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	69	1,775	Dust Bowl Ballads - Volume 1 (3,750th)by Woody Guthrie
1941	75	1,347	The Midnight Special (And Other ... (4,442nd)by Lead Belly
1942	75	755	Her Second Album Of Piano Solos ... (8,698th)by Hazel Scott
1943	77	598	Songs By Lead Belly: Accompanied... (8,839th)by Lead Belly
1944	76	1,294	An Album Of Outstanding Arrangem... (4,949th)by Glenn Miller
1945	79	1,091	Merry Christmas (5,361st)by Bing Crosby
1946	102	1,815	The Voice Of Frank Sinatra (6,606th)by Frank Sinatra
1947	102	1,739	Teddy Wilson - Billie Holiday (5,193rd)by Teddy Wilson And His Orchestra F...
1948	102	1,451	Chansons Des Cafés De Paris (5,902nd)by Édith Piaf
1949	104	1,987	Bird Blows The Blues (6,204th)by Charlie Parker
Total	861	13,853

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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111.

Mexican Cowboy Songs

Los Rancheros

Year of Release:

1942

Appears in:

10 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1942:

Rank in 1940s:

111

Overall Rank:

24,929

Average Rating:

71 (3 votes)

Comments:

112.

Crosbyana

Bing Crosby

Year of Release:

1941

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1941:

Rank in 1940s:

112

Overall Rank:

24,982

Average Rating:

71 (4 votes)

Comments:

113.

Songs To Grow On - Nursery Days

Woody Guthrie

Year of Release:

1946

Appears in:

7 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1946:

Rank in 1940s:

113

Overall Rank:

25,293

Average Rating:

69 (5 votes)

Comments:

114.

Cocktail Capers

The Art Van Damme Quintet

Year of Release:

1948

Appears in:

11 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1948:

Rank in 1940s:

114

Overall Rank:

25,566

Average Rating:

71 (5 votes)

Comments:

115.

U.S. Highball

Harry Partch

Year of Release:

1946

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1946:

Rank in 1940s:

115

Overall Rank:

26,024

Average Rating:

72 (5 votes)

Comments:

116.

Frankly Sentimental

Frank Sinatra

Year of Release:

1949

Appears in:

11 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1949:

Rank in 1940s:

116

Overall Rank:

26,351

Average Rating:

69 (8 votes)

Comments:

117.

The South American Way

Carmen Miranda

Year of Release:

1940

Appears in:

7 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1940:

Rank in 1940s:

117

Overall Rank:

27,128

Average Rating:

67 (7 votes)

Comments:

118.

Holiday Inn (Song Hits From The Paramount Picture)
Soundtrack

Bing Crosby & Fred Astaire

Year of Release:

1942

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1942:

Rank in 1940s:

118

Overall Rank:

27,201

Average Rating:

73 (5 votes)

Comments:

119.

Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 3 In D Minor For Piano & Orchestra

Albert Coates / The London Symphony Orchestra / Vladimir Horowitz

Year of Release:

1940

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1940:

Rank in 1940s:

119

Overall Rank:

27,506

Average Rating:

72 (4 votes)

Comments:

120.

Cowboy Classics

The Sons Of The Pioneers

Year of Release:

1949

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1949:

Rank in 1940s:

120

Overall Rank:

28,235

Average Rating:

72 (4 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 317. Page 12 of 32

Best Albums of the 1940s composition

Year	Albums	%

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

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	11	3%
Josh White	7	2%
Sir Thomas Beecham / The London Philharmonic Orchestra	6	2%
Bing Crosby	6	2%
The Original Broadway Cast	6	2%
Almanac Singers	5	2%
Woody Guthrie	5	2%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	246	78%
	20	6%
	14	4%
	7	2%
	6	2%
	5	2%
	2	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	300	95%
Yes	17	5%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	311	98%
Yes	6	2%

« View best albums of the 1930sView best albums of the 1950s »

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