Best Albums of the 1950s

« View best albums of the 1940sView best albums of the 1960s »

Listed below are the best albums of the 1950s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1950s 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.
1950	125	5,232	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,089th)by Yma Sumac
1951	141	4,183	Genius Of Modern Music (2,810th)by Thelonious Monk
1952	151	6,973	Bird & Diz (1,991st)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	194	6,679	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,842nd)by Peggy Lee
1954	230	11,125	Chet Baker Sings (682nd)by Chet Baker
1955	331	14,852	In The Wee Small Hours (381st)by Frank Sinatra
1956	442	32,244	Elvis Presley (364th)by Elvis Presley
1957	573	45,292	Blue Train (308th)by John Coltrane
1958	573	41,295	Lady In Satin (560th)by Billie Holiday
1959	616	81,197	Kind Of Blue (38th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,376	249,072

The best artists of the 1950s were Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Frank Sinatra, Charles Mingus, Elvis Presley, Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Billie Holiday and John Coltrane.

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19.

Birth Of The Cool
Compilation

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

354 charts

Rank Score:

2,438

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

730

Average Rating:

80 (453 votes)

Comments:

20.

Moanin' In The Moonlight
Compilation

Howlin' Wolf

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

296 charts

Rank Score:

2,376

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

752

Average Rating:

80 (289 votes)

Comments:

54.

Rock Around The Clock
Compilation

Bill Haley And His Comets

Year of Release:

1955

Appears in:

126 charts

Rank Score:

776

Rank in 1955:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

2,126

Average Rating:

74 (108 votes)

Comments:

58.

Elvis' Golden Records
Compilation

Elvis Presley

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

96 charts

Rank Score:

712

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

2,264

Average Rating:

81 (99 votes)

Comments:

59.

The Best Of Muddy Waters
Compilation

Muddy Waters

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

87 charts

Rank Score:

705

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

2,285

Average Rating:

78 (62 votes)

Comments:

75.

Anthology Of American Folk Music
Compilation

Various Artists

Year of Release:

1952

Appears in:

80 charts

Rank Score:

566

Rank in 1952:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

2,726

Average Rating:

78 (78 votes)

Comments:

81.

Genius Of Modern Music
Compilation

Thelonious Monk

Year of Release:

1951

Appears in:

95 charts

Rank Score:

545

Rank in 1951:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

2,810

Average Rating:

77 (100 votes)

Comments:

91.

Singin' The Blues
Compilation

B.B. King

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

88 charts

Rank Score:

471

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

3,169

Average Rating:

74 (66 votes)

Comments:

103.

Hank Williams Sings
Compilation

Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys

Year of Release:

1951

Appears in:

67 charts

Rank Score:

407

Rank in 1951:

Rank in 1950s:

103

Overall Rank:

3,588

Average Rating:

75 (54 votes)

Comments:

105.

Talking Dust Bowl
Compilation

Woody Guthrie

Year of Release:

1950

Appears in:

57 charts

Rank Score:

405

Rank in 1950:

Rank in 1950s:

105

Overall Rank:

3,604

Average Rating:

72 (45 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 57. Page 1 of 6

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year	Albums	%

1950	40	4%
1951	40	4%
1952	58	6%
1953	62	6%
1954	76	8%
1955	85	9%
1956	117	12%
1957	152	15%
1958	172	17%
1959	198	20%

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	18	2%
Billie Holiday	18	2%
Miles Davis	16	2%
Frank Sinatra	15	2%
Sonny Rollins	15	2%
Ella Fitzgerald	13	1%
Elvis Presley	11	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	779	78%
	39	4%
	32	3%
	26	3%
	21	2%
	12	1%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	943	94%
Yes	57	6%

Live?	Albums	%
No	962	96%
Yes	38	4%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	23	2%

« View best albums of the 1940sView best albums of the 1960s »

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