Best Albums of the 1950s
Explore the best albums of the 1950s, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts.
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Last updated: 2 hours ago
Last updated: 2 hours ago
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"This album seems to be one of the first "collective effort" jazz albums. Miles had the basic sketches, everybody else filled in the lines. Moody, cantankerous music at it's finest." Reply
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,963
Rank in 1959:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Another jazz album from 1959, another classic. A top 5 pre-Beatles album, Mingus Ah Um is an increduble album that both looks back at jazz's early sound, and forward to ways that the music could be expanded. Mingus was able to do so much with his bands, which had more ability in its band of less ..." [+] Reply
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souplipton | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,838
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Average Rating:
Comments:
"This is a great album to listen to if your only just starting to explore the brilliance of jazz music as it is very catchy whilst also maintaining a high level of quality. The melodies are amazing as they engage you with their infectious nature but also relax you due to their delicate tones. This..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,291
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"My favorite Coltrane and one of my top five jazz albums. Lee Morgan is my favorite trumpet player, so the two of them together is great, but this is also the moment when John Coltrane begins to blossom. He's just on the edge of the innovations of Giant Steps, he had been studying, and his songwri..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,415
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"Elvis shows here why he is one of the true founders of the mainstream Rock N’ Roll movement with this short but snappy album. Although a bouncy bop for the vast majority of the album, there are parts which show Elvis experimenting with his voices to differing levels of effectiveness. On the track..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,010
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"Sitting down on your favourite patio, in the mist of your garden, sipping on a cup of hot chocolate and looking at the pretty sunrise. All of this is distracting yourself from the grim repeating cycle of unrequited love in your life." Reply
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HazeyTwilight | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1955
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,554
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"This must be history’s best aged album; I never expected myself enjoying a ‘50s album so much, yet here I am. The peak of rock ‘n’ roll and the beginning of soul; Otis Redding’s biggest inspiration and John Lennon’s biggest idol." Reply
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Boltzmann | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,186
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Comments:
"It's cool to hear the musicians kind of chasing each other's musical ideas, but there's not enough substance here for me to love it." Reply
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poppmusic | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,862
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Comments:
"This album was such a great addition to add to my jazz collection, but I don't understand some of the low ratings it's gotten." Reply
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,514
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Average Rating:
Comments:
"plenty of good songs! Johnny B. Goode is a highlight!" Reply
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,511
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 974. Page 1 of 98
Best Albums of the 1950s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 48 | 5% | |
| 1951 | 43 | 4% | |
| 1952 | 57 | 6% | |
| 1953 | 61 | 6% | |
| 1954 | 72 | 7% | |
| 1955 | 91 | 9% | |
| 1956 | 117 | 12% | |
| 1957 | 153 | 15% | |
| 1958 | 169 | 17% | |
| 1959 | 189 | 19% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Miles Davis | 22 | 2% | |
| Billie Holiday | 18 | 2% | |
| Sonny Rollins | 16 | 2% | |
| Frank Sinatra | 16 | 2% | |
| Various Artists | 15 | 2% | |
| Thelonious Monk | 14 | 1% | |
| Ella Fitzgerald | 13 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
787 | 79% | |
 |
33 | 3% | |
 |
33 | 3% | |
 |
24 | 2% | |
 |
17 | 2% | |
 |
13 | 1% | |
 |
10 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Best Albums of the 1950s chart changes
| Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Up 6 from 68th to 62nd |
Up 4 from 101st to 97th |
Up 4 from 29th to 25th |
| Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Down 5 from 76th to 81st |
Down 5 from 80th to 85th |
Down 4 from 96th to 100th |
| New entries New entries in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Up 4 from 101st to 97th |
| Leavers Leavers from top 100 since last month |
|---|
Down 2 from 99th to 101st |
