Best Albums of the 1950s

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Listed below are the best albums of the 1950s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 49,000 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	121	5,167	Voice Of The Xtabay (1,936th)by Yma Sumac
1951	137	4,144	Genius Of Modern Music: Volume 1 (2,820th)by Thelonious Monk
1952	154	7,406	Bird & Diz (1,924th)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	186	5,929	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,879th)by Peggy Lee
1954	222	10,676	Chet Baker Sings (752nd)by Chet Baker
1955	315	14,940	In The Wee Small Hours (385th)by Frank Sinatra
1956	423	32,021	Elvis Presley (373rd)by Elvis Presley
1957	547	45,454	Blue Train (315th)by John Coltrane
1958	544	40,257	Lady In Satin (583rd)by Billie Holiday
1959	601	84,163	Kind Of Blue (38th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,250	250,158

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, John Coltrane and Billie Holiday.

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Kind Of Blue

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

1,575 charts

Rank Score:

26,961

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

89 (2,170 votes)

Comments:

160

Mingus Ah Um

Charles Mingus

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

632 charts

Rank Score:

7,649

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

235

Average Rating:

84 (689 votes)

Comments:

Time Out

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

622 charts

Rank Score:

6,733

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

553 charts

Rank Score:

5,993

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

315

Average Rating:

84 (628 votes)

Comments:

Elvis Presley

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

555 charts

Rank Score:

5,073

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

373

Average Rating:

79 (730 votes)

Comments:

In The Wee Small Hours

Frank Sinatra

Year of Release:

1955

Appears in:

453 charts

Rank Score:

4,884

Rank in 1955:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

385

Average Rating:

80 (613 votes)

Comments:

The Shape Of Jazz To Come

Ornette Coleman

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

407 charts

Rank Score:

4,022

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

461

Average Rating:

81 (481 votes)

Comments:

Here's Little Richard

Little Richard

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

398 charts

Rank Score:

3,988

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

465

Average Rating:

79 (468 votes)

Comments:

Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

361 charts

Rank Score:

3,599

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

522

Average Rating:

84 (343 votes)

Comments:

10.

Lady In Satin

Billie Holiday

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

354 charts

Rank Score:

3,192

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

583

Average Rating:

80 (353 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 964. Page 1 of 97

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year	Albums	%

1950	42	4%
1951	41	4%
1952	60	6%
1953	62	6%
1954	73	7%
1955	88	9%
1956	118	12%
1957	153	15%
1958	172	17%
1959	191	19%

Artist	Albums	%

Billie Holiday	18	2%
Miles Davis	16	2%
Various Artists	16	2%
Frank Sinatra	16	2%
Sonny Rollins	15	2%
Ella Fitzgerald	12	1%
Elvis Presley	11	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	778	78%
	36	4%
	32	3%
	30	3%
	20	2%
	13	1%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	944	94%
Yes	56	6%

Live?	Albums	%
No	964	96%
Yes	36	4%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	979	98%
Yes	21	2%

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

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