Best Albums of the 1940s

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
YearAlbums 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.
1940701,807
1941751,358
194275789
194378604
1944781,296
1945801,115
19461041,852
19471061,762
19481061,467
19491081,994
Total88014,043

The best artists of the 1940s were Woody Guthrie, Nat King Cole, Lead Belly, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Josh White, The King Cole Trio, Bing Crosby, Louis Jordan and Frank Sinatra.
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Collector's summary (top 321)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1940
Appears in:
Rank Score:
399
Rank in 1940:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1940
Appears in:
Rank Score:
355
Rank in 1940:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1941
Appears in:
Rank Score:
317
Rank in 1941:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1944
Appears in:
Rank Score:
270
Rank in 1944:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1947
Appears in:
Rank Score:
257
Rank in 1947:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1945
Appears in:
Rank Score:
247
Rank in 1945:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1947
Appears in:
Rank Score:
227
Rank in 1947:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1948
Appears in:
Rank Score:
221
Rank in 1948:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • eBay
  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1949
Appears in:
Rank Score:
210
Rank in 1949:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1946
Appears in:
Rank Score:
205
Rank in 1946:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 321. Page 1 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%
Country Albums %


United States 250 78%
Mixed Nationality 20 6%
United Kingdom 14 4%
France 7 2%
Spain 6 2%
Cuba 5 2%
Russia 2 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 303 94%
Yes 18 6%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 315 98%
Yes 6 2%
Recognised  Year Charts (2023)
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3. The 100 Best Albums of 2023 by Rolling Stone (2023)
4. Quietus Albums Of The Year 2023 by The Quietus (2023)
5. Best Albums of 2023 by Norman Records (2023)
6. Gorilla vs. Bear's Albums of 2023 by Gorilla vs. Bear (2023)
7. Top 50 Albums of 2023 by The Wire (2023)
8. The 10 Best Global Music Albums Of 2023 by PopMatters (2023)
9. Loud And Quiet Albums of the Year 2023 by Loud And Quiet (2023)
10. The 80 Best Albums Of 2023 by PopMatters (2023)
11. The 20 Best Albums of 2023 by Esquire (2023)
12. KCRW's Best Albums of 2023 by KCRW (2023)
13. The 30 best albums of 2023 by Time Out (2023)
14. Top 100 Albums of 2023 by Piccadilly Records (2023)
15. BrooklynVegan's Top 55 Albums of 2023 by BrooklynVegan (2023)
16. Louder Than War Albums Of 2023 by Louder Than War (2023)
17. The 50 Best Albums Of 2023 by Pitchfork (2023)
18. Dit zijn de 20 beste albums van 2023 by OOR (2023)
19. The best albums of 2023 by Independent (2023)
20. Albums of the year 2023 by The Line Of Best Fit (2023)
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