Things by John Coltrane
2. King Of The Delta Blues Singers by Robert Johnson
3. Sunday At The Village Vanguard by Bill Evans Trio
4. Free Jazz by Ornette Coleman Double Quartet
5. Olé Coltrane by John Coltrane
6. The Blues And The Abstract Truth by Oliver Nelson
7. Africa/Brass by John Coltrane Quartet
8. Eastern Sounds by Yusef Lateef
9. Showcase by Patsy Cline
10. The Genius Sings The Blues by Ray Charles
11. Someday My Prince Will Come by The Miles Davis Sextet
12. Two Steps From The Blues by Bobby Bland
13. This Is Our Music by Ornette Coleman
14. West Side Story (The Original Sound Track Recording) by Various Artists
15. Djangology by Django Reinhardt
16. Lonely And Blue by Roy Orbison
17. Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane by Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane
18. Out Of The Cool by Gil Evans Orchestra
19. Time Further Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet
20. A Night In Tunisia by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers