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: 2 hours ago).
Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
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.
View chart at point in time
 Show this chart as it was on the following date
Share this chart
Collector's summary (top 1,000) Help The maximum rank used by the Collector's Summary is configurable from your profile (top 1,000 is currently selected). Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
Sort Sort by
81.
King Creole 
Soundtrack
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
564
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Like "Something Else" by Cannonball Adderley it becomes fairly obvious early that there's a huge Miles Davis influence on the album. Melodic, tasteful, strict adherence to the groove in the midst of soloing. Sonny has similar style to the great Bill Evans (ok, that's my opinion and probably not t..."  [+]  Reply
- daftpunter | 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:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
561
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
561
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"I've yet to hear a mediocre recording from The Duke, but this one is something special. It's more energetic and adventurous than his work with the Blanton-Webster band. There are a lot of great tracks, but I especially enjoyed "A Tone Parallel to Harlem.""  Reply
- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 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:
1953
Appears in:
Rank Score:
560
Rank in 1953:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
557
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
554
Rank in 1957:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Anyone interested in diving into Calypso should probably check out this album, but don't forget to check out the Trinidadian Calypso from this era as well. Prior to Trinidad & Tobago's independence from the UK, a lot of Calypsonians used their music to talk about the systemic oppression of Trinid..."  [+]  Reply
- EyeKanFly | 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:
549
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Share your opinion and help others discover this album. The top-voted comments are showcased in our aggregate charts!
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
532
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"From here lies the origin of the term “Cotten-picking”, based around her unique technique of guitar playing. Recorded in the 50s, while Cotten was in her 60s, Freight Train & Other North Carolina Folk Songs & Tunes is a collection of songs that Elizabeth Cotten had originally written in the early..."  [+]  Reply
- meccalecca | 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:
523
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1951
Appears in:
Rank Score:
501
Rank in 1951:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 9 of 100

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Popular  Charts
1. 200 Greatest Albums of All Time by Uncut (2016)
2. 100 Best Albums - 2024 Edition by Apple Music (2024)
3. The Top 100 Albums by VH1 (2001)
4. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (2020)
5. The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (2013)
6. Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (2000)
7. Top 100 Albums by ABC (2006)
8. The Definitive 200 by National Association of Recording Merchandisers (2007)
9. Die 100 besten Alben der Musikgeschichte by radioeins (2019)
10. Mojo Readers: The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made by Mojo (1996)
11. The 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by Absolute Radio (2012)
12. The 300 Greatest Albums of All Time (1-100) by Paste (2024)
13. 100 Greatest Albums Ever by Q (2006)
14. Die 100 Alben des Jahrhunderts by Spex (2000)
15. The Greatest Rock Albums by uDiscoverMusic (2015)
16. Los 48 mejores discos de la historia by Esquire España (2022)
17. Die 100 besten Platten des Jahrhunderts by Wiener (1999)
18. The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Consequence of Sound (2022)
19. Greatest 100 Albums of All Time by The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums with NME (2006)
20. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Melody Maker (2000)