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.
1940691,779
1941731,331
194272755
194372582
1944731,296
1945761,091
19461011,821
19471021,720
19481021,451
19491041,981
Total84413,806

The best artists of the 1940s were Woody Guthrie, Nat King Cole, Lead Belly, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Josh White, Louis Jordan, The King Cole Trio, The Original Broadway Cast and Hazel Scott.
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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1949
Appears in:
Rank Score:
209
Rank in 1949:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1949
Appears in:
Rank Score:
137
Rank in 1949:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1948
Appears in:
Rank Score:
103
Rank in 1948:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1949
Appears in:
Rank Score:
73
Rank in 1949:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 4. Page 1 of 1

Best Albums of the 1940s composition

Year Albums %


1940 29 3%
1941 28 3%
1942 24 2%
1943 23 2%
1944 25 3%
1945 25 3%
1946 38 4%
1947 40 4%
1948 39 4%
1949 45 5%
Country Albums %


United States 246 78%
Mixed Nationality 20 6%
United Kingdom 13 4%
France 7 2%
Spain 6 2%
Cuba 5 2%
Mexico 2 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 299 95%
Yes 17 5%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 310 98%
Yes 6 2%
Popular  Charts
1. The Top 100 Albums by VH1 (2001)
2. The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (2013)
3. 200 Greatest Albums of All Time by Uncut (2016)
4. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (2020)
5. The Definitive 200 by National Association of Recording Merchandisers (2007)
6. Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (2000)
7. Top 100 Albums by ABC (2006)
8. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Melody Maker (2000)
9. The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Consequence of Sound (2022)
10. Mojo Readers: The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made by Mojo (1996)
11. Greatest 100 Albums of All Time by The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums with NME (2006)
12. The Greatest Rock Albums by uDiscoverMusic (2015)
13. Die 20 besten Alben der Geschichte by Musikexpress.de (2011)
14. Die 100 besten Alben der Musikgeschichte by radioeins (2019)
15. Die 100 Alben des Jahrhunderts by Spex (2000)
16. Die 100 besten Platten des Jahrhunderts by Wiener (1999)
17. The 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by Absolute Radio (2012)
18. 100 Greatest Albums Ever by Q (2006)
19. Top 90.3 Listener Voted Albums by KEXP (2008)
20. 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by The Sound (2018)
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